The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1919-10-20
SAVING OUR BACON
Origin Of an Ancient CoIIoqul-
adsm in Connecticut.
Expression Used When Debtor Gets
Best Of Creditors by Question.
able MethoasIn 8usl-
hess pssiR


Distribution andssale 6fytheAgqvern'
ment supply offbseon brought TO the
minds of Iuany whoBare Acquainted
with old sayings the hffcfent colloqui'
allsm. Saving ones bacon" Tie
thrifty housewife, laying in store Of
the smoked meat, assures her near
neighbors that she is Saving her ba-
con" The housewife, of course, is tell
ing the truth, but as she repeats the
ancient colloqualsm she fails to use
II IN its proper sense.
The housewife who is so gay over
Saving her bacon" would be horri-
fed and justly provoked If her neigh
b0r would reply: "What You cheating
your credltors?" And that is just what
she means If she employs the term
properly, The story of the origin OF
the colloqulalism Is credited to Con
neeticut. according to the Hartford
Times.
In the days when the Charter Oak
was green and Sir Edmund Andross
was more green. New London b0asted
of citizen of the name Of Fitz John
Winthrop He was sailor and more
over Of literary tastes. These tastes
were more distinctly commercial. That
is, while he was quite a bibiophile on
his own account, and had a goodly
store of books, he was In the business
of collecting books for others. fProbs !
ably because he was something Of al
c0l.lolsseur, the c0i0nist who coveted !
foreign published books engaged him
TO obtain them when he was in port
on the other side; or, knowing their
fads, he would, Of his own account
make the purchases, and bring them
over dlsposing of them at fair profit. !
Among the customers was a lawyer
who was also interested in shipping,
politics and several other things which
in our later day might so by the name
of speculatiOns At the time when he
was flush with money he would invest
in books, and depute Capt. Fitz John
to obtain them abroad. Among other
works for which he had something
of a peyshant were those OF Lord
Bacon. = managed to have quite a
slzable importation at different times
On one occasion, when the captain
came into port and brought him a
bale of books, he found the lawyer In
financial difficulties of shady char
ncter On the following day the prop.
erty was to be "distrained.' Under
the colonial law among other things
exempt from the claws of the creditor
was meat OF various descriptions and
quantities. Bewalling the fact that his
books must go under the hammer, he
was disconsolate when the captain
,ame with the additional volumes. He
rad a decent supply Of wits and he
md the lawyer, working industriously
~ night, managed to stow away n
rood deal OF the library In meat bar ,
els in the cellar. On top Of each was
layer of bacon In coarse salt The
ollowing day. when the sheriff's clerk
'ame with his red chalk, he scrawled
lis TX" on each of the barrels, and
he contents were exempted. 1t must
ave been some time later when Capt,
'itz John related the story, and man
ged to add. Leave 1t to any one ii
hem bar'ls didn't hold Bacon" And
o when a debtor got the best of his
reditors by questionable methods, the
got to be known as "saV
ng ones bacon"