river, Mr. Hayward would go, and that time might not be frittered away,
I occupied myself meanwhile collecting and packing the loose shingles
ready for delivery. This with great industry, be it said, if Constance
and Setti did not happen to be by; but if they were, little was done, at
which Mr. Hayward would stare on his return, but never in an angry way.
As the demand for our product was limited, it became necessary to devise
other means of filling up the time, and accordingly Mr. Hayward hit upon
the idea of manufacturing mattresses, great numbers being required by
the people coming into the new country. Of hair and things of that sort
generally resorted to by manufacturers we had none, but of corn-husks
great quantities, and of much delicacy and firmness of texture. These
Mr. Hayward conceived to be especially fit for making beds--not, indeed,
in their raw state, but manufactured to meet needed conditions. The
machinery we used for this was simple in the extreme. Taking pieces of
wire, we heated the ends, and in that condition pressed them into a
board of suitable width and thickness. The other ends we sharpened to a
point, and thus had a strong comb of upright wires. Now taking the husk
in our hands, we drew it across the sharpened prongs, and so split it
into myriads of small threads. Afterward collecting these, we had the
material for a bed.
"A couch fit for a prince," Mr. Hayward maintained, "and the equal of
the best in durability and restful qualities. Its healthfulness
recommends it, too, because of freedom from vermin and the small
particles noxious to the lungs and body known to attach themselves to
feathers, no matter how carefully selected and steamed."
Of these beds we manufactured many, and with fair profit so long as our
husks held out. Afterward, buying in the market, our gains were
lessened, but not perceptibly, as the material was not thought to have
any value to speak of. The labor of production, while not great, was
exacting in the extreme, for if by chance the eye wandered ever so
little, your fingers becoming impaled on the sharp needles, ugly wounds
would result.
"Such accidents," Mr. Hayward would say, philosophically, "teach the
necessity of close application in business if one would avoid mishaps,"
but Mrs. Hayward, looking upon them in a less practical way, would often
shed tears, as she busied herself binding up our torn hands.
To further our industry, we also made bolsters and pillows from husks
and a species of lichen, which latter was found in great abundance in
the neighborhood. Separating this with care, and afterward heating it,
Mr. Hayward maintained that a pillow thus manufactured was the equal of
the best.
"Not only that, but it will be found to possess aromatic qualities
highly curative of influenzas and catarrhal afflictions prevalent here.
As regards comfort nothing can excel it, unless it may be the selected
feathers of tame geese, and these being rare and high-priced, none but
the rich can afford them."
However, notwithstanding the excellence of our goods, trade lagged, and
this despite all that could be said.
"The trouble is," Mr. Hayward was in the habit of saying, "a pillow
being open to the view of visitors, something plump and fluffy must be
exhibited by every good housewife. Because of that we must content
ourselves with making pillows for rooms that the critical eyes of
neighbors do not reach. Our mattresses being hid away, people buy them
and save money, but they must have fat pillows made of feathers for the
effect on visitors and other peepers. Pillows ought not to be used,
anyway," he always maintained, "for they give people stringy necks, like
turkeys; but if used at all, they should be of moderate thickness, such
as we make."
The forms of industry I have enumerated, however productive, were only a
part of Mr. Hayward's means of piecing out our profit-and-loss account,
and among other things a way of utilizing the forests that lay about our
house soon suggested itself to his practical mind. There, if it were
mild, our cattle found nourishment to carry them through the winter,
with little of the help other and less provident farmers were required
to furnish. Protected by the trees, the soft grasses grew far into the
winter, and with the first disappearance of snow sprung again into
luxuriant life. The cows, thus fed with little or no expense, afforded
us butter and milk, and a margin for sale; but as this last required
some measure of attention upon the part of Mrs. Hayward, he did not
press it. For in all things he was very tender of her, shielding her in
every way from the hardships he himself so unflinchingly faced. Of this
I thought much and gratefully at the time and in after years, and the
more because of his boundless ambition and great activity of life.
The care of the cattle, pastured in the way I have described, being a
matter apart, was attended to when other business did not press. Thus,
if at dark they had not come home, I went in search of them, and in this
my knowledge of the woods and the wiles of these creatures stood me in
good stead. Going this way and that, and stopping at intervals to
listen, no sound would reach me save those peculiar to the forest at
night. For of all cunning animals there are none, you must know, equal
in wiliness to the leader of such a herd. She comes to know, and this
with certainty, that the slightest movement means discovery, followed by
other annoyances repugnant to her placid nature. Because of this she
will maintain such steadiness of poise for hours at a time that no
warning note of the bell she carries will disturb the stillness to mark
her presence. Thus I would often wander about or sit listening on my
horse far into the night, until some unlucky stroke betrayed her
whereabouts. Because of these visits my face and hands were much
disfigured by the stings of mosquitoes and other insects; but of the
former Mr. Hayward maintained, and doctors there were who agreed with
him, that it was preventive of malarial ailments, and in other ways of
considerable sanitary benefit to men. This, I know, is now disputed,
but certain it is that my wanderings never resulted in any harm to me.
On the contrary, I each day grew more robust, and so straightened out
that at sixteen I had attained my full height.
Of the many varied diseases then common to the new country, Mr. Hayward
acquired a specific for fever and ague that was superior to all others
then known. Not only would it stop the tremor of the chill and the
fever that followed, but killed the disease utterly, so that no trace of
it afterward reappeared. This, it is well known, quinine will not do;
and it followed that our house came to be much frequented by those
afflicted in the way I speak of. Indeed, it was no unusual thing when
we arose in the morning to find a motley crowd, with sallow faces,
standing about the door, their teeth chattering like castanets in the
frosty air. Supplying ourselves, therefore, with great quantities of
the specific, and selling it at a moderate profit and for cash, when we
could, we derived much gain and the community a great and lasting
benefit. For in this thing Mr. Hayward was admittedly a benefactor, as
he was in many other matters not so apparent at the time. If it
happened that an applicant was unable to pay, which was often the case,
Mr. Hayward would refuse to accept anything; and as nearly every one was
poor, Mrs. Hayward would often say:
"Why do you take pay for the medicine, William? Surely the cost is not
enough to speak of." But to this he would always answer:
"They would never touch the stuff if I gave it away, Helen. Medicine is
like advice; if people have to pay, they will go miles to get it, even
from a knave or fool. Why not charge something? My medicine is better
than the doctor's, and the cost not nearly so much. Besides, my dear,
as I say, they would not come near us if we gave it away. It is the
people who set great store on what they have that are most sought
after."
As our little farm had to be tilled, this required horses, and as the
best were high-priced, and we did not have much money, Mr. Hayward
contented himself with such as he could get at a moderate figure. It
resulted from this, our selection being limited, that we were often
scurvily dealt with by those having these animals to sell. Often by
patience we could bring the unruly beast under subjection, but at best
only partially; for of all things in the world a horse is the most
difficult to break of a bad habit. In this way we came in time to own a
great variety of animals, some of which, notwithstanding Mr. Hayward's
skill as a trader, he found it impossible to dispose of except at a
loss. One animal of great stature that we acquired in the way I speak
of had a trouble in breathing, but this we did not discover until too
late, some soothing lotion having been used to deceive us for the
moment. Indeed, so choked would the animal become with undue exercise
that coming suddenly upon a croupy child could not startle you more.
There were those who maintained that the Raven, for so Mrs. Hayward
named him, was broken in wind, but this Mr. Hayward would not admit,
ascribing the trouble mainly to irritation of the larynx, such as
singers and public speakers are often afflicted with. With a moderate
gait, however, the Raven would go from sunrise to sunset without show of
weariness; and of all the horses I have ever known there was never one
with a better disposition. So true was this that in the excursions Mrs.
Hayward and Constance and I sometimes took at odd moments and in the way
of indulgence, we always chose the Raven by preference. Fastening him
beside the pole, he would haul a wagon with ease, and because of his
great docility could be safely left beside the road or wherever we might
wish to stop. For gossiping and idling by the way, no horse in the
world could equal him. Indeed, from the manner in which he pricked up
his ears, and a habit he had of changing from one foot to another, we
came in time to think he understood much, if not all, we said. He must
be driven quietly, however, and within limits. For if you but urged him
beyond this, the women would hurry from their homes as we passed, to see
if by chance some child had not been stricken with croup or other
ailment of the throat, so loud and hoarse was his croaking.
Of the end of this valuable animal I do not know, for in an unfortunate
hour and through eagerness of trade Mr. Hayward swapped him for a
cholera specific he thought we could use to advantage. This trade
caused us all much sorrow, for of the Raven we never heard more. Of the
cholera medicine, however, we came to know a great deal, for about this
time, the dreadful scourge being prevalent in the neighborhood, and the
people being frightened, every ail that afflicted them they ascribed to
its presence. In these emergencies Mr. Hayward had recourse to our
specific, and this not always advisedly; for it was very hot and
scalding to the mouth, so that the lips of those who used it were in a
constant state of irritation, as if they had eaten cranberries or
something of that nature, and this without the use of napkin or similar
device.
From this medicine Mr. Hayward derived great profit; for coming down
shortly with the disease, he would take nothing else, and happily
recovering and the people hearing of it, they came from far and near to
supply themselves with the remedy. Indeed, the sale of it came nigh to
making him rich, had not losses in other directions about that time
offset his gains from this source. Being of an experimental turn of
mind, he thought to try the specific on our horses and cattle in cases
of colic, and this with great success, as it turned out, so that from
that time on we were saved the expense of veterinary surgeons and cow
doctors in respect of this particular malady. When the great merit of
the medicine became apparent, Mr. Hayward told me how he acquired it,
and this for my benefit, I thought.
"The man was not much inclined to dicker, but when I told him he must
give boot, he began to prick up his ears. Never trade even, Gilbert,
though it is only a jackknife. The bargain looks more attractive to the
other if you claim your goods are worth the most. I let him do all the
talking, too, for I once heard of a man who grew rich, and all because
he stuttered. Those with whom he dealt, out of pity, would talk for
both sides, and when they reached a point that made the trade
attractive, the stutterer would close the deal. Nor is stuttering so
much of an affliction otherwise as people think. It is a great pity it
is so easy to talk, for in the main it doesn't amount to anything. If
you are not inclined to believe me, watch the first two men you see
together. Neither listens to the other, unless it be a bit of gossip,
but each waits his turn to speak, and not always patiently, either.
Talking is a disease with many, and results in much harm, and for that
reason it would be better, I think, if it required some effort to use
the voice."
Thus by trade and harmless dicker, such as I have described, Mr. Hayward
added to the earnings of the ferry and our little farm. Of the last the
soil was rich beyond belief from the overflow of the river, but in
dickering for the land, this drainage, Mr. Hayward pointed out to the
seller, might lessen its value, because of the baleful effect on the
health of those who worked it. Having, however, obtained possession of
the farm at a fair price, it turned out different from what he had
thought.
"The overflow," he was in the habit of saying afterward, "far from
proving injurious, is really beneficial in this, that it purifies and
sweetens the earth, which would otherwise become clogged with malarial
germs. This in addition to greatly enriching the soil." Thus his
fears, as it often happens in trade, proved groundless once the bargain
was struck and resultant benefits clearly seen.
This farm Mr. Hayward and I looked after unaided, save in the middle
summer, when possibly some patch of grain was to be gathered and
threshed. Mostly we cultivated corn, as being a sure crop, and
afterward affording fodder for the cattle and much choice material for
mattresses, as I have explained. As our work took us some distance from
the landing, where we could not hear the bell on the farther side of the
river, Mrs. Hayward contrived a way out of the difficulty, and very
cunningly, we thought. To do this, she caused a flagstaff to be erected
near the house, and here, when there was a call for the ferry, she gave
us notice by hoisting a signal. If a foot passenger, meaning me, the
flag was white; if a team or horseman, and requiring the big boat and
Mr. Hayward's presence, red was used. Supplementary to these, she
raised a black flag to tell us it was time for dinner or supper. Black,
she would say, was most appropriate for this, because of our great
appetites, and indeed we were never lacking in this respect. Going to
and from the ferry when working in the field we considered a rest, so
that we came in time to look forward with considerable strife to see
which flag, the red or the white, was raised by the sweet lady, our
mistress, at the house.
*CHAPTER XLVIII*
*THE CARRIERS*
At night, when supper was over and Mr. Hayward had some leisure to look
about, he was in the habit of saying that the man who built his house,
whoever he might be, would not have ruined himself had he made the
ceiling a log or two higher.
"Nor can I see, for the life of me," he would add, as he surveyed our
narrow quarters, "why he cut the logs so short, when the forest is full
of fine timber he could have had for the taking."
Off the main room, and there was but one, we built a kitchen, and beside
it a sleeping-room. This was thought by some of the neighbors to
indicate growing pride and a striving after luxury, though the addition
sloped to the ground so fast that the side next the eaves did not afford
room for one to stand upright. This inconvenience, however, we did not
much regard, a little stooping now and then not doing any one harm. The
attic over the main room was mine, to do with as I pleased, save some
small space set apart for seed-corn and things of that kind in winter.
It was reached, and deftly enough, by a ladder of stout poles, which
answered the purpose perfectly, and had the great merit, moreover, of
taking up little or no room. My bed occupied one corner, and lying
outstretched my nose would have scraped the shingles had it been an inch
or two longer. These shingles were neither black walnut nor cottonwood,
as you may think, but oak clapboards split and shaved in the old way,
before shingles were known in the new country. If they did not always
keep out the water, it did not enter in any great quantity, and by using
a little calculation one might avoid it entirely.
The room was greatly to my fancy, and I have never seen one I liked so
well. If in summer it was sometimes hot, because of proximity to the
roof, air might always be obtained from the window at the end; and as
for light and ventilation, this and the crevices in the roof afforded
all that any reasonable person could desire. What was best about it,
though, was its nearness to the wind and rain. For lying upon my bed,
the patter and swash of the water sounded directly in my face, and when
the wind pushed and crowded about the house it was not at some far-off
place, but in my very ears. Such volume and artfulness of sound, too,
words cannot describe, each log and crevice of varying size answering
back some note of its own to pouring rain or driving wind. Nowhere else,
indeed, have I heard, or ever will, such symphonies; for these things
belong to our youth, and come not in like freshness to the mind or
wearied body of more mature years.
It was the river, however, that attracted me most, for there was no end
to its beauty and variety. In rain and sunshine, it made no difference,
it kept its way, changing with every cloud and breath of air, always
offering some new and better view. Of the ferry, Mr. Hayward,
discarding all the devices of our competitors, adopted in their place a
method better than them all; and in this I will not except the McDuffs,
who made so much of their new-fangled power and patent steering-gear.
Nothing could be more picturesque, either, than our device. For going
up the river a little way, Mr. Hayward attached a stout wire to a great
tree that grew on an island there, and uncoiling the wire, brought it
down, and connected it to a rope fastened to each end of the great boat.
Drawing this rope taut at the prow, the latter pointed up the stream,
and so, loosening the craft from the shore, the current carried it
swiftly to the other side. Of all Mr. Hayward's methods for saving
labor and cutting down expenses not one exceeded this, I thought. To
prevent the wire dragging in the water, it was upheld by buoys, and
these always facing about in the direction the great boat was going,
added to the beauty and animation of the scene. These devices were the
subject of much ridicule at first, and more especially on the part of
the McDuffs, but on trial, the community coming to regard them with
favor, the subject was not referred to again.
Of the doings of these McDuffs little that was good could be said. Not
only were they innovators in respect to the use of steam, but given, as
we proved more than once, to the cutting of rates and other underhand
dealings of a like nature. Such practices Mr. Hayward despised as
unworthy of common carriers, nor would he be a party to them in any way;
unless, indeed, it might be in the case of a large customer, but then
only sparingly and under close cover, so that there could be no known
excuse save weakness or pure spite for the cutting of rates on the part
of others. The McDuffs were also given to misrepresenting distances, to
the injury of our ferry, so far as their stories were believed by the
simple-minded. In this and other ways they were a constant source of
irritation and injury to trade, and to such a degree that as a way out
Mr. Hayward, with great circumspection of conduct, finally proposed a
trust, or consolidation of the properties. This project came nigh to
happening, too, and indeed was thought to be as good as done, when word
of it somehow came to the ears of the public. Upon this the community
flew into a rage, accusing us of monopolistic tendencies and other and
worse things, so that in the end the undertaking fell through. In the
warfare that was made upon us at this time, strangely enough the most
bitter were those who never made any use of the ferry to speak of. This
I could not understand until Mr. Hayward explained it.
"There are a lot of people who lie awake nights watching and listening
lest the public suffer some wrong. These guardians, as a rule, never
achieve anything themselves, and in the end are buried at the expense of
their friends. In every case they are impracticable people, with little
or no knowledge of affairs. Well meaning enough, they will pull a house
down to straighten the lightning-rod, or destroy a garment to remove a
stain. The trouble is they lack sense. With skulls big enough to hold
a squash, they have nothing to fill the space save surmises and
suspicions."
We were always of the firm opinion that the McDuffs had made known Mr.
Hayward's efforts to consolidate the properties, and this to discredit
us with the public, for grievously we suffered from the falling off of
traffic that followed. This until, happily, the wife of the mayor of
Appletop bringing forth triplets, and all boys, the mind of the
community was diverted for the moment. As it would happen, too, an
accident occurring about the same time at the McDuffs', whereby a
passenger lost his life--a thing Mr. Hayward had clearly foretold--we
came again into our share of the business, and kept it. Mr. Hayward,
however, was ever very sore on the subject.
"The consolidation was clearly in the interest of the people," he would
say in speaking of it. "They would have had only one family to support
instead of two, as at present, and reduction in tolls would surely have
followed sooner or later. Why, except for such things mankind would be
eating roots to-day and living in caves. Affairs of state have felt
this most of all, for one government answers now where there were
myriads at one time. Thus England has but one ruler, where she once had
fifty to support, with all their hungry followers. There was
consolidation for you with a vengeance, and it has been so with every
country on the globe. So it will be with many industries. You may be
sure, though, that not one little despot was ever tumbled from his
throne without the people raising a cry that they were being enslaved."
"Has everything been done that will be in this direction?" a chance
traveler asked one day, hearing what Mr. Hayward said.
"No; it will go on until each continent has but one government, and in
the end all will be merged."
"Which people will dominate?" the traveler inquired, as if quizzing him.
"The most vigorous and the wisest. The nations we know, however, will
all have disappeared ere then, it is probable. No one can tell."
Thus Mr. Hayward would go on by the hour when the subject of
interference with natural laws was spoken of, and nothing could stop
him.