History of My Own Time
William Otter Sr.
Mayor, Emmitsburg, 1835
In
eighteen hundred and twenty four
I removed from the city of
Baltimore to the country, and
fixed myself and family in the
town of Emmetsburg, in Frederick
county. At which place I am
still residing, and very
probably shall finish my days
here.
The very first job I done in my
line of business was to plaster
the Seminary of Learning near
the town, then under the
Superintendence of the Rev'd.
John Dubois, the present Bishop
of New York. While that work was
going on, I had many good hands
at work under my charge, and one
day one of my journeymen
happened to take a seat at the
breakfast table which did not
exactly suit the views of an
Irishman of the name of McHenry,
who thought that he was the
rightful owner of the place at
the table, which my journeyman
had by mere accident taken
possession of, McHenry he began
to jaw about his place, as he
called it, and threatened that
he would turn any body out of
the room that in future would
trespass upon his right in
enjoying his place at the table:
this menace raised my blood and
I began to let him have a
squall, and as my journeyman was
a man who had not been by nature
an athletic and robust made man,
on the contrary he was delicate
made and very modest, I saw the
necessity of taking his part;
and I walked up to McHenry and
to quiet the matter, just now to
put me out instead of my
journeyman, and he without any
further ceremony up with a bowl
full of hot coffee and throwed
it into my face; this I
considered as a war of defense
on my part, and as soon as I
could see, I seized a hold of
McHenry and hoisted him up and
threw him lengthways upon the
table, after two or three ups
and downs I landed him among the
fish, plates, and bowls, on the
table, just the right way, and
the way they were mashed and
ground to pieces was a caution.
This all happened in the absence
of the Rev. Mr. Dubois. On his
return home, a complaint was
lodged against us as disturbers
of the peace and quiet of the
institution; the Rev. Mr. Dubois
he held an enquiry into the
matter, found McHenry guilty;
gave me an honorable discharge,
and enjoined it on McHenry on
fine of forfeiting his birth, if
ever he said another word to me
or any of my hands while I was
there.
The next thing that happened,
that had music in it, to me was,
I plastered a house for a Mr.
J. S. in Adams County; the way it
happened was—one Sunday morning
Mr. J. S. started to go to
church, I was laying on the
porch reading, and amusing
myself. The madam had put over
the fire (which was a very fine
one) the dinner-pot; when she
had the dinner on she laid
herself down on the bed to take
a nap: the chimney caught fire,
at this juncture; J. S. happened
to look behind him and seen that
the house was on fire, he
wheeled about and came running
back as hard as he could, he run
past me into the house and run
into the bedroom to secure his
valuable papers;—the noise he
made in the haste wakened his
better half, she rose up and in
her raising herself up she asked
him in these words, "why Johnny
are the humblebees after you"
bumble bees, said he to her, the
house is on fire. She got out;
and at the remark he made, I
jumped up and ran out to see how
the matter was. And I saw that
it was confined to the chimney;
I told her the chimney only was
on fire; she went to the kitchen
and got the salt box and landed
the box and the salt into the
fire; and the steam put the fire
out in the chimney. After the
danger was all over Mr. J. S.
told me that he never had
experienced a severer fright in
his life.
I
once was called upon by the
Reverend Louis De Barth,
superior of Conewago, to do a
job of plastering for him in his
room; it was in the winter, and
he considered it a particular
job: he told me he would give me
one dollar and fifty cents per
day, and that I must hang on
until it was done. I began the
job and gave it the first coat,
and when that was done, I told
him that it would take about two
days to dry, during that time I
proposed to him I would go home,
and when it was ready for second
coating I would return and do
it—with a view to lighten his
expenses; to which proposition
he objected, upon the ground
that I would not return, and
said that he would find me
another job during the time
allowed for drying. So I asked
him what it was; he told me I
should go along with him, and he
led the way into the cellar; the
repository of his wine, cider,
apples and so forth: to stop rat
holes in the wall. He gave me
privilege to use any thing, in
any manner I pleased; so I began
to stop rat holes, and while my
laborer was bringing me stuff, I
sat myself down on a lot of
sand, and began to dig in it
with my trowel, and at last I
dug up a longed necked bottle,
neatly sealed up. I held it up
to the light, when the laborer
came into the cellar, I asked
him what he thought it was, he
said it was wine, we agreed to
decapitate the bottle and test
its contents, and when we had
drank it, sure enough it was
wine of a very fine quality; he
then asked me what was to be
done with the bottle. I told him
we would break it up and stuff
the pieces of it into the rat
hole, and in the course of an
hour another bottle shared the
same fate as the first, and
after awhile we slaughtered a
third one; by the time we had
finished a third bottle, old
Bunty he got pretty boozy, we
also tried a few of father De
Barth's apples; the cider we
never disturbed it while we were
stopping rat holes, we held the
wine too high to have any thing
to do with cider, and in the
course of that day we finished
stopping rat holes.—While we
were in the cellar, father De
Barth was called away and was
absent about a day and a half;
in that time I closed up all the
rat holes in the cellar, and had
tore away a book case which he
wished removed in his room.
While I was in the act of
tearing away the book case I
found two parcels of money
wrapped up in paper, and they
were both labeled in a language
foreign to my own. I opened them
and the one contained eighteen
French crowns, and the other had
five pieces of gold, the value
of which I also did not know;
after I had seen their contents
I wrapped them up again, and put
them into my pocket until he
should return; upon his return,
I handed the money to him, he
said that they were left by some
of the Priests who had been
there before him, and said that
he knew nothing of it, he gave
me five dollars for my finding
it; in the morning after, he and
I went into the cellar to see
how I had stopped up the rat
holes, he examined all as he
went along, until we came into
the wine cellar, he jocularly
observed to me, that he hoped
that I had not found out his
wine. I laughingly replied, oh
yes, I had found it out; he
asked me did I drink any, I told
him I had drank two or three
bottles of it, he told me that
was right, as he had given me
full privilege to help myself to
any thing that was in it.
I
then put on the second coat in
the room, and whitewashed it;
after I had finished my job,
father De Barth he planked down
the cash, and I put out.
The next thing that came into
the way that afforded me fun,
was while I was plastering the
big house for the Sisters of
Charity; an Irishman who had
just landed from the sod, who,
was in the employ of the Sisters
of Charity as a farm hand, came
to me one day, to the house from
the field next to the house,
where he was engaged in
harrowing, he had there came
across a terapin, which was a
novelty to him, he took a stick
and stuck it to the spot where
he found the terapin, to find it
again, said he to me, Bill I
found a horse's foot down here
and it is alive yet. I went with
him to the field and when we
came to the marked spot, the
terapin was gone. We hunted
about, and at last I found it. I
invited his attention to him and
he acknowledged that was it, why
said I to him, my dear fellow
this is a terapin; said he I was
sure it was a horse's foot, and
observed that he had never seen
one before.
I
once worked at a job of
plastering for an old gentleman
near Waynesburg, who was
excessively close and stingy. I
let a war hawk slip at him, and
he never felt it, but the sum
and substance of the business
is, that I got four chickens to
eat and he got the broth; it was
got up under the following
circumstances: he happened to
have an attack of diarrhea, and
he complained to me about it. I
sympathized with him and told
him that I had suffered many
inconveniences arising from it,
and began a prescription for
him; I advised that he should go
to Waynesburg and get a box of
Anderson's pills, and take three
of them for a dose, he asked me
where he could get them, I told
him at Mr. Charles Smith's
store, and if they did not
operate in two or three hours,
to repeat the dose and take
three more, so off he started,
got the pills, and took them as
I had directed him, and they did
not meet his wishes; I advised
the other dose, he took them and
they produced the effect
desired. I then, to get a mess
of chicken, advised him to take
chicken broth; he had a chicken
killed, we got the chicken for
breakfast, and my patient took
the broth. I suggested to him to
have two more chickens killed,
and to continue to take broth to
work off the medicine he had
taken, and as he had experienced
a considerable relief from the
first, he had two more chickens
killed, and he stuck to the
broth, and at dinner we ate the
two chickens. I liked the sport
of eating the chickens, and he
was fully as well pleased as I
was with broth, he expressed
great satisfaction at the
effects produced. I thought to
spin my yarn as long as I could.
I told him that if he would have
another chicken killed and take
the broth of that, that I would
ensure him a sound man. So we
had the chicken for supper and
he held on to the broth, and it
produced a very happy result. He
allowed that he never
experienced such efficacy of
medicine in his life. I finished
my old tunker's job, he paid me
for doing it, and I put out
home.
About this time I opened a shop
in Emmetsburg, and, as my
circumstances were of an
ordinary character, I had to buy
my liquors by the gallon. I used
to get them from ________, he
was very kind to me; others that
I also held in esteem, who are,
in the main, pretenders only. At
length my good old friend told
me he had a ten gallon keg; that
I should take the whiskey by the
keg; that he would lend me the
keg; that it would come cheaper
to me than by the gallon. I told
him I was agreed, that if he
would let me have the keg I
would take good care of it. I
then bought of him by the keg
for better than a year. One day
he suggested the idea to me that
I should buy the keg from him. I
told him it was hardly worth
while, that I had it cheap fence
near the house. At last they
seen that it was the gobler;
they came to the conclusion that
it was the smoke that had
brought him down the chimney.
They took him and placed him on
the roost again from whence he
came, when all was quiet. I
slipped out from the place of my
concealment, and seized the
gobler a second time and souzed
him down the chimney a second
time, left them to enjoy the
sport, and put out.
While I was engaged in
plastering at the college, Mr.
Dubois requested me to take his
horse and ride over the mountain
to Mr. Reed and Bonebreak to
engage for him two kilns of
lime. On my way there I overtook
a white man and a black man. The
black man's arms were tied
behind his back with a silk
handkerchief. I asked the white
man as I came up to them, if he
had caught a runaway? He said
no, that the black man belonged
to him. I asked him the reason
why he had him tied? He said
that he had him tied for fear of
his making his escape from him
on the mountains. I asked him
how far he was going on that
road? He told me he was going as
far as Mr. Fisbury's, that he
had some business there to
settle. He asked me if my name
was Otter? I told him yes, Otter
was my name. I suppose, said he,
you don't know me? I said to him
that I did not. He asked me if I
ever had worked at Millerstown?
I told him I had. He then asked
if I ever knew one George
McCullough that worked there?
The moment he mentioned his name
I recognized the man, and
answered him that I knew him. He
then told me that he had caught
that negro coming down the
mountain, and that he believed
him to be a runaway. He asked me
what I would give him for him
haphazard? I told him that I had
no notion to buy him, not
knowing if he was a runaway or
that there was any reward on
him. He told me he wished me to
ride along to the tavern and try
to get out of the negro what he
was and who he was. I went with
him to the tavern, and when I
was there I called the negro out
and asked him who he belonged
to? He told me that he belonged
to one Mr. Gelwicks, in
Virginia. I asked him how many
children Mr. Gelwicks had? He
said he did not know. Said I to
him, you belong to no such man
at all; and asked him to
tell the truth, to whom he
belonged? He said, well I belong
to Mr. Goldsborough. To find my
lad out, said I, does he live in
the town or country? He told me
Mr. G. lived in the town. I
asked him how many slaves has
Mr. G? He said he had a good
many. How many, said I, to
elicit a positive answer from
him? He said he did not know
rightly how many he had. I
observed that it was not worth
while to say another word to him
as he was determined not to
speak the truth about it. I took
him into the bar room, and told
George McCullough that I could
get nothing out of him. He swore
he would take him on to
Baltimore and sell him. I told
him that he dare not do that,
for the laws of the country
would punish him for such an
act. He asked me to tie him,
for, said he, you know more
about it than I do. I told him
if he would get me a rope that I
would tie him. He asked the
landlady for a piece of rope.
She said she had none, but
allowed that she could let him
have a piece of home-made linen,
if that would answer. I told her
it would. She produced the
linen, a strip about as broad as
my hand, and I tied the negro's
arms on his back.
While I was tying the negro's
arms I told him to try to make
his escape from that man, for
sure as guns he would take him
to Baltimore and sell him to the
Georgia traders, and if he
effected his escape to take
refuge in the mountains. He got
considerably alarmed at the
piece of intelligence which I
had imparted to him. He promised
faithfully that he would try to
make his escape and flee to the
mountains. I took him after he
was tied into the bar room.
George McCullough called for
something to drink. I drank, and
in turn called for half a pint
of whiskey, which made my good
old friend pretty well how come
you so. I inquired at him where
he was going to. He said he was
going across the country, to a
Mr. Fisher's. I wanted to go to
Mr. Bonebreak's to buy lime; we
went together until we came to
the lane that leads to Mr.
Fisher's. I bid him good bye. I
pursued my road, and he steered
his course for Mr. Fisher's. In
about one hour's ride I came to
Mr. Bonebreak's the man from
whom I wanted to buy my lime. I
went into the meadow where they
were making hay, and I asked if
Mr. Bonebreak was there? They
told me no that the old man was
not there, and that his two sons
were in pursuit of a runaway
negro who had bent his course
toward the mountains. I asked
them how the negro was dressed?
They said that he had no hat on,
and that he had two rags on his
arms. I asked which way he went?
They showed me the course, and I
hitched my horse and started
after the boys across the
country. I went about half a
mile, and I met the boys on the
back track. I asked them if they
had caught the negro? They said
that they had not. I asked them
the direction he went? They
showed me, and I put out after
him with a dog of the spaniel
breed to assist me in the
pursuit, and on whom I mainly
depended as he was one among the
finest of that species of dog. I
got on his track, and pursued
him to a large barn at the foot
of the mountain, the barn was of
logs, and rather in a state of
dilapidation. The gable ends
were both open, and as I got up
at the one gable end he got down
at the other, and he made for
the woods, and I hissed my dog
Ponto on him, and as soon as the
hiss was out of my mouth, my dog
flew at him, and seized him, and
held on to him until I came up
to him. When I came up to him I
said well you are here. He said
yes. I asked him how he got
away? He said that man whose
captive he was, called at a
house and asked if Mr. Fisher
was at home, and being informed
that he was not at home, he
hitched the black man to the
post where horses were generally
hitched, at the piece of linen
which I had tied his arms with,
and Mr. McCullough laid himself
down on the bench, and the
weather was very warm; he fell
asleep, and I began chopping the
linen backwards and forwards
until it broke in two, and when
I was free I started off and run
through the orchard as hard as I
could run, and lost my hat in
the orchard, and did not take
time to pick it up. I asked him
how he liked to go home? He said
he did not care much about it. I
asked him if the dog had bit
him? He said no, that he held
him by the trousers. He admired
the dog's performance, and
allowed that that dog was worth
money. I said yes he was so. I
then asked him, if ever he had
been at Emmetsburg? He said he
never was there, but that he
knew a man there. I asked him
who that man was? He said Mr.
McBride, the constable. I asked
him where he learned to know Mr.
McBride? He said at his master's
house, that Mr. McBride had
often been there. He still stuck
to it that he belonged to Mr.
Goldsborough. I found that the
black rascal was determined to
lie. I marched him off to Mr.
Bonebreaks. I engaged my lime,
and then started off and crossed
the mountain that night with my
runaway lad. I cautioned him not
to try to run away from me that
if he did that my dog would tear
him to pieces. He said he would
not make the attempt. I told him
if he did not that I would not
tie him. So I marched over the
mountains free from any fetters.
When I came home it was past one
o'clock at night. I gave him
something to eat, and put him
and the dog Ponto in a room and
kept him there until morning. In
the morning I walked down to Mr.
McBride's to walk up to see the
black boy. When he came into the
room where he was I asked Mr.
McBride if he knew that negro?
He said he did, that he belonged
to Mr. H, in this county. I gave
the negro his breakfast and
locked him and Ponto, his
companion, up in a room, mounted
my horse, rode to Mr. H's house,
and asked him if he had based my
suit of action. The squire asked
him if that was his
advertisement and the reward
therein offered? He said it was,
but plead that he never put them
up; to which I observed that I
never had put it up, but that it
was up now. The squire gave me a
judgment for ten dollar against
Mr. H., and when I had judgment
against him he paid me like a
man, and thus ended this spree.
I
once got a parcel of conies, and
they were, as all are, very
pretty animals; and they are
somewhat mischievous. I had to
barricade the warren for fear of
their being torn by dogs; and
while I was engaged as above
stated in repairing their
warren, a certain Mr. M. M. came
along, and he fell in love with
their appearance, and asked me
how many of them I had? I did
not tell him the exact number.
Said he to me, making the
question as impressive as he
could, well Bill, what will you
take for a him and a her? I told
him that I would take one dollar
for a him and a her, repeating,
his word. He allowed that a
dollar was too much for a him
and a her. I told him that I
would not take any thing less
for them.
Now for the celebrated
Woodsborough spree, which took
me a full half a day to get
through and a good part of the
night into the bargain. The way
it commenced was as accidental
to me as it was to the hands who
were involved in it. It happened
the day after the election in
eighteen hundred and thirty
four. As I was going on to Mr.
Bowers to plaster his house for
him, the town of Woodsborough
lay in my way, and when I came
to the town, I stopped at the
tavern kept by the widow Yantis.
Little did I think when I
stopped, of cutting a single
caper. As soon as I had put foot
into the tavern, the political
inquisitive fellows asked me the
result of the election in the
Emmetsburg district, I told them
that the Jackson party had lost
ground. That piece of news
pleased some, and others again
it did not please. There were in
the bar room two Clay men, who
had not yet gone home from the
election, they were a little
touched with Jackson tea, and a
Jackson man, who also had a rip.
He was a hanger on, for the
whole three were farmers.
The two Clay-men appeared to be
very liberal in their manners,
and the Jackson-man was a very
close, stingy, miserly sort of a
fellow. One of the Clay-men
asked the other who I was. He
told him I was Otter, from
Emmetsburg, the plasterer. He
took a look at me, and allowed
that I was very big fellow. He
felt his keeping as I have
already said. He told his
comrade, notwithstanding my
size, that he believed that he
could whip me. All this
conversation I over-heard, but
never let on I heard them. I
thought to give him a hint. I
told one of my comrades that the
Clay-men, at least all those
whom I knew, were such rascals,
that the Jackson-men had no
chance any more among them. He
took the bait intended for him.
He got up and said that was a
lie, there were as good Clay-men
as Jackson-men. I told him if
there were any such, that I
never knew them. His comrade
begged him not to mind it, that
he knew that I meant no harm in
what I said, and that he knew me
very well, which interposition
of his comrade in my behalf,
only had a tendency to raise his
dander the higher. He said that
he could whip me, even if I was
as big as the house. I told him
that I could not fight, and
never did intend to fight, but I
can beat any Clay-man belonging
to the party in the whole United
States, at butting.
This wide spread banter he could
not brook. He pronounced it a
lie. Those who wanted to see
fun, urged him to take a butt
with me. He said he was no bull,
and could not stand it. Well,
said I, I cannot stand fighting,
so there is no danger of our
hurting one another. He still
kept harping on his favorite
theme, that he would like to
have a crack at me. At length
some of the fellows worked upon
him to give me a wiper. Well,
said he, I don't care, I will
take a butt with you anyhow.
Well, said I, take off your hat.
By this time I was fully
determined to give him a good
one. I caught hold on his two
ears, and he caught hold on
mine, and I gave him a rouser
that sent him heels over head on
the floor. This created a good
deal of laughter among the
spectators of the scene before
them.
This performance raised his
dander to the highest pitch, and
I complained of my head very
much. They urged him on to take
another crack, and wanted to
persuade him to try it again. I
told them that I would rather
not, that as soon as I butted
one man down that I felt offish,
and invited him up to the bar to
take a drink, and make good
friends. No, said he, I am not
satisfied, you must give me
another chance. I still
pretended to be rather off, and
told him that if he would treat
I would give him another chance.
He agreed to treat with a view
to get another butting. I begged
of him not to butt too hard. He
said by swearing an oath, that
he would butt all he knew.
We
took our usual ear hold, and I
butted all I knew and laid him
flat on the floor a second time.
When he got up, he appeared a
little bewildered. His laboring
under a kind of stupor, which
was occasioned from the blow I
gave him, gave his general phiz
rather a comical kind of
appearance, which created a
great deal of laughter, sport,
and much amusement to the
company. I called on him to pay
the treat he promised, and he
swore he would whip me. He paid
the treat, rolled up his
sleeves, and was for making at
me. I told him that if he struck
me, that I would have another
butt at him. His comrades
persuaded him not to mind it. I
got him up to the bar, and got
the old Jackson-man, whom I have
taken notice of in the
commencement of the story. The
company all were agreed that I
should make that old fellow
treat in turn. That he would
drink until all was blue, when
he could drink for nothing. So I
asked him to drink, and sure
enough he took his horn like a
man. As it seemed by consent of
the whole company, that I should
get him to treat, I called in
vain, he refused to treat, and
said he had drank enough,
thanked me, and did not wish to
drink any more. I told him in
terms not to be misunderstood,
that if he did not treat in turn
and that the whole company, that
I would be under the necessity
of giving him a butting. He said
I had better not. I told him
that it was the sense of the
whole company, that he should
treat or take a butting.
He
said he had sufficient. Well,
said I, are you going to treat
or not. He answered me he would
not treat. Well, said I, then
you must take a butting, and I
caught him by the ears, and gave
him a tremendous butt and
knocked him as stiff as a poker.
He fell against the wall, and as
he was in the act of falling,
his eyes rolled in his head and
a good deal of the white in them
appeared. When he recovered a
little, he went in quest of a
magistrate to have himself
righted. The squire refused to
give him law for the butt he
got, and I am at a loss to
determine whether butting would
at all be recognized in law, or
not. The law defines an assault
and battery very clearly, and am
rather inclined to think that in
its definition it does not reach
butting, and I am sure that
butting is no species of felony
of any kind whatever. What the
real cause was that he could get
no law to protect him I cannot
tell. But the way I sent him
against the wall was a caution.
When I had stiffened my old
Jackson-man, I turned on my Clay
friend again. They urged him to
give me another flyer at
butting, that he should not
think himself conquered. He
allowed my head was too hard for
his, and that inasmuch as I had
failed in making the old
Jackson-man treat, that I should
pay a treat myself. Agreed, said
I. Come all ye that thirst, and
I treated the whole company. I
told him that I was very glad
that the old Jackson-man was
gone, that my head felt like a
poor man's garret, that it was
full of lumber. Yes, and God
knows, says he, my head aches
too. The company agreed that we
should take another butt, and by
mutual consent then should give
it up. I told them that I was
agreed, that my head could not
ache worse after it than it does
at present. They got him worked
up to the sticking point, and we
took another whack, and I
knocked him against the bar
table as stiff as a poker.
We
all went up to the bar, and I
insisted that it was his turn to
treat the company, to be even
with me, that the company drank
last at my expense. We all came
to the conclusion to give Mr.
Lind, also a tavern keeper in
Woods-borough, a call, and wind
up our spree there. Mr. Lind
lived about a quarter of a mile
from Mrs. Yantis, and as soon as
the idea was suggested to go to
Mr. Linds, all hands were
immediately agreed to the
proposition. The two Clay-men
felt a disposition to take a gig
and ride down. I was full of
frolic, and wished to shew out
some of the blossoms of the wild
oats, which I felt at this time
disposed to sow, being a
Jackson-man myself, and the
whole mess of us on a Jerry. I
proposed to the two Clay-men
that if they would pay me a
bottle of French brandy when we
came to Mr. Lind's tavern, that
I would take the gig shafts and
haul them down through the town
myself. As soon as I made this
proposition to haul them down
myself, they agreed that they
would pay me the bottle of
French brandy. The bargain was
struck, the gig was brought
before the door. As soon as the
gig was ready, I got into the
shafts in good earnest, to let
them see that nothing was
wanting on my part. The
passengers took their seats. The
one he folded up his arms and
laid them across his breast, his
legs crossed, and leaning
backwards as if determined to
enjoy the ride in luxury. The
other was more of a romp, he
made no particular parade about
the contemplated ride. After
they were seated, I enquired of
them in these words: "Gentlemen
are you ready," they responded
in the affirmative. Said I stop
a little till I spit in my
hands, and, as I made the
motion, aided by a small jerk at
the shafts, and letting them go
at the same time, my passengers
took a sudden notion to go up,
instead of down town, and heels
over head they both went out of
the hind part of the gig, and as
the gig turned a summerset, one
of them, the fellow who sat
careless, seized the springs of
the top part of the gig, landed
himself by the aid of the spring
and his powerful exertion, on
his feet. Said he, that goes
"pretty and nice." The other one
fell on the back part of his
head, neck, and shoulders and
was terribly staved. He laid
senseless on the street for a
short time. We carried the old
fellow into the tavern, sent for
Dr. Sinners to examine him, he
came, had no idea of our spree,
allowed to wait a while, to see
what the probable result might
be. He left us, and after a
short time came back, we then
told him of our performance. He
said, under such circumstances,
the better plan was to let him
remain as he was, labouring
under some excitement, kept up
from the free use of brandy and
allowed, if necessary, to take
some blood from him in the
morning. Then came the time for
censure, some said I done it
purposely, and I alleged that I
was not well broke to the
shafts, and, for myself,
ascribed the whole to the want
of a belly band, so ended that
spree, and it was the last. In
it I sowed all my wild oats. I
have arrived at an age when all
men become grave. I feel that
time is making his inroads on me
as well as all other mortals,
being now in the forty-seventh
year of my age. In the course of
my mechanical pursuits as a
plasterer, working as master of
my trade, I have kept a record
of every house I plastered, as
well as all other buildings,
such as churches, colleges,
academies, and so forth. I began
for myself in the year 1810,
during which time I plastered
two hundred and three houses,
including thirty-two churches,
five colleges, two academies,
and one market house, and all
the money that they came to, was
the neat sum of fifteen thousand
three hundred dollars, and am
still a poor man, without my
earnings, having a large family,
which run away with the beans to
support them.
In
the spring of eighteen hundred
and thirty-five, the citizens of
Emmitsburg conferred on me
their best gift, elected me
burgess of the town, by a very
handsome majority over my
opponent, and have, as far as my
ability allows, discharged the
duties entrusted to me, without
favor, affection, or partiality.
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