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Popular Boobs
By "BRICK" I'0M:ER0Y.

SENSE — A Book for Hearts and Homes, $1.50.

NONSENSE~A Book of Humorous Sketches, $1.50.

POMEROY PICTURES OF NEW YORK. [In Press.] $1.50.

LIFE OF "BRICK" POMEROY, with Steel Portrait, $1.50.

These looks are aU iUitstrated, a/re among the moat
popular books of the day, are beautifvMy
printed and bound, and wiU be
sent by mail vree, on
receipt of price,
BY
Carleton, Fubllsber,
K^ewr Xork.

''"^^Wz^tl^

LIFE

MARK M. POMEEOY
["BEICK" POMEROY, EDITOR OF THE LACROSSE, WB., DEMOCRAT,
AND OF THE DEMOCRAT, DAILY, NEW YORK CITY],
A REPRESENTATIVE YOUNG IAN OF AMERICA:

HIS EARLY HISTORY, CHARACTER, AND POBLIC SERVICES IN DEPENGB
OP THE RISHTS OP STATES, RIGHTS OP THE PEOPLE,
AND INTEESSTS OP WORKIlta MEN.

PEEPAEED PEOM MATERIALS FURNISHED BY ME. POMEROY AND OTHERS,
By Mrs. MARY E. TUCKER.

toitl) 0 Steel JJJortroit.

^.

NEW YORK:
G. W. Carleton, Publisher.
LONDON : S. LOW, SON & CO.

M DCCC LXVIII.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by
GEO. W. CARLETON,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the TJmted States for the Southern
I)istrict of New York.

CjSS.^^i^S

The New York Printing Company,
8i, 83, and 85 Centre Street^
New York.

LETTER
RECEIVED FROM HON. MARK M. POMEROY,
IN ANSWER TO A REQUEST BY MRS. TUCKER FOE ASSISTANCE IN
PEEPAIUNGr A LIFE OF ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL
LIVING JOURNALISTS AND AUTHORS.

Office of the Democrat,
New Torh, Sept. Id, 1868.
Mrs. Mary E. Tucker : .
Dear Madam — Your note is a peculiar one, with a strange
wish contained therein. That I have been successful as a jour
nalist is true, but I do not know that the pubhc, with its ever-
varying mood, would care to know of the one whose life you
wish to take. There is nothing in it different from the history
of other self-made men ; nothing of a startling nature that would
please the public, that I know of. It is simply a plain history
of a poor boy — a laborer — a hard-working man who has won
success by battling for it, 4etermined to win — the history of one
who has been all his life a consistent laborer in behalf of the
poor, the working-men, the honest men of his country.
There are years of struggling, of toil, of trials, and disappoint
ments, but liever of despair. Had I time I could give you
hundreds of instances of fun, folly, and interest — of jokes, ad
ventures, and struggles, but the labors of the present Presiden-

tial campaign, in which I am so entirely engaged, prevent my
furnishing you with the items desired. There are, however, with
me in the office gentlemen who have known me from boyhood,
who have been with me for years in dark hours and dangerous
ones, who will furnish you items which may be of interest and
of service to you.
I have been too busy for the past few years writing the history
of others to think of my o#n. There are no objections to your
engaging in the work you propose, and such aid as I can render,
by telling you the history of my life, will be given cheerfully,
in hopes that others who are now as I once was, poor and
almost friendless, before whom the clouds of life loom up, dark
and forbidding — who are often tempted to throw themselves
away by drink, dissipation, and recklessness — may gather cour
age and fight their destiny to an honorable success in which no
man is wronged, as I have done.
With best wishes for your success in this and all other lauda
ble works, I remain, with respect. Thine for the right, M. M. POMEEOT.

CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGE.
I. Bending the twig. — Why people borrow papers. —
Planting pumpkins. — Youthful oratoiy  9
II. He hauls lumber. — Goes into the candy-trade. — Re
turns home. — Goes to Coming to apprentice him
self.  ."  30
III. Becomes a printer's boy  28
IV. First lesson in printing  33
V. Fence-making for ftiia  37
VI. Developments of jomnalistic ability  40
Vn. Boyish follies. — Beer story. — Codflshery. — Thi-ee ce
lebrities  51
VIII. Mark falls in love. — How a joke terminated. — Goes
to Canada. — Returns to Waverly and finds his lady
love married. — He mames one he loves better.  61
IX. Goes West to seek his fortune  71
X. He earns the name of ' Brick.' — Goes to Washington. 76
XI. In which he establishes the renowned La Crosse
Democrat  ;  81
XII. Mr. Pomeroy's ideas of justice.— His life is attempt
ed. — He scorns to play the hypocrite  86
XIII. Oflce of the La Crosse Democrat. — Why he left La
Crosse  ._  103
Xrv. Success of the La Crosse Democrat. — ^Milk and water
evaporated by caustic  109

8 CONTENTS.
CHAP. PAOI.
XV- Treating of Mr. Pomeroy's manner of conducting a
printing-ofBce. — His kindness to his employes — 113
XVI. Why Mr. Pomeroy is popular as a writer  119
XVII. A chapter of anecdotes  133
XVIII. Organization of " The New York Democrat."— In
terview with Mr. J. Howard .....  133
XIX. An author cannot be judged by his writings. — Mr.
Pomeroy's ideas of Masonry  140
XX. Difference of opinion in regard to the personal ap
pearance of ' Brick.'-^Pomeroy a twin. — ^Praise
from Mr. Greeley  146
XXI. Mr. Wells' description of a true orator. -Pomeroy
as a Poet, Artist, Philosopher, and Actor  . . . . 163
XXII. As a popular orator  168
XXIII. Specimens of Mr. Pomeroy's miscellaneous writings. 317

LIFE OF
MARK M. POMEROY.

CHAPTER I.

Bending the twig.— Why people Ijorrow papers.— Planting pumpkins.
Tonthful oratory.
In the month of March, 1837, on the door-stoop of an
humhle farm-house on Seely Creek, in the town of South-
port, Chemung County, New York, was seated a small
boy, in pinafore, reading the Life of Washington.
The precocious child had previously read, with won
der and admiration, the Life of Franklin ; and had just
read the characteristic story about Washington and the
cherry-tree. The little four-year old soul was charmed
and delighted with the heroic perseverance and glorious
success of Franklin ; and his heaven-born love of truth
and justice was easily aroused to active sympathy with
the free and truth&l character of Washington, so strik
ingly illustrated in his refusing to tell a lie, to save him
self from punishment for cutting the cherry-tree.
Yielding to the holy influence of the lives of Franklin
and Washington upon his infant mind, the little philoso
pher, in a praiseworthy spirit of emulation, resolved
1*

10 LIFE OF
to walk in their footsteps, and be guided by their
principles. Like Franklin, he would some day be an honest
printer ; and like Washington, he would be a truthful,
faithful defender of the liberties of the people against
injustice, tyranny, and oppression.
Just at this moment his aunt, or adopted mother,
came in from the garden, where she had been trans
planting flowers.
"What have you been doing. Aunty?" asked the
baby student.
" Planting flowers ; and mark, you little lump of mis-,
chief, if you touch them I will whip you soundly : re
member, I am in earnest !"
A simple request, kindly made, would have been sa
credly regarded, but the proud spirit of the child was
aroused to rebellion by the ignominous threat. The
aunt passed on to the house, and the "little lump of
mischief" threw down his book, deliberately walked to
the garden, touched with his tiny fingers each of the
forbidden flowers, and quickly returned to his book.
As his eye fell upon the work, he was reminded of the
virtuous resolution he had formed, and with it came
repentance for what he had done. So going boldly to
his *aunt, he told her he had touched every one of her
flowe'rs. The kind-meaning aunt was not blessed with
the wisdom and forbearance of Washington's father,
and so the little champion of truth was rewarded with

MAEK M. POMEEOY. 11
a whipping, and sent supperless to bed. As the little
victim of circumstances sighed himself to sleep, his last
waking thought was, " I don't care if I did get a whip
ping, I told the truth, and I'll tell it again. I will never
tell a lie !" Ever since that memorable night, Mark M.
PoMEBOT has had for his motto —
" Truth is omnipotent and must prevail."
Time and Place of "Bbick" Pomeeot's Bieth.
Mark M. Pomeroy was born in the little village of
Lawrenceville, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, on Christ
mas day, A. D. 1833, shortly after the removal of his
parents from Elmira,_ New York. Of his parents our
sources of information are limited. His father was
formerly a merchant in New York, and now resides in
California. His mother died when he was only one year
old. At her request, in case of, and soon after her death,
the little hrick was adopted by his uncle, S. M. White,
his mother's brother, and son of General Gates White,
of Revolutionary memory, who resided on Seely Creek,
in the town of Southport, Chemung County, New York.
For seventeen years Mark lived with his uncle on his
small farm, and assisted him in all the multifarious du
ties of a New England farmer, including " the thousand
and one" indispensables in the feminine department, em
braced in the comprehensive New England provincial
ism " Chores."

12 LIFE OF
During the winter months Mark was allowed to go to
school, where he learned very fast, although he was
more given to mischief than study.
Serious objections are sometimes made to the con
struction of Mr. Pomeroy's sentences. Should he fail
to write grammatically, it is attributable to the fact
that he never studied Grammar an hour in his life. He
once went "clear through Olney's Geography," and
succeeded in reaching the Rule of Three in arithmetic.
He was a good reader from his infancy — a good speller,
a fine mental arithmetician, and with all, possessed a
wonderful memory. His lessons at school were acquired
by mere reading — ^the rest of his time he devoted to
reading, writing, etc. His thirst for knowledge was in
satiable, and to gratify it, he would borrow papers,
novels, and books of general information; when he
could get nothing else, he would study the Bible, which
he has read many times through.
When very young, Mark became deeply interested in
a story in the Elmira Gazette, a newspaper, to which
his uncle was a subscriber. To his annoyance the story
was not completed in the number before him, but said
"concluded in our next." Mark scratched his head.
"Our next," thought hs; "well, that must be Mr.
Knapp. He is the next who takes the paper," a gentle
man who lived some distance from his uncle's. In his
childish mind, he thought that it was a funny plan not
to put the whole story in a paper, but to have a part

MARK K. POMEEOT. 13
of it in one, and a part in another ; but he decided that
that was why people borrowed papers, and so off he
started after dark, when his work was finished, and bor
rowed the paper from his obliging neighbor, who won
dered what the urchin could want with it, — ^the more, as
he knew the boy's uncle was, like himself, a subscriber.
To his intense disgust, he found it contained the same
portion of the story he had already read, and then the
truth flashed upon him — ;it must mean the next number
of the paper, and not the paper in the next house.
The teachers liked his free, independent spirit, and
feared to offend him ; for, although he rarely resented
punishment when inflicted upon himself, he always de
fended the weak, or any child he saw was to be unjustly
punished. One day a little girl laughed aloud during
study-hours. The teacher called her to his side, and
asked why she laughed. The child declined answering
the question. The teacher placed his hand upon the
birch, but before he could raise it, Mark stepped for
ward, and said —
" Do not punish her, sir ; I made her laugh."
" How did you make her laugh ?" asked the teacher. ¦
There was a titter among the boys, as Mark told that
he chanced to be sitting by a darkey (for whom Mark
never had any particular love, even in his youthful days,
but would always defend if he saw any cruelty threat
ened), and thought he would see how a negro would
look whitewashed, so he chalked his hand with the

14 LIFE OF
blackboard chalk, and then placed the five fingers on
the negro's cheek. The effect can be easily imagined.
As the teacher was preparing to punish Mark, the
larger boys came forward to defend him ; and the teacher
concluded that " discretion was the better part of valor,"
and forgave him.
While at school he was a general favorite, for he was
"always willing to assist any dull boy in his lesson. In
truth, half tjie compositions in the school were written
by the embryo editor of the La Crosse Democrat.
Possessing no fortune, with none in expectancy but
the fruits of his own labors, his pursuits on his uncle's
humble farm tended, as we believe they were providen
tially designed, 'to itfould the pure material of the boy
to the stature of the man — a genuine brick, worthy of a
place in the Temple of Liberty; which, we trust, will
forever withstand all the open assaults and secret sallies
of the Radical enemies of constitutional freedom.
In the fruit season, Mark would rise before daylight,
do the farm chores, and go to the woods and gather
berries, with which he would walk, or catch a ride with
some teamsters, to Elmira, a distance of eight miles, and
sell or exchange them for provisions to aid in the sup
port of his uncle's family. Many old citizens of Elmira
remember the now successful journalist of the age as
the thin " little white-haired berry boy."
He became very tired of this routine farm-life, and
decided to take steps toward freeing himself from

MARK M. POMEROY. 15
drudgery ; so next day, after disposing of his stock of
berries, he quietly walked into a printing-office by which
he had to pass on his way through the town. With
a brave heart he ascended the stairs which led to the
printing-office, and, upon reaching the top, he found
himself in the midst of a number of men sitting upon
high stools setting type away for dear life. One of the
men saw the white head, and demanded, in a surly tone,
" What do you want ?"
" Narthin'; sir," timidly articulated Mark, and down
he went, thinking he would postpone being a printer
until some more propitious moment.
He was brought up, under strong religious restraints,
in a Presbyterian family, and was a close student at
Bible-class and Sunday-school, and was, from his youth
until the present writing, a hater of long sermons.
Once, while listening to one of these long, wearing-out
sermons, he fell asleep, and awoke, as he thought, just
as the preacher pronounced Amen. Like a shot he stood
up to receive the blessing. To his astonishment no one
arose, for the sermon was not ended. To cover his con
fusion he looked intently out of a window which was
before him, as if he saw something wonderful. Of course,
every one else in the house looked the same way,- and
Mark sat down, fully awakened by the shock.
When Mark was about ten years old, he was blessed
with a boy cousin. Before this time he had been the
only baby in the house, and a mischievous one at that.

16 LIFE OF
If there was a chance for mischief, he seized it. If the
cat came about to bother him at meal-time, he would
fix a little mustard in a piece of meat, and give it to her,
who, on finding her lunch red hot, so to speak, would
sneeze and scamper off, much to the delight of the un-
feline torment. The idea of making things red hot for
those he did not like, seems to have come to him early.
He had the cat and dog, and playthings of childhood to
amuse with, until his little cousin was born, when
there was joy in the house for all. It became Mark's
duty to look out for the baby, to rock it to sleep, and to
amuse the little one while awake, so that its mother
could attend to her household duties. If the child slept,
he would tickle its nose with a feather, to awaken it,
when of course it would cry, and its mother would re
lieve him of his charge, and off he would scamper to
play. When the child grew older, the warmest feeling of
love existed between Mark and himself, and they would,
if possible, shield each other from punishment. " Did
Mark do this ? " No !" little Gates would answer, and
Mark would always take the blame for the pranks of
Gates. When Gates was quite a large boy, his mother, as
punishment for some of his pranks, put him to bed,
locked him up in his room, and then went out to spend
the afternoon with some of her neighbors. As soon as
she was well out of sight, Mark opened the window and

MARK M. POMEROY. 17
pulled out the little prisoner, who assisted him in cut
ting and piling wood, and played with him until almost
sundown, when Mark seeing his aunt approach, put the
boy in the window, told him to jump into bed and be
asleep when his mother came in. "Has Gates been
up ?" asked Mrs. White when she entered the house.
" I have not heard him cry," answered Mark.
The anxious mother found her young hopeful sleeping
the innocent sleep of childhood — that is, to all ap
pearances. Until he was nearly grown, Mark was a regular som
nambulist, and many and many a time have his relatives
watched him in the middle of the night get up, go in
the pantry and help himself to the eatables, and then
retire to his room. In the morning he was entirely un
conscious of the events of the night. Once when he
had been very ill for some time, he awoke in the middle
of ^e night, and to his astonishment, found himself
sitting on the steps of a neighbor with only his night
shirt on. He ran home through the snow, created a
perspiration, and in the morning awoke in better con
dition than he had been in for days.
One day Mr. White set Mark to planting pumpkin-
seed in the corn-hills in the field. Mark had borrowed
a novel of one of the neighbors, and, instead of doing
his work, he sat down under a tree, read his book
through, and then went to sleep. When he awoke it
was past noon, and not one particle of his task done.

18 LIFE OF
There set the half-bushel of pumpkin-seedj a memento
of his misspent time. Taking the bucket which con
tained the seed, he carried it to the creek which ran by
the field, and emptied half the contents into the stream,
then taking the remainder back, he planted a while, but
finding the quantity did not decrease fast enough, he
took a pint or two, and nicely deposited them under a
large stone, and then went home, contented with the
exploits of the day.
As Mr. White returned that afternoon, he chanced to
stop on a bridge which crossed the creek nearly a mile
below his field, and in looking down he saw a number
of pumpkin seeds floating down stream.
Knowing Mark's proclivities, he felt that he had been
up to mischief during his absence, and, following the
stream, he found he was correct in his surmises, for he
found the seed in large quantities just where Mark had
deposited them. He then tracked the boy, by his bare
feet, everywhere over the field except where he ought
to have been. Mark was at supper when Mr. White
came in, and looked innocent enough.
" Have you stuck in all the seed ?" he asked,
" Yes, sir," said Mark.
" Did you have enough ?"
" Yes, sir, plenty."
« Too many ?"
" Oh, no, sir."
" Then go and get me some good apple-switches."

MARK M. POMEEOT, 19
The switches were cut, and Mark put in apple-pie
order. In vain he declared that " he did stick 'em in.
He stuck him in the creek." He needed the whipping,
and he got it. Nor was that the last of the pumpkin
crop for him ; for, when Mr. White went to plough his
corn, he discovered a stone which was beautifully
wreathed with the delicate tendrils of innumerable
pumpkin vines. Upon moving the stone, he found at
least two pints of his choice seed ; and Mark, in punish
ment, had to make three bows, which he declares was
harder than three whippings, for it was always difficult
for him to bow to any man.
While still very young, he would spend hours lec
turing to an audience of nails or splinters stuck in the
earth, and would become intensely e^jcited at some fan
cied retort from his hard-headed hearers, to which he
would reply with all the dignity of an accomplished
orator. Little thought the friends who laughed at his
boyish vagaries, that he was only giving expression to
the heaven-bestowed spirit within him, and training him
self for the conflict in which he is now wielding his battle-
axe with the immutable will and resistless power of a
conqueror, against the hireling supporters of radical
fanaticism, " treason, stratagems, and spoils."

20 LIFE OF

CHAPTER II.
He hauls lumber. — Goes into the candy trade. — Returns home. — Goes to
Coming to apprentice himself.
When Mark was about fourteen years old, Mr. White
proposed that he should visit Mill Creek settlement,
some miles distant from home, and should spend thq
summer in hauling lumber on the railroad for shipment.
Mark gladly assented, and Mr. White furnished the
team. For the first day the enterprising boy succeeded
nobly, but in the secondj the harness, which was poor
and old, gave way, and he had to spend hours in repair
ing the damage. Again he had a successful day, and
then the wagon broke down ; but Mark was not to be
discouraged, he' worked well and steadily, but sometimes
lost a whole day from his hauling labor, on account of
broken harness and wagon. He however kept on, and
would, when any part of the wagon broke, replace it
with a n^w, stroiig article. The result was, that, at the
end of the summer, Mark went home with twenty-one
dollars in money, a new harness and wagon, and a clear
conscience. "Well done, my boy," said the well-pleased uncle.
" You have done much better than I expected, and you
are a faithful, honest lad."
The next year Mark obtained a situation with a rela-

MAEK M. POMEEOY. 21
tive, who was a druggist in Wellsboro', Tioga county,
Pennsylvania, who allowed him the privilege, in pay for
services to be rendered in the drugstore, of having a
stock of merchandise on his own account
The. boy had nine dollars, the earnings of his lifetime,
which he invested in candy, which he placed in a corner
of the store, in a few little jars and boxes. Mark was
especially fond of candy, and could not refrain from
tasting every time he passed his part of the store ; and,
being a generous youth, he frequently invited his friends
to partake with him.
He always had an eye for beauty; and if a pretty
girl wanted to buy a small quantity of his stock of
sweets, he would gallantly present her with the candy,
and beg her to keep the money. The consequence was,
that the candy investment grew sinaller and smaller,
and beautifully less ; but during the whole time he con
tinued in the candy business, he never again invested to
the extent of his original, and in a few months literally
ate and treated himself out of business.
During the time Mark was with Mr. Roy, the drug
gist, he employed all his leisure moments in reading, at
least all he did not spend in mischief. He delighted in
studying human nature, and would frequently enter into
conversation with any odd specimen of the genus homo,
only to become familiar with character.
His early ambition to become a printer and politician
still lingered in his heart, and he longed for the time

22 LIFE OF
when manhood would give him the right and power to
follow the inclination of his own mind, and assume the
responsibility of his own acts.
While on the farm, and during his life at the candy
business, Mark was strictly honest, and attended to his
business ; his creed was, " Whatsoever thy hands find to
do, do it with all thy might."
Growing weary of this life of comparative inaction,
Mark returned to his uncle's farm, where he remained
only a few months.
For sixteen years the boy had endured a life of com
parative drudgery — endured only, for he was ever rest
less, and his ambition urged him to move onward and
upward. Then came the intense yearnings and desire
for a change in his mode of life. In the Spring of 1850,
young Mark determined to launch his boat upon the sea
of life, and to man it himself, for, by that time, he had
learned the lesson of the god whose assistance the
countryman implored when his wagon-wheel became
imbedded in the mud.
" Child of earth," said the god, " place your own
shoulder to the wheel, and then stronger powers will.
come to your assistance."
Mr. and Mrs. White feeling that they, in their hum
ble circumstances, could do but little for the future wel
fare of the boy they loved so dearly, gave a tearful
consent and their blessing, which was all they could
give, telling Mark, should he fail in his search for work,

MAEK M. POMEEOY. 23
to return to them at once, that he should always be
welcome to their board.
•Gathering his valuables together, he found it con
sisted of one suit of clothes, two shirts, his mother's
Bible, and a few little keepsakes from boyish friends.
He bade adieu to the scenes of his childhood — not regret
fully, for he had been a faithful boy, and had always
cheerfully performed the tasks allotted to him, but joy
fully, for his spirit told him he had powers capable of
higher pursuits, in a broader and more elevated plan
than any he had been permitted to enter.
He walked on until the sun told him it was twelve
o'clock, and then sitting down by the roadside he took
from his pocket the lunch which his ever-thoughtful
aunt had provided him.
When he had finished eating he then bethought him
self that he had not marked out any definite course of
life, except that he would become a printer, and in time,
if he could; own and edit a paper. After walking some
distance further -he saw a sign-post, upon which was
marked " Corning ;" and it was a welcome sign to him,
for there he was going to apprentice himself as a type
setter and devil to some printer who would instruct
hin in the trade and pay his expenses. And if not in
Corning, still farther west would he go to begin the
battle of life.
Just at five o'clock the weary and foot-sore- wanderer
reached his place of destination.

24 LIFE OF
Friendless and homeless, we can well imagine his
sensations as he walked through the village-streets, and
looked into each face, hoping to see the " something "
which would endow him with courage to make known
his wants. Still young Mark did not regret the step he
had taken. With his mind's eye he saw young Frank
lin, as he entered Philadelphia, tired and hungry, and
with only a single dollar in money, and he thought if
Franklin, who was only a poor, half-educated boy, could
carve for himself, unassisted, such a glorious future, he
certainly could accomplish something.
Upon inquiry, Mark was directed to the office of the
Journal, which was then owned and edited by Mr.
Thomas Messenger. The Journal is now conducted by
George W. Pratt, whose opinion 6f Mr. Pomeroy we
give below, taken from an August, 1868, issue of his
prosperous paper.
" M. M. Pomeroy has established- a daily newspaper in
New York, called ' The Democrat.' The terms are
six dollars per year in advance. Single copies can be
had at Corbin's News Office, Corning. Over thirty-
two thousand copies of the first number were sold, which
is unparalleled in the history of journalism, and estab
lishes the fact that the new organ of the Democracy is
to live and flourish in spite of the Herald and World.
It is the size of the New York Sun, folio in form, and
contains seven columns to the page. It would be a haz
ardous enterprise for most men to undertake to estab-

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 25
lish a Democratic daily paper in the city, but ' Brick'
is equal to the emergency. He claims to have a suffi
cient ' income to indulge in such a luxury,' and that is
doubtless correct. His peculiar style is adapted to the
rough Democracy of New York, and he enters upon his
work with an eye to business. His managing editor is
Joseph Howard, Jr., a man of decided talent, and proba
bly proud of being the author of the forged proclama
tion, professing to be from President Lincoln, which
sent gold " kiting," and created a panic, and which also
was the cause, we believe, of the World office being shut
up for one day by the military, for publishing the same.
His chief assistant editor is Judge Flanders, who, we
believe, was sent to Fort Lafayette for disloyalty, and
who is a more venomous copperhead than .' Brick' him
self. With such leaders the paper is admirably adapted
to- make room for itself in New York. It will undoubt
edly be a pecuniary success, and take much of the city
circulation of the JSTews and World. It is too much to
hope that it will be more decent than the La Crosse
Democrat. The same coarseness, falsehood, vitupera
tion, obscenity, and disloyalty which has made that
sheet notorious and given it the enormous circulation of
about three hundred thousand copies weekly, will doubt
less characterize this daily paper. Pomeroy announces
to his readers that he is no 'carpet-bagger,' but has
come to stay. He has the advantage of any one else in
establishing such a paper. Since his branch office was
3

26 LIFE OF
opened in New York, he has had several pages of the
La Crosse Democrat set in type and stereotyped by the
papier-mache process, and sent to La Crosse by express,
where, with the forms there set up, the Weekly is
printed. He receives from La Crosse stereotypes of the
forms there set up in type, and thus prints an edition in
New York, which is a facsimile of the La Crosse edition.
The latter supplies regular subscribers. Eastern cam
paign subscribers and news offices are supplied from
New York, thus saving express charges. Therefore the
expense of his setting up a daily is much reduced, as
several pages will be used for the siamese-twin Weekly ;
and as it is an afternoon paper, the burden is not heavy
enough to swamp ' Brick' even if the New York Democ
racy is tardy in rallying to his support. The paper is
printed at the Sun office, so that the presses which make
the Su7i rise in the morning send forth the fiery Dbmo-
ceat at evening. It reveals the extraordinary business
capacity of Pomeeoy, that he can " grow" within five
years from being the publisher of a weekly with a few
hundred subscribers, to that of owning two dailies, fifteen
hundred mil^s apart, and a weekly which has the largest
circulation of any political newspaper in the world.
The necessity of enlarging constantly the business, get
ting fast presses and then faster ones as needed, and
grasping the details of an enterprise of such magni
tude, must be a tremendous tax upon the mind ; but
when to all this is added the burden of writing so much

mark M. POMEEOY. 27
or so varied vile political and scun-iUous matter, it is
surprising "that one small head" can stand the pres
sure. The La Crosse Democrat is a disgrace to jour
nalism. It is an infamous newspaper, unfit for the fam
ily, and a foe to the peace and prosperity of the country,
and also to political honesty or virtue. The New York
Daily Democrat -will probably bear the same impress.
But however odious in sentiment or villainous in lan
guage, there is a field for it in New York, and it will
take due care to cultivate it. We admire the remarka
ble pluck and tenacity of ' Brick' Pomeeoy, though we
thus write. No newspaper proprietor ever showed
more ability to plan or capacity to execute.
" Seventeen years ago he was employed in this office,
earning five dollars per month and his board. Now he is
probably worth one-third of a million of dollars. He was
offered $100,000 to advocate Chase's nomination at the
Democratic Convention, with a like sum if nominated.
He refused, knowing that the readers of the La Crosse
Democrat hated the "nigger" too intensely, but the
offer showed his power as the Great Mogul of the cop
perhead wing. He threatened to bolt if Chase was
nominated, and thus, though he lost Pendleton, he kept
off Judge Chase, and gave Seymour the chance to run.

28 LIFE OF

CHAPTER III.
Becomes a printer's hoy.
Mr. Messenger and his assistant were in the act of
closing the office for the night, when they were startled
by a most singular apparition which, unannounced, pre
sented itself before them.
A rough, white-haired,, bashful, awkward-looking boy,
clad in homespun, whose hands seemed always in the
way, judging by his nervous movement of them, and
whose feet seemed much too large for the remainder
of his ' body. In his hand he held a small bundle, and
as he, with native politeness lifted his hat, disclosed a
large, finely formed head, but covered with hair of the
most peculiar indescribable hue. His light gray eyes
had an honest, fearless look, while his mouth gave every
indication of his intense love of fun.
" Well, my lad, what can I do for you ?" kindly
asked Mr. Messenger.
" Give me work if you please, sir," answered Mark.
" Work !" laughed Mr. M. " What can you do ?"
" Anything, sir !"
" Anything ! very good. Can you cut wood, draw
water, and do other chores ?"
" Yes, sir, I can ; but — I don't like to."

MARK M. POMEROY. 29
" Frank ! certainly," said Mr. Messenger. " Well,
what would you like to do ?"
" I would like, if you please, to learn the art of print
ing, and I am willing to do anything connected with the
trade." " Hem ! What pay would you expect, young man ?"
" That question you must decide, sir; -for, I suppose,
you' were once in the same position yourself that I am
now, and you know what wages you had, and what you
would have liked."
Mark knew, even then, how to speak to the heart,
and as he spoke the book of memory unclosed its
pages ; and Mr. Messenger thought when he too searched
for work, and he determined to befriend the lad, and so
he said :
" Truly spoken, my boy ! but suppose we do not need
your services, will you return to Seely Creek, where
you say you have walked from to-day ?"
" No, sir ; certainly not ; I will go to Bath, the next
village, will make a trial there, and if I do not succeed,
I will go on west until I do."
" Well spoken, my lad !" said the kind-hearted editor.
" It is too late for you to go any further to-night, so go
home with me, and I will give you supper and a night's
lodging, for you certainly look as if you were tired
-out." Mrs. Messenger received the homeless lad kindly, but
often, during the evening, Mark saw that she could

so LIFE OF
scarcely refrain from laughing at the odd-looking boy
her husband had brought home, and he thought to him
self, that he did not wonder at her mirth, for he cer
tainly was an ungainly looking creature.
That night, after they retired, Mark heard the worthy
couple talking until a late hour, and many a merry peal
of laughter floated up to the room they had given him ;
and even the words,
" What shall we do with such a fright ?" came to
him. The answer. — " Well, he is rather odd-looking, but he
seems to be a well-informed, good-conditioned, industri
ous lad, and if I find out he left home with the consent
of his friends, I don't know but what I can find use for
him in the office ; and he certainly will be of assistance
to you, my dear" — served as a narcotic, and soon Mark
slept the sweet, contented sleep of youth.
Early in the morning he found his way to the kitchen,
helped fix the fire, brought water for the kitchen-maid,
and made himself so useful in various ways, that the
good wife heard, with feelings . of pleasure, that her
husband had decided to keep the boy, and at least give
him a trial.
During his stay in Corning, Mrs. Messenger was- one
of his best friends, and still speaks of Mark in terms
of affection. She was a friend indeed to him, and took
the place of a mother, and we know the then awkward
boy — the now popular man of wealth and position—

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 31
regards her as one of his best and dearest friends, and
often speaks in kindest terms of the good man and wife
who helped him thus early on the road he had determined
to travel.

32 LIFE OP

CHAPTER IV.
First lesson in printing.
Aftee breakfast Mark accompanied Mr. Messenger
to the Journal office, and on their way, Mr. Messenger,
desirous of becoming better acquainted with the boy,
questioned Mark of his parents, education, bringing up,
and asked if he was afraid to work. He also wished to
know if he had any business-men friends in Corning ; to
which question Mark replied :
" I have not any now, but I expect to have, if I re-
inain here any length of time," which answer Mr. Mes
senger thought very good. He then asked if Mark
wished to becoi»e a printer, or a loafer, and upon
receiving a satisfactory reply, he stated, if he would
promise to learn well the pjrinting business, and become
a good printer and would agree to do honor to the
fraternity, to his teacher, and to himself, he would give
him the situation.
On reaching the office, finding no work there suitable
for a new hand, Mr. Messenger set Mark to sawing
wood, a cord of which lay piled at the office-door.
' He went about the task cheerfully, but he could not
refrain from thinking that he had a plenty of that style
of "printing" to do on his uncle's farm, and he cer-

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 33
tainly expected a different kind when he walked so
many miles in search of it.
While engaged in his work, a large dog came upon
the "premises and commenced a series of persecutions
upon a small pet dog belonging to Mr. Messenger.
"Always protect the weak," is still one of Mark's
mottoes, so he quietly laid down his saw and took from
a pile of rubbish near him an old tin pail which he, by
dint of persuasion and force, fastened to the tail of the
persecutor. Of course the dog vacated the premises with all pos
sible sjpeed, and did not soon annoy the small dog with
his unpleasant attentions. The old adage, that " Satan
finds some mischief still for idle hands to do,'| was not
exactly applicable to our young friend at this period of
his existence, for he, though always at work, found or
took time to be into all manner of mischief.
Before he had finished his task, he noticed in the lot
back of the printing-office a new milch-cow ; by her a
calf lay with its feet tied. There was no law in Corning
at that time for the prevention of cruelty to animals.
Soon an Irishwoman came from a little shanty close by,
untied the calf, and allowed it to take a small portion
of the milk. She stood and watched it awhile, then,
thinking the calf had had enough for ordinary purposes
of a veal in perspective, she determined to take a portion
of the milk for family use ; so she choked the calf off,
tied its legs together, and left it lying on the ground,
2*

34 LIFE OF
while she went into the house for a pail. No sooner had
she disappeared than Mark ran into the office, and bor
rowed a knife of one of the apprentices, slipped over the
fence, cut the strings which held the little prisoner, and
ran back to the wood-pile in time to see the calf enjoy
its interrupted breakfast. In a few moments the woman
came out -with the pail, and a more exasperated daugh
ter of Erin's Green Isle never was seen than was that
woman, who shook her fists in every direction, and swore
vengeance on the " spalpeen" who cut the strings off the
calf's legs, if she ever caught hold of his hair. It is
needless to say that Mark kept his head and hair out of
her way.
Mr. Messenger was a witness to this exploit and the
dog scrape as well, and remarked to Mr. Lombard, the
foreman of the office, that the boy was full of fun, and
would make a good printer. And from that time he
was a favorite with Mr. Messenger, his family, and the
employes of the office.
As a compositor, Mark learned very rapidly, and soon
became as expert in type-setting as the best printer in
the State ; and as a pressman, working at the hand-press,
in less than a year he had the reputation of being the
fastest and best pressman in that vicinity.
Mr. Messenger lived in a small house situated upon a
hillside ; and soon after Mark engaged to work for him,
his wife asked if " Mark" could not stay at home for one
day, to work in the garden and weed the onion-beds.

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 35
Mr. Messenger willingly consented, and asked Mark if
he could do that kind of work. He replied, " I can, sir,
but I never get mad with a man if he don't set me at it ;
and besides, I am afraid I cannot tell onions from grass,
nor weeds from vegetables."
Mr. Messenger and his wife laughed, and said that he
was a poor farmer's boy if he could not.
Mr. Messenger went to the office, leaving Mark to
work in the garden. During the forenoon he hoed pota
toes, and in the afternoon devoted himself to weeding
onion-beds ; and, in Mark's own words, " A meaner work
was never imposed upon a boy."
A tea-party at the house kept Mrs. Messenger in the
front parlor, and he had no one to overlook him while
at work. When night came, Mr. Messenger returned,
and, as he passed through the garden to see what prog
ress Mark had made, the humorist was peeping out of a
crack in the wood-shed, to see the effect of his day's
work. The hoeing had been done well, very well ; but, when
Mr. Messenger examined the onion-beds, he found that
from the seven beds of onions every onion had been
pulled. Once and awhile he found a tuft of clover,
which was left to prove that Mark could not tell weeds
from onions. Taking warning from experience, Mr.
Messenger concluded that Mark did not make " weeding
out onions" a profitable business to him, and so next
day Mark was respectfully invited to take his place in

36 LIFE OF
the printing-office, and another boy was sent to do this
unpleasant work.
After Pomeroy had been in the office some time, he
was one day sent down to the depot on business. A
warm-looking, freshly-imported Irish boy jumped off the
cars, and asked Mark where he could get some water.
" I'll show you," said Mark, leading him some dis
tance from the cars, for he saw that Patrick was a real
original jewel from the Emerald Isle, and he wanted to
study him for a few days.
Sure enough the cars left, much to the distress of the
stranger, who was going out West with a party of
friends to work on a railroad. But it could not be
helped ; and Mark, anxious to make all the ardends in
his power for his practical joke, took th^ boy home, and
turned him over to the tender mercies of Mrs. Messenger,
who was glad to accept his services, as Mark at that
time was so busy in the office that he could be of but
little service to her in the domestic line.

MAEK M. POMEEOT, 37

CHAPTER V.
Fence-making for fun.
Mes. Messengee's house was so situated, that the
back yard and garden were exposed to prying eyes of
curious neighbors, to her great annoyance. Mark see
ing her trouble, and appreciating it, offered to build her
a fence, with the help of Patrick, to which proposition
Mr. Messenger gladly assented. And having occasion
to go from home to be absent a week, and the business
of the printing-office being somewhat dull, he told Mark
he might do the work on the fence while he was away.
" How high shall I build it ?" asked Mark.
" As high as you think proper," was the reply. " Here
is an order on the proprietor of a saw-mill, and you can
get lumber to build it as high as the house ; only be
certain and build a tight board fence."
As soon as Mr. Messenger was well out of sight our
humorist went to work. Digging good deep holes, he
and his assistant placed the posts therein — good high
posts Mark selected. They made a high, close fence of
boards, nailed to the cross-rods, endwise. The boards
were twelve feet long, which, nailed to the wide base
boards, made a fence fifteen feet high, causing the little
garden to resemble more an amphitheatre or a square.

38 LIFE OF
than it did a place to grow onions, squashes, melons,
and other vegetables.
Mrs. Messenger enjoyed the joke ; but how Mr. Mes
senger would look upon it they did not know. So, with
fear and trembling, Mark watched for him on the morn
ing he was expected. From a window Mark saw him
approach his dwelling. He walked soberly along; until,
happening to lift his eyes, he saw the new fence. He
stopped — looked again, as if he could not realize where
he was — then, suddenly remembering that Mark was to
build a fence during his absence, he put his hands to his
sides, and laughed long and heartily.
" Come down, Mark," called Mrs. Messenger, who was
also watching the effect upon her husband. " No fear
of danger when Mr. Messenger laughs."
" Messenger's fence" was, for a long time, an eyesore
to the neighbors, and a matter of curiosity to all passers-
by, who thought the fence was the sides of some new
temple, or some political wigwam — no one knew what.
None enjoyed the joke more than did Mr. Messenger ; it
seemed as if he would never tire laughing at it ; and he
remarked, " If that boy ever attains as high a position
in life as he has built the fence, it will be by the aid of
a rope." Was Mr. Messenger's prophecy correct ? or has not
Mr. Pomeroy attained as high a position as an editor as
it is possible for a man to reach ?
In those days it was the fashion in country printing-

MARK M. POMEEOT. 39
offices to send boys off on foolish errands, and "Brick"
determined that he would endure nothing of the kind.
On one occasion he was sent to a hardware store for
a quart of " editorial oil." The foreman of the office,
while making his forms ready for the press, jdespatohed
Mark on this errand, with instructions to return imme
diately, and to bring a "quart of editorial oil, in the
original package," and also "a couple of italic hand
saws." " Brick" went down stairs, borrowed a fish-pole and
line, started to the river, where he spent the day in
fishing, returning only at night, after the town had been
ransacked to learn his whereabouts (as he was very
much needed in the office to roll), but bringing, as his
apology, a nice string of fish for Mr. Messenger's table,
which proved, indeed, " editorial oil," and so smoothed
the feelings of Mr. Messenger at the turn the joke had
taken against the foreman, that he forgave Mark's ab
sence from the office, and counselled the foreman to quit
attempting to play pranks upon a " green country-boy,"
for he certainly got the worst of it.

40 LIFE OF

CHAPTER VI.
Developments of journalistic ahility.
Maek remained -with Mr. Messenger nearly two years,
acting as type-setter and " devil," by which suggestive
name he was commonly called, and which name he well
deserved, for he was in all kinds of mischief.
The Corning people looked upon him as a sort of
mirth-creating pest, whose mischief was so tempered
with justice, mercy, and fun, that they could not punish
the perpetrator, however sensibly they might feel his
jokes. He organized the boys of Corning in foraging parties
for cornfield raids, and in the morning would bestow
the result of his expedition upon some poor family.
He would visit the gardens of the rich, where he
would "confiscate" fruit, vegetables, etc., which he
would give to the poor and sick.
Many a time large packages of grapes, and other
fruit, have been found at the door of some invalid, left
there by the " (^ev«7,",who would go on his way rejoicing
in his quiet manner at the thoughts of the cooling effect
he imagined the fruit would have upon the feverish
palate of the sick one.-
Mr. Pomeroy's career as a journalist, we may say

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 41
commenced with his infancy. When but a child at
school he would keep a record on his slate of the inci
dents of the school, and of the tricks and performances
of the scholars. Would write for an imaginary paper
in his copy-book — using his copy-book for that purpose
rather than the improvement of his chirography. The
writing of compositions for children on almost any and
every topic, describing incidents real and unreal, natu
ral and unnatural, sketches of fact and fancy, was a
habit which seemed to have grown with his growth till
it became a part of his existence.
When an apprentice in a printing-office, he furnished
very many of the items of local interest about town, and
wrote a great many little squibs and sketches for that
paper. Under assumed names and various noms-de-
plume, he wrote sketches and poetry for other papers,
and wrote page after page, and quire after quire of
manuscript, till he had at the time he entered the printing-
office as journeyman, accumulated a full ream of this
stuff, which he burned as of not sufficient account to
preserve. Some of the pieces which he thus wrote are
said, by his friends who saw them at the time, to have
given evidence of more than ordinary powers of sar
casm, illustration, and forcibility. His father for a long
time had serious objections to his being a printer, and
wished him to be a merchant, citing the great mer
chants of the country and the wonderful field there
opened for a man of energy and ambition. The prin-

42 LIFE OF
cipal objection his father had to his embarking upon
the printing business was that the business was so pro
verbially poor that all connected with it seemed to be
habitually beggars. It is almost an impossibility to
pick up a newspaper without finding in it a plea for
subscribers to bring to the office some article of food to
keep the editor from starving, or some urgent dun or
request for the subscribers to come forth and rescue
them from poverty and the hands of the sheriff. His
father insisted upon it that printers were poor, and they
had not the respect shown them that other people had.-
If the business was good, printers would not be such
beggars. If the business was not good, no man of sense
would engage in it.
The boy insisted upon it that the fault was with those
who begged, not vrith the public. That if a man made
a good newspaper and adopted the same business rules
in conducting it that merchants or others did, that he
would succeed, and as he had a natural inclination for
that, and a longing desire to connect himself with the
press, that he might criticise men, that he might under
stand that which was good, condemn that which was
wrong, and write and print matters of fact, and of in
terest in hopes of helping to educate the boys of the
country, that he would become a printer. On his entering
the office at Corning, it was his boast that the time would
come when he would own a printing-office in the city of
New York, which city he had never seen at that time,

MAEK M. POMEROT. 43
and which office would be the most extensive of any in
the United States. The boy said that he had been
taught that where there was a will there was a way,
and that he believed in the truth of the adage. That he
had heard of Mr. Greeley's success, and Mr. Bennett's,
success, and of the success of a few other journalists of
the country, and told Mr. Messenger, the proprietor, and
Mr. Lombard, the foreman of 'the office at that time,
that they would live to see him editing a newspaper of
larger circulation than any newspaper, and that he
would before his death be able to extend to them hos
pitalities in the city where he would be conducting
business, surrounded by friends and possessing influence.
The idea seemed so absurd that he was laughed at,
and the employes of the office oftentimes in derision
spoke of him as the city editor, and sneeringly looked
forward in argument to the time when he would be ed
iting a daily newspaper in New York, and they would
be working at the case, of course in some country news
paper office. But he worked on, determined to win or
die in the attempt. He said that what others had done
he could do : that what others had done he would do,
and more. That though he was then poor, the time
would come when he would be rich, and when he would
have influence. " That the habits he had been taught in
his childhood would last him through life, and make of
him a laboring man ; that the religious instruction and
temperance lessons he had received by precept and ex-

44 LIFE OF
ample, with the determination to be a man, he believed
would effectually protect him from the snares and temp
tations which so often ruin the young men of the
country, and carry down to bitter graves the old men
of the land.
His office companions asked him how he would reach
this end — how he would ever own a printing-office:
asked him if he had rich relatives, or if he expected to
find a gold-mine, or that some magician's waiid would
lift out of the streets of New York an office ready built
to his hands ? His reply to them was, that he intended
to make his office by working for it : that he intended
to save' his money, to work hard, to start with a little
printing-office; to add to it, and work earnestly and con
tinually for some one object till that object be accom
plished. That he should make his paper, when he grew
up, the friend of the working-man, and the friend of the
boys of the country, in hojpes of being of some benefit
to them ; to encourage them to exertions in their own
behalf, and their homes, and that he knew that, this de
termination firmly planted in his heart, there would be
no such word as fail. Sitting by the stove in the
printing-office, by the light of a candle, with arms bared,
printer's ink-marks on clothes, hands, and face, he has
for hours, when the labors of the day were done, inter
ested the apprentices and journeymen of the office, and
at timies his employers, as we learn from them, by mak
ing out in argument the course he was to pursue as he

MARK M. POMEROT. 45
worked on to reach the goal of his ambition. So earn
est was he, that Mr. Messenger informs us, before he had
been in the office a year, he converted many of the hands
working in the office to believe that the time would
come when the white-haired appreiitice-boy would be
come the editor, if not of the largest paper in the world,
of one of the largest and most influential.
His habits in the office were those of economy. His
labor was always well and promptly done. No matter
how severe the task, he went at it with the determina
tion to accomplish it ; and he always did accomplish it
with satisfaction to his employers and credit to himself
He received for his first year's - salary in the office the
sum of $30.00, which sum was expected to clothe him
and furnish him with what spending money he might
deem it necessary to use. It was not a large sum for a
boy to clothe himself with, especially when his ward
robe to start with was but meager, but was more than
sufficient for his needs, as, at the expiration of the first
year, he had saved from his earnings of $30.00, the, to
him, very large sum of $28.00. It is true that his ex
penses were more than two dollars per year; but he
had a New Year's Address, from which he realized
$21.00, the largest sum ever realized by a carrier-boy,
at that time, in that place ; and had made a few dollars
by trading in watches, knives, second-hand pistols, old
shot-guns, and such property which he would buy, put
in order, and sell for what they were worth, or trade —

46 LIFE OP
every time bettering himself — and at last dispose of
them for something of use.
A good story is told of him in Corning, which is
vouched for as true by many of the residents there, and
acknowledged to be true by Pomeroy himself A Jew
dealer in clothing sold him, when an apprentice, a pair
of pants, which proved to be of very rotten material, and
worth not over one-half of their cost. He was advised
by Mr. Messenger to take the goods back and exchange
them for a better pair. The dealer took advantage of
the boy's ignorance as to the worth of clothing, and
charged him double- price. He refused to take them
back to the clothier's, but said he would wait and get
even with him, which he did. On the side-hill on the
mountain side of Corning were rattlesnakes, sometimes
of large size. They were looked upon as objects of cu
riosity ; and where the people were afraid of them, they
were willing to look at them properly caged.
On one occasion he had traded for a watch, which,
from some cause or other, refused to keep time. On a
Sunday afternoon he bet three apples with one of the
boys in the office that he could take the watch to pieces
and put it together again, a job he- never had attempted
before. His reason for thinking he could was, that his
father was a watchmaker, and that what the father
could do the son should do likewise. So, armed with
some impromptu screw-drivers made from darning-
needles and knife-blades, he took the watch to pieces,

MARK M. POMEEOT. 47
cleaned it with an old tooth-brush, spread the several
parts of the machinery about on the composing-stone in
the office, and all one Sunday afternoon spent his time
putting it together again. He succeeded in finding a
place for every thing, and getting every thing in its
place, as he thought, with the exception of one wheel,
which he could not possibly find a place for. He took
it out of the watch, but it was an impossibility to get it
in again. He could make the watch run without that
wheel, but, as he could not find the proper place for it,
he lost his wager. He could wind the watch up, but it
would not stay wound ; and the moment he -withdrew
the key from the standard it would run down with a
whirring noise not unlike that of a rattlesnake when in
danger or when it gave warning. He carried this watch
in his pocket for two or three days, wondering what to
do -with it. Atlast an idea struck him ; he saw, back of
a drugstore over which the printing-office was located, a
piece of a tarred rope, which reminded him in size and
length of a rattlesnake. He put this rope in a small box
taken from the rubbish behind the store, nailed some
slats over it, to see if he could not sell it that same night
to the Jew who had sold him the pants, to be kept by
him as a curiosity. The better to carry out his design,
he wound up his watch, took the box under his arm,
and, with one hand to keep the key on the standard of
the watch, that it should not run down till the proper
time, when he would withdraw the key ; and the whir-

48 LIFE OP
ring noise of the machinery in the watch, with his box
held against the vest pocket where the watch was con
tained, resembled the whirring of a rattlesnake. So
complete was the deception that he even fooled Mr.
Messenger and the employes of the office.
When he wanted the imaginary snake to rattle, he
would wind up the watch till they poked it with a stick,
when he would withdraw the key, and the whirring
noise would commence and continue for half a minute
or so.
With this stock-in-trade he visited the Jew clothing
dealer, who asked what he had. He said it was a big
rattlesnake, a new style never before seen in that coun
try, and one that would bring a great deal of money if
Barnum had it. Barnum was then in the height of his
career. The merchant wished to , see it. The boy re
fused. He did not like to j)ut it down on the floor, for
it might get out ; " and," said he, " if it should happen
to get out of this box, all of you would be scared to
death." The merchant wanted to know if it would rattle. He
said, " Yes, at times, if sufficiently irritated." Taking a
piece of a long sliver, he thrust it in between the slats
of the box, in which he could see a long, dark-looking
object coiled up in some straw, whereupon Pomeroy
withdrew the watch-k^y, and the whirring noise com
menced. The Jew jumped back affrighted, and said,

MARK M. POMEROT. 49
" Mine Gott ! he's got him zure. Vat vill you takes for
him ?"
After some little bargaining Pomeroy sold the new
style of rattlesnake for a pair of doeskin pants, the best
there were in the store. He did not effect a sale until he
had gone out two or three times to wind his watch, and
let the Jew irritate the snake, when it would commence
its whirring noise. The bargain was made, the pants
delivered, and the box was, by Pomeroy, taken down
stairs and deposited in the cellar with instructions not
to disturb it till next morning, which was Sabbath,
when he could invite his friends in and show it. The
result of the trade was a pair of pants worth at that
time six dollars and a half, much better than the pair
he had bought and been cheated on. In the afternoon,
on passing the store with a friend, he discovered the
box, the dirty coil of rop§, and the straw lying in front
of the store,' and that night came very near being
whipped by the indignant Jew, who said he had been
humbugged. Pomeroy said no, he had not been hum
bugged but simply rattlesnaked out of a pair of pants.
He said : " I think you and I are just about even. You
sold me a pair of pants which were not as they were
represented, and I have got even by selling you a
rattlesnake of a new kind, something never before seen
in this country." As Pomeroy was with one or two of
his companions, the merchant thought the job was a
3

50 LIFE OF
little more than he wanted to wallop the aforesaid,
contented himself by swearing roundly, and telling him
never to enter his store again ; to which he replied that
he would not unless he wanted to buy a pair of pants
or sell a snake, in which case he would most likely call
upon him.

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 51

CHAPTER VH.
Boyish follies.— Beer story.— Codflshery.— Three celehrities.
As a raider Pomeroy was an eminent success. If
there was a grape-vine, or an apple-tree that bore good
apples, or melon-patch that had nice melons at the
proper season, anywhere near there, that he did not
find it out and, in company with a set of companions,
of whom he was the chosen leader, visit the aforesaid
place, it was news to the inhabitants of Corning. No
matter how carefully the products of the garden would
be guarded, how many watch-dogs employed, or how
many men hired to defend the premises or guard
against depredators, by some trick or bribery, coaxing
or inducement, he would always succeed in lulling the
suspicions of the guard, and either bear off himself the
coveted plunder or would entertain them while his
companions would secure the same.
Soon after the great fire in Corning, while he was an
apprentice boy in the office, the room underneath the
printing-office was occupied by a grocery firm. The
building was rather a primitive one, built for immediate
use upon the ruins of a better building, and was noth
ing more than a wooden structure hastily put up.

52 LIFE OF
Standing one day in the second story of the building
thinking of something, knocking with his heel at a knot
in the floor, he knocked the knot through, and it fell
into the store below. Looking through the hole, which
was perhaps two inches across, he saw directly under
neath it on the counter several beer-bottles, or bottles
containing" small-beer, and glasses, it being a part of
the buiiiness of the occupants below to sell small-beer,
confectionery, fruit, pies, cakes, etc. Seeing a bottle
of beer underneath was to covet it ; but how to get it
was a mystery. He had money to buy it; but the
trick was to get it without buying. In the ruins of a
hardware store he had, a few days previous, found a
very large fish-hook, which he had saved and brought
to the office for some purpose, at that time he did not
know what, but said : " It might be handy to have
around the house should it ever be needed. " A novel
idea of obtaining the beer took possession of him. He
tied this hook to a piece of twine, and had two or three
boys go down in front and engage the attention of the
man, while he let the hook through the knot-hole down
till it reached a bottle, where, after considerable skir
mishing, he succeeded in fastening it to the string
which held the cork in place. No sooner was it caught
fast, than he drew the bottle up to the floor, the hole
just admitting the neck of the same. In order to
strengthen the floor of the printing-office, the joists
had been placed very close together, so that the bottle

MARK M. POMEEOT. 53
when drawn up between them was out of the reach of
observation, except to a very close observer, from the
store beneath. Tying the bottle to the leg of a case,
he removed the cork ; but how to get the beer out was
another question. He solved this by going to the tin-
shop and having a chum make for him a long tube two
feet long, a sort of metallic straw, through which the
employes of the office took turns in sucking the afore
said small-beer. When the bottle was emptied, two or
three of the boys would go down stairs again and en
tertain the merchant, who was not able to hire a clerk,
when the bottle would be lowered to its place on the
counter, and after another skirmishing and wriggling
of the hook another bottle would be fastened upon and
drawn up to the floor above. This mode of procur
ing beverage was carried on for some weeks, the mer
chant below wondering how so many bottles should be
emptied and" he not know anything about it. Some
times half a dozen or more bottles a day would be
emptied in this manner. On one occasion, while stand
ing in the door engaged in conversation with a con
federate of the beer-raiser, he by accident turned
around and saw the bottle following a string up toward
the ceiling. He says : " My God ! I've found the
leak at last." Coming up stairs indigijant, he insisted
that he should have Pomeroy arrested ; but the hands
of the office laughed at him so much for not appreciat
ing a good joke, that he sent up half a dozen bottles

64 LIFE OF
of small-beer rather than have the matter published.
Nailing a piece of sheet-iron over the knot-hole, he
departed a wiser if not richer man. But Pomeroy kept
the hook and string for other spoils.
On one occasion a hogshead of codfish was brouglit
back of the store, directly under the window at the
rear of the printing-office, and the parties in the store
were engaged in carrying the codfish in baskets down
to the cellar, where it might be kept moist. Looking
out of the window, he discovered this new fishing-
ground, and with his fish-hook and cord succeeded,
between trips of the merchant, in raising from the
hogshead up to the window five or six large codfish,
which were kept there until the merchant had emptied
the hogshead and rolled it away, when all but one of
them were dropped out of the window on to the back
steps, and the merchant wondered for an hour where in
thunder those lost codfish came from. Looking out
of the front window, he saw a deacon of one of the
churches, who was noted for his parsimonious habits, and
of whom it was said that he had not the rights of
property defined in his own mind as he should have
had. As the man jumped into his wagon to start off, Pome
roy threw the codfisji out of the window at him, and it
struck on the seat beside him, when the very honest
deacon put spurs to his horses, and went on without

MARK M. POMEROT. 55
stopping to see where it came from or who sent it to
him. While at work in the office of the Journal at Corning
as apprentice,. D. R. Locke, who has won a national
notoriety as "Petroleum V. Nasby," was a journeyman
printer in the same office. For a long time there was an
irrepressible conflict between Locke and Pomeroy as to
which should play the best practical joke upon the
other. Numerous were the jokes, and some of them
rather severe, played both ways, till at last Locke gave
up and proposed an armistice.
On one occasion, of a Sunday afternoon, instead of
attending church, the boys from the printing-office went
upon the hillside to gather chestnuts, at that time just
falling from the trees, by aid of a little shaking of the
branches, or threshing of the sanje with a pole. Pome
roy, being rather good at climbing, and somewhat, at
home in the branches of a chestnut-tree, if not in the
different branches of education, was selected as the one
to thresh out the chestnuts for his companions to pick
up. He commenced his work, and threshed away at the
different tree-tops till nearly nightfall, when the others
had secured about half a bushel of the nuts. They had
filled all their pockets full. When he came down from
the last tree and proposed to have them divide, they
could not see it, and Locke insisted upon it that they
had done exactly as they agreed — that Pomeroy had

56 LIFE OF
threshed out and they had picked up, and that if he
wanted any more chestnuts he could get them ; when,
with their pockets full and his nearly empty, the party
returned to the house of Mr. Messenger in time for
supper. After supper, while he was away from the house,
they hid their chestnuts in the rubbish-room, and pro
posed to keep them there till such a time as they might
be wanted. In the evening Pomeroy returned while the
others were out. On learning that they had hidden
their chestnuts somewhere about the house, he searched
for an hour till he found them in three or four different
hiding-places, aided in a measure by the servant girl —
who was always his friend — and then hid the nuts in
another and safer place, where Eliza and himself — ^Eliza
being the girl's nam^jr— found and enjoyed them during
the winter. Locke and the other printers insisted upon
it that it was an almighty mean trick, to which Pomeroy
assented,, but never restored to the disconsolate printers
their nuts.
The office of The Corning Journal, by the way, is
noted for having drawn out three very successful men,
who either began life at the case or press in that office,
or who worked there ; and all of whom worked together
at the same time, sat at the same table in Mr. Messen
ger's house, and occupied the same room for a number
of months. No other one printing-office in this country

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 57
or in any other country has turned out three as success
ful men, as has this office, — all of them springing from
the humblest walks of life, and all of them, Jjy attention
to business, winning great success.
One of them is M. M. Pomeroy, who began in that
office -without a shilling, and who now, despite differ
ences of political opinion between the editor of the
Journal, who was at one time his employer, and himself,
looks upon the office and its editor, G. W. Pratt, with
more than kindly feelings and interest.
The second notability, if we may use the word, is D.
R. Locke, whose reputation as the author of the
Nasby Papers is well-known throughout the country.
The other is W. L. Halsey, at present a very wealthy
citizen of New York, and a partner in the Overland
Stage Company's line - to California, and also a holder
of large interests in other extensive companies' banking
and steamboat institutions of the country. Side by side,
month by month, poor, but always looking confidently
to the future, and determined to bring out of that future
success, these three young men worked. They all left
the office about the same time, each going in different
directions — each winning wealth, popularity, and the
confidence of their respective friends. While at work
in the office as an apprentice, many is the night, after
all others had left the office, Pomeroy would work there,
oftentimes till nearly morning, at extra or piece-work.

£8 LIFE OP
earning from a quarter to- half a dollar a night, which
was accredited to him by his employer, and in time
paid to him.
One of the then employes of the office, at that time a
journeyman, as he is now a journeyman compositor in a
country village in this State, informs us that many a night
when returning home from a party or concert or some
place of amusement, he has seen alight in the office, and
on going there found Pomeroy at work at the case, with
flickering tallow-candle beside him, setting dirty type for
a shilling per thousand ems, or setting up some fancy
job, obtaining a proof of the same, then distributing the
type to its proper place, and in the morning showing his
job of work to Mr. Messenger, and asking his opinion
of the same ; and asking him also for advice or sug
gestions how to improve upon the beauty of the work.
So earnest and determined was he to become a printer,
that in less than one year he had charge of the job de
partment of the office and set nearly every job, great
and small, that came into the concern, and earned con
siderable money by working the same on the press at
night, or by setting type. Often has he worked for the
other journeymen after his labors were done, sometimes
using his time till nearly morning, that they might have
recreation, attend parties, or have play-spells out of the
office. One secret of his success lies in the fact that he very
seldom squandered money foolishly. He was always

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 59
willing to work ; if he could not receive large wages he
was willing to take up with small, rather than be idle.
In this way he perfected himself, and set an example
that other printers and working-men of the land would
do well to follow. His employer finding him faithful
and determined, soon found it to his interest to give him
good wages, and put him upon good work as he was
able to do it, and advance him, step by step, for the in
terest of both boy and man, as all good employers will
do in protection of their own interests, on learning that
a man in their employ is willing to make himself useful.
Mr. Messenger had the reputation of being the best job
printer in th,at section of the country, and as his succes
sors in office did not pay that attention to job printing
and were not so well qualified to teach that branch of
the trade, so soon as Mr. Messenger had bought him a
new office at Waverly, a few miles distant on the line
of the Erie Railway, which office was well stocked with
new material, at the solicitation of Mr. Messenger, and
-with the consent of the proprietors of the Journal-office,
to whom Mr. Messenger sold, the better to finish his
education, and learn the mysteries of printing to perfec
tion, as well as to be with those who had been kind to
him when he came to Corning poor and unknown, he
bid good-bye to his friends in Corning, and joined his
formei- employer in Waverly, with as much attention to
deviltry as to . printing, for upwards of a year, till Mr.
Messenger left for Canada, where he is now engaged in

60 LIFE OP
the printing business. The residents of Waverly re
member him well as a printer's boy, and a sort of wild
one at that ; as one full of life, of fun, and mischievous
pranks, but one whose character for truth, integrity,
kindness of heart, and attention to business never had
been questioned by any who knew him.

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 61

CHAPTER Vm.
Mark falls in love.— How a joke terminated.— Goes to Canada.— Returns to
Waverly and finds his lady-love married.— He marries one he lovea
better. For a time he resided in Waverly, and worked hard
at his business, forming in the mean time many pleasant
acquaintances, and falling. desperately in love with a
handsome -young lady, whose relatives refused their
consent to a marriage, for the reason that he was " a
poor, dirty-fingered type-sticker," and " that it was be
neath the dignity of an aristocratic family to permit the
marriage of the daughter with a cornmon mechanic. "
After some little skirmishing, trouble, and so forth,
and the usual number of disappointments in love mat
ters, the young lady was sent to school; and in the
autumn of 1853, to better his condition by working at
case, Mark went to Canada.
Mr. Messenger had been obliged to close business at
Waverly, and had moved to Canada West, where he
accepted the foremanship of an office at Brantford. He
kindly offered his old " devil" a situation at good wages,
six dollars a week, out of which immense sum Mark had
to board himself.

62 LIFE OF
He worked in Brantford, in the Courier office, four
weeks, receiving for four weeks' work twenty-four dol
lars, sixteen of which he had to pay for board. The
week days were spent in labor; Sundays in writing
love-letters, which never reached their destination, and
the nights in study, or in making raids upon the grape
ries and melon-patches of the city. On one occasion,
with two companions, he walked three miles, each of
the three carrying a large coffee-sack filled with fine
watermelons (so they thought) from the garden of a
wealthy farmer. They lugged the stolen melons to the
office, and, on arriving ther^, about midnight, struck a
light, and found to their chagrin, upon emptying their
bags and examining the contents, that every water
melon they had stolen was a citron.
Those who have been engaged in like scrapes, can
well imagine the surprise and disgust of the young
rogues; but they sold out the citrons to a grocery-
keeper, who disposed of them for preserving purposes,
and realized a handsome sum from the mistake.
During his stay in Brantford, Mark was only remark
able for being the leader in all adventures for fun pecu
liar to young men.
In the early winter of the same year, Mark went to
Simcoe, Canada West, as a compositor in a weekly
newspaper-office, from which he was discharged for his
joking propensity.
On one occasion, when employed to clean a press, he

MAEK M. POMEEOY. 63
bought a bundle of paper-rags from a hardware store.
In this bundle he found an old petticoat, which he hung
up in a little closet, or private rubbage-room under the
stairs of the main printing-office, using the rest of the
rags to clean the press with.
A few days after the work was finished, the wife of
the proprietor came into the office, and, woman-like,
looked curiously around in every possible place to see
what important discovery she could make. At length
she opened this closet-door and found the mentioned
garment, hanging there in full sight, when she indig
nantly demanded the meaning of her husband, who
expressed ignorance of its being there, and said that
it meant nothing, and that he did not know what it
all amounted to any way ; and as he said this, Mark,
who was standing working at the case a little dis
tance from him, remarked in a low tone,
" Why, Mr. Clancy !"
His wife, of course, insisted upon having an explana
tion, and asked Mark if he knew anything of the gar
ment. His reply was :
" That is too old a petticoat for me to know anything
about !"
A scene ensued ; the result was that Mark was dis
charged for running a joke of this kind upon the pro
prietor, a corpulent Irishman.
He then went to the office of the Advocate, and at
once procured a situation as foreman of that establish-

64 LIFE OP
ment, at larger wages ; which position he retained until
the middle of winter, when he started on a tramp, in
hopes of finding more profitable business in which he
could make money enough to pay his passage to Cali
fornia, in the event of his not being able to marry the
young lady to whom' he was at that time still engaged.
Leaving Simcoe one day in the stage, Mark reached
the village of Gait, a little while after dark. Applied
at once for a situation in a country office, and was so
fortunate as to secure one immediately on piece-work.
The paper, owing to a scarcity of hands, was one or two
days behind, and Mark was employed to work with two
or three other printers, until all the type for the paper
should have been set up. The job, it was thought,
would be finished by six o'clock in the morning. He
worked earnestly and faithfully at the case, by the light
of two tallow-candlies, until he had put in type one
column of matter, when the proprietor of the concern
found fault with the change of a word Mark made in
the copy in order to correct a grammatical error. He
discovered the change in reading the proof, and com
menced cursing the young man for making it, who made
no reply but went to work to fill his case, to put another
column in type; but instead of distributing dead mat
ter, he distributed the live matter he had just set up !
He passed a wet sponge over the form, threw the type
back in the case, leaving it, as he found it, in good
order, then washing his hands, he put on his coa.t and

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 65
hat, and went down stairs, without 'waiting for his pay
for either the work or the mischief
This incident was only a faint indication of the natu
ral independence which now characterized the every
action of M. M. Pomeroy, aud an index to the character
of the man who believes in getting even with those
who wrong him.
At four o'clock that same morning he took passage
in the stage for Guelph, a pleasant village, some miles
distant. The morning was intensely cold, and the
sleighing being very fine, he, seated by the side of the
driver, whose stage carried the mail, enjoyed his ride
very much indeed.
After they had gone a few miles, the driver com
plained of being cold, and Mark told him that he might
get out and run behind the stage, and that he would
hold on to the reins, and when he got in again then it
would be his (Mark's) turn, and he would get out and
run, so they could both be warm.
The driver got out and ran behind the sleigh some
little ' distance, telling Mark to drive faster, that he
might have more exercise. He put the whip to the
horses, and started off on a run of about three-quarters
of a mile, leaving the stage-driver far behind, who ran
and yelled with all his might, crying " Stop thief! stop
thief!" fearing that Mark intended running away with
the team and the queen's mail.
After giving him a nice run, the horses were steadied

66 LIFE OP
down to a more moderate gait, and he overtook the
stage, threatening to " mash his bloody head" if ever he
played that trick on him again. Mark told him that
" he would not do it again, and, if it would be all the
same to him, he would just as soon as not have his head
mashed, but let alone."
The driver laughed at this as a good joke, and on
they went until they reached the stage-office and hotel
at Guelph. When the horses were put up, Mark stood
treat to some Scotch whisky, and the little exploit of
the early morning was entirely forgiven.
For several weeks Pomeroy worked in Guelph, taking
the place in the office of the Guelph Advertiser of one
of the employes who was ill at that time. The paper
was edited by a worthy gentleman by the name of
Smith, who treated the stranger with great kindness
and courtesy during all of his stay there. On the day
he left, which was not until the gentleman whose place
he had taken had fully recovered his health, Mr. Smith
gave him a check on the bank for fifty-six dollars, more
money than he had before possessed in all his life.
With this money in his pocket, together with a few
dollars he had previously saved, in the early spring of
1864 he left Guelph and went to Waverly, where he
arrived in time to find the young lady to whom he was
engaged married, and all his hopes of happiness in that
direction dashed to the earth. He then returned to the

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 67
home of his uncle, Mr. White, in Southport, near El
mira, where he remained most of the summer.
In the autumn of the same year, George W. Pratt,
of the Journal at Corning, wrote Pomeroy to come to
his office, and begged that he would accept the situa
tion of foreman. He responded promptly to the call ;
but the wages offered, although sufficient to cover his
expenses, he deemed scarcely worth the services he
knew he could render Mr. Pratt. So Mark told him, if
he did not consent to pay him a fair salary, which was
the moderate sum of seven dollars a week, he would go
to New York, buy a job-o.ffice, and start it in opposition
to him. Mr. Pratt, knowing that the young man had
no money, laughed at his, -as he thought, idle threat.
Mark had at that time twenty dollars, with which
amount he started for New York. Upon arriving in
this great cosmopolitan emporium, he called at the type-
foundry of White & Webb, stated to them that he
was a young printer — a poor young man just coming
of age, without friends whose means would allow them
to assist him — that he wanted to buy six hundred dol
lars worth of printing material, for which he would give
a mortgage on the property, and pay them in monthly
instalments, until the whole debt was cancelled ; which
proposition was rejected.
He then, no ways discouraged — for even in those days
Mr. Pomeroy did not exactly understand the meaning

68 LIFE OF
of the word "fail" — called at the foundry of James
Connor & Sons, and introduced himself to James Con
ner, the senior member, of the ,.firm, who invited the
young man into his private office, where they conversed
some time. The result was, Mr. Connor instructed Mark
to select such materials as he needed, saying that he
would trust him upon his honor — that he thought he
would pay, and he was willing to encourage every young
man who he thought was honest and ambitious. Mr.
Pomeroy thus feelingly speaks of his early friend :
" Mr. Connor struck me ^s being one ^of the best-
hearted men I ever saw ; and no one can tell the feeling
of gratitude, almost of veneration, I had for him when
he gave me the Specimen-book of his foundry, with
liberty to select therefrom such articles as I needed for
my little office. His kindness gave me confidence ; his
advice strength ; the aid he then gave me made me his
friend forever; and I would have suffered every cent I
had in the world to be taken from me before I would
have cheated him out of one penny."
The office was duly paid for as agreed upon, and
when Mr. Connor died a few years since, no printer in
all the land, or no friend outside his own family, felt
sadder than did the once poor boy he helped through
his first venture.
Upon the hand-press and type purchased from Mr.
Connor, the enterprising journalist established a small
job-office in Corning, and in the Spring of 1854 began

MARK M. POMEEOT. 69
the publication of a little paper the size of a sheet of
commercial note-paper, which he called The Sun. First
he published one thousand copies for gratuitous circula
tion. It was filled with local items, and a few adver
tisements of the leading merchants of the place, who
jointly paid enough to secure fair wages, and no more,
for the week,jind also the expenses he had incurred in
getting out the little paper, which had probably cost
six dollars a thousand.
The Sun attracted considerable attention, for it con
tained some good local hits ; and the people seemed
anxious to see the next issue of it.
The advertisements came pouring in, the demand for
it increased, and in a short time Mr. Pomeroy commenced
its regular publication ; made it a good-sized sheet,
and a prosperous local country paper, when in the"
Spring of 1855, he sold the office for thirteen hundred
dollars, being twice as much as it cost.
In order to make Mr. Connor secure in his payments,
Mr. Pomeroy had taken into the office with him a printer
by the name of P. C. Van Gelder, who retained his in
terest in the paper until they sold it to the Rev. Ira
Brown, who changed the name of the paper from The
Sun to the Democrat or Corning Democrat, which is
now edited by his son Frank Brown.
Mark then went to New York, and purchased a small
card-press and some type, with which he returned to

70 LIFE OF
Corning, and for a stated sum per week, put it in the
office of the Journal, and took the foremanship of that
office, which never was in a more prosperous condition
or did a larger business than while he was working there
with his little press and new type.
While engaged in the publication of the Sun, just be
fore its sale, he married. Miss Anna K. Wheeler, of Cor
ning, a young lady who was connected with one of the
oldest families of Broome County, New York.

MAEK M. POMEROY. 71

CHAPTER IX.
Goes West to seek his fortune.
In the Fall of 1855, Mr. Pomeroy was solicited by the
citizens and business men of Athens, Pennsylvania, to
remove his press, type, and other little articles he had
accumulated, to that village, and engage in the publi
cation of a newspaper called the Athens Gazette, which
he did, and continued publishing it until the Spring of
1857, giving the paper a good local name, but failing to
draw from it anything more than enough to pay ex
penses. "In fact," says Mr. Pomeroy, "many and
many a day, while engaged as editor of that paper,
working at the press and case myself, with but one
journeyman printer, who is now, by the way, in my em
ploy in New York, and has been a long time with me
in La Crosse — my family and myself were entirely des
titute of sufficient food wherewith to make a meal. I
remember even now, with gratitude, the kindness of
some of the citizens there, who brought in from their
gardens eariy vegetables and choice bits of meat, little
thinking that they were the only delicacies that we had
had for many days ; not but they could be had in the
place, but money was required with which to purchase

72 LIFE OP
them, and money I could not get only in quantities suf
ficient to pay my help, and for the paper and ink used
in the office."
In 1856, he was employed by Col. Piolett, a wealthy,
prominent Democratic politician of that county, to pub
lish a campaign paper for him, edited by a lawyer,
Frank Smith, of Troy. His work on this paper amount
ed to two hundred dollars, which was the largest sum
of money ever received by Mr. Pomeroy while in Penn
sylvania, and was looked upon by him as an immense
job. In the Spring of 1857, with less than twenty-one dol
lars in his pocket, but having free passes over the rail
road from Wav-erly, a village four miles from Athens,
to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in company with his wife, he
left Pennsylvania to seek his fortune in the West, among
the young men from the East, and the pioneers of that
country. In Mr. Pomeroy's words, " The future was all
before me, I had everything to make, and nothing to
lose. I had pluck, and ambition ; had paid my debts,
though it impoverished my purse ; and with a stiff up
per lip, and a stout heart, struck out for the land of the
prairies, determined to build myself up with that coun
try, and to make a home for my family, and a reputa
tion for myself, if it were possible so to do there
among strangers."
In April, 1857, Mr. Pomeroy aiid his family arrived

MARK M. POMEEOT. 73
at Horicon, Wisconsin, with only seventy-four cents in
his po'cket. Here he found an old printing-office, from
which a paper had been issued until its editor had be
come too poor to continue the publication, when it was
discontinued. An old hand-press and some dirty type weve stowed
away in a small room, and amounted in value to about
seven hundred dollars. This material he purchased
from Mr. Croft, the owner thereof, for the price above-
named, payable, three hundred dollars at the end of the
first year, two hundred more at the end of the second,
and the remainder at the end of the third year, with the
usual rate of interest.
Giving his note for this old material,, he at once took
possession of the office, and with sleeves rolled up, went
to work cleaning the materials and putting the press in
working order. After a few days' hard work, he suc
ceeded in getting the material in very good shape, and,
within a week or two, issued the first number of the
country newspaper called The Horicon Argus.
When he took hold of the office, he had not as much
as half a dollar; not a cent of money to buy wood, ink,
paper, or to pay the employes. The wood needed,
Mark lugged on his back from the sawmill, taking from
the refuse piles, boards, slats, knots, and so forth. He
was too poor to buy potash to make lye to clean the
type, so he improvised a " leech" by filling an old nail-
4

74 LIFE OF
keg with ashes and manufacturing therefrom lye suf
ficient to boil the type, which he did, and then -boiled
it in water, until it was thoroughly cleaned.
He then sent to Milwaukee for a bundle of paper, and
asked credit for it, to the amount of six dollars, for one
week. The paper came, to collect on delivery. He had
no money to take it out of the office, and debated for a
long time whether he should borrow the money or
return the paper, having, at that time, work enough
then in the office to more than pay for the paper, the
overplus being enough to pay for two or three editions
of the weekly issue.
Upon examination, he found the paper to be of very
inferior quality, and at once returned it to the dealers in
Milwaukee, objecting to the quality, and also to their
disregard of his instructions as to sending it, he want
ing credit and . they wanting it paid for on delivery.
By the next mail an answer came, stating that they
would send better paper, and also give credit for it.
Whereupon Mr. Pomeroy ordered one hundred dollars
worth of paper, to be paid for in thirty days. It came
in due time, and made a cart-load, which was more
paper than had ever been seen in that town at one time,
which of course attracted considerable attention, and
led people to suppose that the new editor must be a
man of great wealth to be able to buy one hundi-ed dol
lars worth of paper at once.
While this paper was on the road, it having become

• MARK M. POMEROT. ' 75
known that Mr. Pomeroy intended to resurrect the
local newspaper, a few subscriptions came into the office,
amounting in the aggregate to nearly twenty dollars,
which enabled him to pay the freight on the paper, and
to have a little money in his pocket.
In due time the paper came out, well-filled with local
and interesting miatter — original and entertaining — and
it became a success from the first number, under Mark's
management. It attracted a great deal of attention,
and in a short tinie was looked upon as one of the best
local papers in Wisconsin, if not in the entire West.
It was often quoted, sometimes strongly censured, very
often laughed at, sometimes praised, and thus won its
way into notoriety, and became a source of profit to its
publishers. Mr. Pomeroy was always ready to defend
his friends, or to make war upon anybody who attacked
the newspaper, the Democracy it advocated, or the
friends of the paper, and had a great many newspaper
controversies, spats, and repartees, which added very
much to its interest and its reputation.

76 ¦ LIFE OP

CHAPTER X.
He earns the name of " Brick."- Goes to Washington.
A FEW weeks after the paper became fully started, in
reply to an attack upon the village of Horicon by a rural
paper published in a Western village called Beaver
Dam, Mr. Pomeroy published a humorous burlesque — a
nonsensical bit of criticism, characteristically illustrat
ing .the people, their habits, and also the architecture
of the rural village. It was a new style of literature
never before attempted, and ran the rounds of the press
West and East.
The article was copied by George D. Prentice, of the
Louisville Journal, prefaced with the remark that the"
writer of that article, and especially the inventor of that
style of sarcasm, was a perfect brick.
A number of newspapers copied the article, with the
prefatory remarks of th^ Journal, endorsing the idea
that the man who could write or invent that style of
burlesque was indeed a perfect " Brick."
Soon after the appearance of this article, Mr. Pomeroy
took an active part in the Congressional campaign, aid
ing to secure the nomination and election of the Hon.
Charles H. Larrabee to Congress from that district, in

-MARK M. POMEROT. 77
the face of two thousand three hundred Republican
majority. To that election Mr. Pomeroy devoted all
his time and energies, and also all the money he could
get hold of.
The result of the campaign was, the election by nearly
one thousand majority, greatly to the surprise ^of the
Republicans and the delight of the Democrats of that
district, very many of whom gave the credit of the elec
tion to Mr. Pomeroy, and insisted that for this work, on
behalf of the Democracy, he deserved to be called not
onljr a "¦perfect brick," but that his name ought to be
changed by the Legislature from " M. M." to " Brick"
Pomeroy. Several of the editors of that district and State, and
quite a number of Democrats, at once took up the
sobriquet, mentioned him in the press as " Brick" Pom
eroy, and addressed letters to him by that name. He
used the signature in writing a few humorous articles,
and in a short time it became so completely attached to
his name that, until a very few years, not one man in a
hundred in the United States knew of him other than as
" Brick" Pomeroy.
Within a few months after starting in business at
Horicon, he was appointed one of the Deputy United
States Marshals of that State. He held his office through
M. J. Thomas, United States Marshal of Wisconsin
under James Buchanan, for several months, and was so
prompt, energetic, and reliable in the transaction of

78 LIFE OP
whatever business came into his hands, that he was
looked upon as one of the most efficient officers in the
State, and was given a great many very difficult tasks
to attend to, all of which were promptly and very satis
factorily performed, with profit to himself from the
legitimate fees and nothing more, as well as to the satis
faction of all parties concerned.
The earnings from this office amounted during the
year to several hundred dollars, which placed Mr. Pome
roy on a firm financial footing — the more so as he was
careful not to move beyond his means.
At the commencement of the quarrel between Douglas
and Buchanan, notwithstanding that he held office .under
the President and was liable to be removed by his order
at any moment, Pomeroy took sides personally and edi
torially with Mr. Douglas, endorsed his position, de
nounced that of the President in advance of any other
newspaper in the West, and from that time until the
day of Mr. Douglas' death was ranked among his most
intimate personal friends and most earnest political sup
porters. In 1868, Mr. Pomeroy left his office at Horicon in
charge of a foreman, still retaining the editorship and
proprietorship of the paper, but accepting the situation
of city editor of the Milwaukee Daily News, at a salary
of eight hundred dollars per year, a sum insufficient to
pay his board and family expenses.
During his connection with the Milwaukee News, he

MARK M. POMEROT. 79
Still retained his position as Deputy United States Mar
shal, but realized little profit from the office, as his
duties as city editor prevented him from making trips
into the country for the serving of writs and other pur
poses, except in extreme cases, where a prompt, decisive
man was required.
The Milwaukee News, while Mr. Pomeroy was editor,
was noted as one of the sharpest and most personal local
papers in the West. Its circulation more than doubled.
It was quoted all over the country, and some of the arti
cles, humorous and otherwise, published in many of the
papers, which gave both the paper and the writer con
siderable prominence in editorial and other circles.
A few months after he went to Milwaukee he sold the
paper in Horicon to the man he had . left in charge
thereof as foreman, realizing only a moderate profit in
the sale, after paying all his debts and liabilities ; leaving
the paper on a firm paying basis, with a circulation
equal to that of the largest and best-conducted country
newspapers in the State, if not in advance of most of
them. His reason for disposing of the Horicon paper
was, that he was promised a partnership in the Mil
waukee paper, on which he was still engaged ; but, for
some unaccountable reason, at the expiration of the first
year as city editor on the paper, there was perfect
willingness to allow him to continue as city editor, but
not to give him the partnership^interest which he had
been led to -expect. He thereupon went, at the expira-

80 LIFE OP
tion of his year, to Washington to gain a knowledge of
the manners, habits, and customs of politicians,- and to
see for himself of legislative doings, as well as to add a
little to his slender income by writing letters of corres
pondence from the Capital to some of the leading news
papers of the country.
He remained some months in Washington, mixing
with political men, and all the while earnestly support
ing Douglas against Buchanan. It being known that
Pomeroy had some frienTls in the West and entree to
Western newspapers, overtures were tnade by Mr.
Buchanan, through his confidential friends — first, for
him to desert Mr. Douglas and come out against him
thrOugt all the papers he could reach by letter and
otherwise, and to indorse Mr. Buchanan. Refusing to
thus desert a friend and turn against him, he was
offered the choice of several consulships or second-class
missions abroad to leave the country and not further
espouse the cause of the " Little Giant," as he was then
familiarly known. Refusing to desert Mr. Douglas and
his friends in the West, Mr. Pomeroy was soon after
notified that his services were no longer required as
Deputy U. S. Marshal, and the place which 4e had held
was sjiven to another.

MARK M. POMEROT. -81

CHAPTER XL .
In which he establishes the renowned La Crosse Democrat.
In the spring of 1860, after an eventful and interest
ing season at Washington, during which Mr. Pomeroy
wrote for several newspapers and furnished quite a num
ber of squibs to " Vanity Fair," then edited by " Arte-
mas Ward,".he returned West, arriving at Milwaukee
with a very few dollars in his pocket — richer only in
knowledge and experience gained in Washington.
Upon the solicitation of a few of the business men
of La Crosse, he made an exploring expedition to that
city, the result of which was, that he in time purchased
an interest in a paper then published and known as the
Union and Democrat, paying for the interest (sup
posed to be about half) $1,600, giving his notes there
for. He purchased the interest of Mr. C. P. Sykes,
a present resident of Boston, and for a number of
years a prominent Western man, who, soon after selling
his interest to Mr. Pomeroy, removed to Denver City,
where he amassed a considerable fortune in the gold-
mining business.
When Mr. Pomeroy took hold of the La Crosse paper,
it was with the distinct understanding that he was to
be financial and editorial manager thereof.
4*

82 LIFE OP
There were two partners in the concern besides him
self, each with a similar interest. A difference of opinion
arising between one of the partners and Mr. Pomeroy
as to the duty of Democrats in supporting Douglas or
Buchanan, led to the dissolution of the firm.
One of the partners insisted that the paper should not
¦be made a " Douglas" organ ; Mr. Pomeroy insisted that
it should ; the third party refused to decide whether it
should or should not espouse the Douglas cause, and
left the "irrepressible conflict" for the two senior
editors~to settle between themselves. Believing he had
a right to decide as to its political character according
to the terms of the contract made when he entered the
office, Mr. Pomeroy took the position he wished, and
made the paper a regular " Douglas" organ, greatly to
the disgust of the opposing faction and to the annoy
ance of the men there who held office under Buchanan.
One day, while this dispute was pending, he wrote an
editorial, "a leading article," and instructed its inser
tion in the small daily which was then being published,
leaving the office while it was being put in type. On
returning to the office, he found that the article had been
prepared, but that one of the partners had refused to
allow it to go in the paper, and had written an article
directly in opposition to his position, which he insisted
must go in as the leading editorial of that day. The
result was a quarrel in the office, the preparing for a
fight, and a war of words, in which Mr. Pomeroy came

MARK M. POMEROT. 83
off victorious, and took the offensive article out of the
form, placed his own in its stead, prepared the type,
made the press ready for work, and, with hat, coat, vest,
necktie, and suspenders off, with sleeves rolled up, he
stood in the office until the foreman had worked the
entire edition, which then numbered about two hundred
copies, from the press, when he retired, as the employes
of the office said, " the victor."
There were several mortgages on this office to secure
its payment and for the settlement of claims ; and the
partner with whom Mr. Pomeroy had the political diffi
culty, soon after the appearance of the paper containing
his editorial, gave the keys of the concern to one of the
mortgage holders, who foreclosed it at once, with the
intention of depriving Mr. Pomeroy of the interest in
the paper and the right to speak his sentiments.
The office remained closed for a day or two, when
Pomeroy kicked the door open, took possession, and
settled the claim in a manner satisfactory to the parties
holding it. He then purchased the interest of the gentle
man with whom he had had the difficulty, leaving but
one partner in the concern, who took charge of the local
department. During seven months' time, the office was closed nine
times by officers of the law under civil process ; and be
fore the end of the year, so great were the debts upon
it when Pomeroy took hold of it, and so deeply was it
involved, that he lost all the materials of the office, and

84 LIFE OP
found himself one morning devoid of printing material,
with a debt of over four thousand dollars on his shoul
ders, and not a dime in the world.
He then went to Chicago, stated his case to S. P.
Rounds, a prominent printer and dealer in printing ma
terials, who was once a po6r boy like himself, who gave
him credit for a hand-press and four hundred dollars'
worth of type, with which he returned to La Crosse,
and at once opened business again.
From this second beginning was built up a property
known as the "La Ceosse Democrat," and at present
he is holding real estate in La Crosse to the value of
nearly two hundred thousand dollars, and has made
the office one of the most valuable enterprises in the
known world.
When the office was taken from him the last time,
under the laws of Wisconsin he had an exemption of
two hundred dollars' worth of printing material, and,
through the kindness of the sheriff, who was responsible
to the parties for the safe keeping and delivery of the
type and press of the old office when it should be called
for, he was enabled to put the paper in type, and, though
he did not actually own a dollar's worth of printing ma
terials, by having it printed every day on the press of a
neighbor in a competing office, he issued the Democrat,
contrary to the expectations and against the wishes of
very many of his enemies, who wondered how it was
that a man whose office was closed by the sheriff, and

MARK M. POMEROT. 85
who had not a dollar's worth of type in the world, could
throw his paper on the street at the usual hour every
afternoon, with no one knowing where it was printed
and from whence it came.

86 LIFE OP

CHAPTER XIL
Mr. Pomeroy's ideas of justice. — His life is attempted.— He scorns to play
the hypocrite.
In the spring of 1860 Mr. Pomeroy attended the ses
sion of the Democratic National Convention at Balti
more as a " Douglas" man, returned home after his
nomination, organized a company of young men, known
as the " Douglas Rangers," in opposition to the " Wide
Awakes" who were then fiourishing in this republican
city. The paper was published at this time at no profit, the
Republican majority in the congressional district. State,
county, and city being overwhemningly against the
Democrats : with not- a man to aid him with money
other than the payment for work honestly done and for
the newspaper honestly furnished — with the Democrats
of that section, poor, in all save pluck — publishing a
Democratic newspaper in that part of Wisconsin, in a
district where every other democratic newspaper had
been starved out — was rather an up-hill business, but it
was continued without interruption.
When the war commenced, the paper — which Mr.
Pomeroy called the " Democrat," having dropped the

MAEK M. POMEROT. 87
word "Union" upon purchasing the third partner's
interest, which he did as soon as he was able — took
grounds against the coercion of the States, the depriving
them of any of their rights under the Constitution, no
matter what the States themselves saw fit to do — ^hold
ing that the rights they held were but held in trust for
posterity. He was opposed to secession, for the reason
that in his opinion the Confederation of the States
framed by our fathers was intended to be perpetual, and
that the West alone could not stem the tide of Radical
ism, which he clearly foresaw was intended to divide
the South and West, and array them against each other's
forces, — the one to help subjugate the other, and giving
as a result the enslavement of both sections to the grasp
ing radical power of New England, which waged war
against the producing sections of the country and
against the young men, particularly the laboring men,
of all sections.
Mr. Pomeroy advocated and demanded for posterity
the putting down of the Rebellion, which opposed the
continuance of the Confederation of the States, which
fired upon our national flag, and which sought to divide
the Union, for two reasons : one was his love for the
Union, the Constitution, the laws, and the Government
of the founders of the Republic; the second, that we in
time might have the South and West united for mutual
protection against the policy and schemes of New Eng-
aud, and the money-power which was growing up at

88 LIFE OP
the expense of patriotism, to strangle the industry of
the future and involve not only the resident white
working men of the North, but all new-comers who
should seek to escape the taxation and the aristocracy
of the old country by seeking a home in America under
a promise of an even voice in the Government as soon as
they becamS citizens; equal taxation for all, and a
governmental protection to rich and- poor alike. While
insisting on the restoration of the Union and of the
country and people to their allegiance to a common
Constitution, which was binding on a part only as it
was binding upon the whole, he criticised the acts of the
administration and the unholy conduct of the war.
He denounced as tyrannical, brutal, and unjust the
imbecilities of Mr. Lincoln, and the usurpation of power
appropriated by him, and those under him. He de
nounced as cowardly, wicked, infamous, and tyrannical
the arrest of private citizens and their incarceration in
dungeons for months, without a speedy trial by jury
promised them by the Constitution of our country. He
objected to the sacrifice of brave men, who were the
fighting soldiers of the land, under a lot of incompetent
officers taken from the " pot-houses" and " gutters" of
the country because they were -willing to become the
tools of a wicked, unjust, unprincipled, tyrannical, and
despotic administration.
He was strongly opposed to the continuation of the
war for the purpose of plunder only, and for the idea

MAEK M. POMEROT. 89
fl
of keeping in power an administration that was clearly
known to be against the interests of the very people
who were sustaining it.
Mr. Pomeroy strongly opposed the issuing of United
States bonds as antagonistic to American interests, argu
ing that the debts which were then being created were
at the expense of thosel who were doing the fighting,
and for the benefit of those who remained at home, and
who were by the legislation of the administration of
Liiicoln protected and exempted from taxation. He
opposed firmly, earnestly, and conscientiously the sacri
legious disregard of ~the Constitution under the plea
of " military necessity," holding that the Constitution
Was sufficient to protect the people in time of war as
well as in time of peace. He criticised the administra
tion always honestly, but often with great severity, and
was on several occasions offered by Mr. Lincoln, through
.prominent Republican politicians of the West and East,
commissions in the army and places of high authority
if he would consent to indorse the war as a whole, and
to indorse its manner of prosecution, and to refrain from
criticising the President on the plea or excuse that the
President was the Government and could never do any
wrong. These offers were refused on every occasion,
and Mr. Pomeroy continued his war against the course
pursued as against the rights of the States and the
people, and against the interests of this and future gen
erations of working men and producers.

90 LIFE OF
On several occasions Mr. Pomeroy's life was threat
ened and attempted. A number of times was his office
in danger of being destroyed by mobs, and was pro
tected by the citizens of La Crosse, who gave the infu
riated masses to understand that the destruction of his
property or the spilling of one drop of his blood, or the
destruction of the property of any Democrat, or the
spilling of one drop of Democratic blood there, would
be followed by the entire destruction of the city, regard
less of all and any consequences that might follow.
He took the ground that as long as there was a law,
to that law he was amenable, and to it he owed alle
giance ; that he owed allegiance to the law, for the reason
that it had a right to' punish and had power to protect
the citizen ; that when it failed to hold or exercise the
power to protect citizens, it was no longer a law, and
incapable of protecting or inflicting a punishment ; and
that when it failed to protect the citizen in his rights it
ceased to become a law, and he owed it from that time
no allegiance, was justified in defending himself, and
that from the moment he was in danger of losing life or
property from the weakness of the law or its inability to
protect him, no act of the person threatened could add
to his danger. On being sent out of the army in Ar
kansas, in 1862, he said to the general who sent him :
" Sir, to-day is yours-^to-morrow will be mine ; for,
with your record and my record I will go to the people,
and they shall decide."

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 91
He wrote to a friend :
" The army is rotten : not in its body, but its heads. ¦
The war is dishonest. It was begun by the people on
one side to save themselves, on the other to save the
Union; but it has become, through the corruption of
Lincoln's court and official minions, but a murderous
crusade for plunder and party power. Its aim is to
create a moneyed aristocracy — compel the people to
support it — and the time shall come, if God will spare
my life, when the people who are being murdered shall
know the crime committed against them. I will gain
an audience first, and then — woe betide the party now in
power. I will be no party to this robbery. They may
denounce me, but their children will not, for they shall
know the truth."
The criticism on the Administration was kept up from
its first usurpation of power, and its first disregard of
the rights of the people both North and South, until the
death of Mr. Lincoln, and then upon his followers from
that time on.
At the time of President Lincoln's assassination,
Pomeroy was at his home sick, having just arisen from.
the bed and able to sit in an easy-chair, anxiously wait
ing the time when in the physician's opinion he could
go to the office and to the labors of the sanctum. During
the forenoon of the day following the tragedy, while sit
ting in an easv-chair, an employ^ of the office came run
ning up with a dispatch stating that Lincoln had been

92 LIFE OF
killed and that Seward was not expected to live, his life
.h-aving been attempted. In a short time another courier
from the office came with the announcement that the
greatest excitement prevailed on the business streets of
the city, and that there was evidence of approaching
trouble from the hands of a mob of Republicans, who
claimed the assassination as the work of the Democratic
party. He stated also that it was threatened to at once
destroy the office of the La Crosse Democrat, for the
reason that during the campaign of 1864, while the po
litical excitement was at fever-heat, Mr. Pomeroy had
in his paper declared that if Lincoln was elected to. mis
govern the country for the next fojir years, as he had
for the past four, by the power of the bayonet over the
ballot, he trusted that some bold hand with a dagger-
point would pierce Lincoln's heart for the public good.
These were bolder words than were ever before spoken
under the administration of the one Pomeroy called a
tyrant. The second courier was followed by the third,
who stated that it was getting "red-hot" down town,
and without a doubt the office would be torn down and
its material thrown into the Mississippi river.
The employes of the office wished to know what
should be done, whether to fight or to leave. This
courier was followed by a letter from a Republican
business man of the city, stating that, as Mr. Lincoln
had been killed, the people were in a fearful state of ex
citement, and were arranging for the immediate destruc-

MARK M. POMEROT. 93
tion of the Democrat office, and the killing of the editor
thereof at once. He urged Mr. Pomeroy to take the
fastest team he could get, leave the city for some place
of security till night came, when he could escape the
country, unless he wished to die at the halnds of the
mob, the excitement being so great it would be impos
sible to restrain the mob, as the Republicans were
already fired with indignation at the course of the
Democrat (the paper even the Government dare not
suppress for fear of consequences), and at its continued
and bitter denunciations of Mr. Lincoln, his cabinet,
and the entire conduct and management of the war,
which Pomeroy termed but a murderous crusade for
plunder and illegal power.
Knowing that Mr. Pomeroy's means were limited, he
offered to furnish money, if necessary — anxious, he said,
" to save his life, although he should be unable to do
anything towards saving the printing-office property."
In reply to this kindly written letter from a political
opponent, but a personal friend, Mr. Pomeroy despatched
the cashier of his office, who by this time had come to
his house, with a note to the mayor of the city, telling
him that he, Pomeroy, had certain rights as a citizen,
which rights he intended to defend till his death. That
he should look to the piayor of the city, the city mar
shal, the sheriff, and other officers of the city and county,
to do their duty and protect the property of citizens ;
and if thgy failed to perform that duty, he himself should

94 J,IFE OP
hold all of the officers personally responsible for any
damage done to his property, or for any demand upon
his life ; and that if his office was destroyed by a mob,
the city of La Crosse would either pay for it svithin
twenty-four h-ours to the fullest extent of its value, in
cluding material and good-will, or he would with his
own hands set fire to every Republican house, store, or
place of business that he could reach in the city, and
should take revenge to the fullest extent of those who
had brought upon him this destruction, by every means
in his power ; by rifle and by pistol ; by knife, by fire,
by poison, in season and out of season ; careful always
to save his own life for the accomplishment of as much
injury as he could do to those who would not regard the
law. That, so far as his property was concerned, he did
not care for the loss of it, but he had certain rights as a
citizen, which rights he intended to have given him.
That his life might be taken, might be sacrificed at any
moment, but he should not leave the city, nor would he
defend his office, nor would he take any steps for the
preservation of property and life other than to com
pletely arm himself, and to notify the members of a
little club which then existed in La Crosse that one of
its members was in danger ; and that, if any one of the
members should fall in the defence of his rights, it would
be the duty and. the pleasure of all other members to
settle with those who had gone outside of the law to
commit a wrong.

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 95
Unable to leave his house, anxious to avoid a riot,
wishing that there might be no destruction of his prop
erty, which would lead to the destruction of thousands
and thousands of dollars' worth of property of innocent
men, he sent to a few prominent Republicans of the
city, who called upon him about the hour of noon, when
he told them very plainly and earnestly that he should
defend himself, and thait they must defend his property
unless they wished to see their own destroyed. He told
them that he might not be able to effect the destruction
of that property at that time, but he would in time, till
he had settled with his enemies in full. He threw the
entire responsibility of the affair from his shoulders to
theirs, so far as his property was concerned or the prop
erty of other citizens, taking upon himself only the task
of defending himself against all attacks from whatever
source. He then sent down town for more firearms.
The ladydffl-embers of the household with baskets re
moved all the loose stones, pieces of brick, and other
articles of such nature, which would be handy when
used by a mob, and calmly awaited events. Night
came, the office was still untouched. The employes had
sworn to defend it to the last extremity, although he
sent word to them that he did not wish them to peril
their lives. If the office was destroyed he would
take care of the matter himself, and not ask them to
place themselves in jeopardy. This request they refused
to honor, but remained near the building watching it

96 LIFE OF
with anxious hearts. Soon after dark the excitement
in town was at its greatest height. A number of per
sons caring for nothing, with no regard for law, order,
or the rights of any person, anxious to still add to the
flame of excitement, went about the city from store to
store, from saloon to saloon, compelling people to give
into their hands various sums of money varying from
ten cents to a dollar, as the possessor might have about
his pockets, which money was to be used for buying a
rope and procuring the painting of a large banner, with
which banner it was the intention of the mob, which
had grown to be very large, to march to the printing-
office, demolish the same, break up the machinery,
and throw all the office-material into the river. This
done, the procession was then to march to Mr. Pome
roy's house, take him from thence, drag him by the
rope to the public square, where he was to be executed,
cut down, cut into four quarters, and a quarter of his
body burnt in each of the four wards of the city, as a
warning to all traitors. This party of rioters, drunken
with whisky and excitement, reckless as to what they
attempted, threatened mischief; and, but for the earnest,
continued, and laborious exertions of very many of the
leading Republicans of the city, the pastor of the
Catholic church, and the mayor 'in person, no one knows
what the result of that night's carnival would have
been. Better counsels prevailed. Morning came — the
office stood as it did previously.

MARK M. POMEROT. 97
The paper had come out the night before at its ap
pointed hour, announcing the death of Mr. Lincoln,
stating that he had been called to his home, wherever
that home might be ; that he was a good man — so called
— but not a great one ; with some other remarks we do
not now remember. The excitement of the night before
by morning sun had cooled some ; and some of the par
ticipants in the "forced collection business," had be
come somewhat ashamed of their proceedings the night
before, and the better counsel of their cooler and more
honorable neighbors prevailed. But the trouble was
not over with yet. The afternoon following the recep
tion of the news of Lincoln's death, Mr. Pomeroy, who
did not leave the house, and who was ready at all times
of the day or night to receive visitors, come they -with
evil or good intent, was so far recovered as to be g,ble to
visit the office, and there learned that the mob, which
had been commenced the night before, was that night
to continue its work, when the office was certainly to be
demolished, and the editor of the paper disposed of as
contemplated the night previous. A young friend told
him that in a certain paint-shop a large sign was in pro
cess of making — the same being in form of a banner
made of black cloth, on which were painted certain
threatening words in large, white letters, and which
banner was to head the procession that night. Thank
ing his friend for the information, with a couple of re
volvers in his pockets, he went to the paint-shop and
5

98 LIFE OF
asked to see the banner that was being made there for
the mourners of Mr. Lincoln. The painter denied the ex
istence of any such banner : said he knew nothing of it :
that none had been ordered, and was very much sur
prised that such a report should have reached Mr. Pom
eroy. The editor of the Democrat, not believing the
statement of the painter, asked to step into another
room in the building, to which the owner of the prem
ises objected. But by a peculiarly persuasive argument
sometimes adopted by men in danger, he prevailed up ¦
on the painter to open the door, and there, upon
stretchers, was a large, black flag, nearly the size of arf
ordinary door, on which was painted in large, white
letters, the words, "No quarter to traitors ! Commence
at home /" Following up his peculiarly persuasive rea
soning, thrice armed as he was — once with the justice
of his cause, and twice with the revolvers — ^he learned
that the banner had been ordered by the sheriff of the
county, a Republican in politics, and two of the sheriflTs
friends. Securing the promise that the banner should
never go from his place till it was taken from thence by
the ones who had ordered it, in company with Mr.
Symes, a young man — superintendent of the office —
who was also armed, as night was approaching, he went
to the sheriff's office, whose residence was in the large
stone building occupied for prison purposes, and made
known his errand, which was to know why that banner
was ordered, and who, besides the sheriff, had ordered it.

MARK M. POMEROT. 99
A scene ensued, the result of which was, Pomeroy
was informed that two other parties whom he had
always looked upon as his friends in town, had, with
the sheriff, ordered the banner. He waited upon one
of the parties, found him at tea, as the sheriff was at
his supper when called upon, and with the second
party to the transaction returned to the jail, entered
the same, and had a talk, and a very plain one it was
too, we understand, with the two principal men who
had ordered the banner with which they proposed to
head their procession. The effect of this conversation
was, that as officers of law he called for them to at once
go forth and put a stop, so far as lay in their power, to
all riotous or demonstrative proceedings threatening the
peace of the city. He demanded, also, that that flag,
on which several dollars had been paid, should be
taken from its place in the paint-shop by the one who
had ordered it, and at early morning, as soon as he
should have reached his office, that the flag should be
given him, and, in case of refusal, in case the mob was
allowed to proceed, he would telegraph to the governor
of the State the particulars, and demand the arrest of
the parties, call for official help to preserve the peace
and property of the city ; and in case this help should
not come to him, he would then take the law in his own
hands and settle at once, or soon as in his judgment he
could safely do so, with those who were warring upon
him," his rights, the peace and good name of the city.

100 LIFE OP
The result of the move waSj that the office was saved,
the mob was scattered, the threatened riot was averted,
the editor of the paper slept soundly, while a few faith
ful friends watched about the city, and the next morn
ing by half-past seven, the flag, safely wrapped in a
newspaper, was handed to him at his office-door by the
man who had ordered it, and who expressed sorrow
that anything of the kind should have come up, and
said that nothing of the kind would have occurred had
not the boys felt sorrowful over the death of Mr. Lin
coln, become a little excited, and, aided by lager-beer
and whisky, had proposed a little demonstration to
prove their loyalty, and to punish by their owii means
and plans the man who, for years, had warred upon Mr.
Lincoln, who had advocated his assassination, alid had,
without doubt in their minds, been instrumental indi
rectly, if not directly, in the taking off of the Executive.
While this performance was going on, the Republican
newspaper of the city, edited by a man entirely devoid
of principle, with no honest or patriotic feeling in his
heart, anxious only to create a disturbance, from and by
which he might reap some advantage or notoriety to
himself, had filled his newspaper forms with several col
umns of the most bitter articles Mr. Pomeroy had ever
written, copied from his paper — articles bitter in denun
ciation of the President and the conduct of the war —
articles reflecting severely upon the Administration, and
especially the editor we have spoken of before, in which

MARK M. POMEROT. 101
he called for some bold hand to pierce with a dagger-
point the heart of the Chief Magistrate of the nation.
The object of filling his columns with this matter was
to work the populace up to the greatest excitement, and
to secure, the destruction of the printing-office, and the
death of a competitor in business. He also proposed to
show, if not his devotion to law, his excessive loyalty
and devotion to wickedness. Through some means or
other the better class of Republicans of the city hearing
of this effort to stUl, farther inflame the minds of the
populace, visited his office and compelled the Republican
editor to take out the extracts he had made from Mr.
Pomeroy's paper, and to put his paper to press, with
them, in a great manner or measure, omitted.
Among the curiosities of Mr.. Pomeroy's sanctum —
and they are very numerous, and many of them valuable,
to each of which there is a history replete with interest
— ^there is none more dark in its evidence of intended
guilt than the large black flag, of which we have spoken
just now, nailed up in the club-room of the office as a
relic of times not long since passed by.
At the time of the death of Mr. Lincoln, the circula
tion of the La Crosse Democrat was less than one hun
dred and fifty copies per week, including exchanges.
The postmaster reftised to deliver it to the mails — ^men
carried or read it at the peril of their lives. Persons in
different parts of the country have often been mobbed
for having it in their possession or expressing belief in

102 LIFE OP
the sentiments of its editor, but it kept steadily on,
earnestly, consistently, and persistent in the discharge
of what seemed an editorial and patriotic duty, regard
less of threats or loss of patronage, or promise of sup
port — regardless of menaces or dangers of mobs, or of
the advice of weak-minded or weak-kneed friends — with
out the employment of agents, until it has grown —
simply from its adhesion to its great principles of Amer
ican liberty, equal taxation and equal protection for all,
rich and poor — ^from an obscure newspaper published in
a new and, until the existence of the paper, an unknown
Western city — to be the leading Democratic paper of
the United States,' with a circulation of over three hun
dred thousand copies weekly, and the establishment of
two extensive printing-houses, one on the Mississippi
River and the other on the Hudson, the better to carry
on its business.

MARK M. POMEROT. 103

CHAPTER Xm.
Office of the La Crosse Democrat.— Why he left La Crosse.
The office of the celebrated La Crosse Democrat, in
La Crosse, Wisconsin, is situated upon the corner of
Main and Fourth streets, and is one hundred and twenty
feet deep and eighty-five feet wide. The building is
constructed entirely of iron, stone, and brick, and is
four stories high, exclusive of the basement story of
fifteen feet.-
The front portion of the basement is used for a mail
ing room, and from that room over three hundred thou
sand of the La Crosse Democrat each week have been
sent into the world. Connecting with this room is a
fire-proof vault, fourteen feet square, in which is kept
the immense number of the subscription and commercial
books which necessarily Mr. Pomeroy must have. It
also contaiuji the filed letters received from subscribers,
and letters containing the political history of his en
emies. The press-room is in the rear of the mailing depart
ment, in which can be found three of Hoe's fastest power-
presses, which are constantly employed ; also three light
ning folders, each having the capacity of folding

104 LIFE OP
three thousand papers per hour. Back of the press
room is the engine-room, where cah be seen the most
complete and beautiful model engine ever made. The
room also contains two force-pumps, with five hundred
feet- of rubber hose, which can, in case of fire, be laid
and in operation in one minute. Adjoining this is the
boiler-room, containing two boilers, both of -which are
always in order, so that, in case of accident, one is
always ready to supply the place of the broken one.
The immense quantity of paper . for the use of the
office is stored in another room, and also in the large
arched vaults under the sidewalk adjoining the engine-
room. The counting-room, which is divided into four smaller
> apartments, is in the front portion of the first floor.
The workmanship of this room is perfect, the heaviest
and finest French glass being used in the windows both
outside and inside the room.
Around the lobby of the counting-room, reaching up
to the ceiling, are over one hundred cases of stuffed
wild animals, fowls, reptiles, etc., comprising in a whole
a beautiful and instructive museum.
The counting-room contams four offices: 1st. The
Superintendent's; 2d. Assistant Superintendent's; 3d.
Cashier's ; 4th. Subscription Clerk's. A staircase leads
to the mailing-room from these offices.
A door in the rear of tbe counting-room leads into a
fine hall, which is the public entrance to the stairs

MARK M. POMEEOT, 105
leading to the sanctum. This hall is beautifully fres
coed and handsomely carpeted: upon its right is the
private entrance door from Fourth-street.- Another
door opposite the counting-room leads to the stock
room, which is well filled with the finest job stock. In
this room can be found the engraving department,
where two artist^ are kept busy all the time getting out
designs and cuts for the paper.
In the job-room, which adjoins this, the finest job-
printing in the Western States is done.
On the second floor we find the Associate Editor's
room, which is well lighted, and contains beautiful
furniture and desks. The next room is occupied by
the Assistant Editor. We pass through a hall on the
second floor and find ourselves in the sanctum, which is
acknowledged by all who have seen it to be the
handsomest furnished room in the United States, and is
far superior to the sanctum of any printing-office in the
world. The floor is carpeted with the finest Brussels, the
curtains are of rich lace and velvet rep, the walls are
completely covered with paintings from the great
masters, while all around upon the different what-nots
can be seen countless numbers of photographs of
friends, relics, keepsakes, and all kinds of trinkets,
every one of which Mr. Pomeroy treasures very highly.
Upon one side of the room is a magnificent side
board well filled with decanters and glasses, through
5*

106 LIFK OP
which visitors can, if they wish, see darkly ; but it must
be fully understood that Mr. Pomeroy never takes the
oath himself
Near the centre of the room is a splendid piano,
which is of a superior tone and elaborately carved.
Adjoining the sanctum is a luxuriant bed-chamber,
which is tastefully and ^eautifully furnished with a
large black walnut bedstead and necessary chamber
furniture. Opening into the bed-chamber is a bath
room vrith all the modern improvements, hot and cold
water, etc.
The first room in the rear of the third flooir is the
composing-room, which is constructed differently from
any other in the country. Instead of having the cases
stand upon the floor in the old fashioned way they are
suspended from the peiling.
A steam elevator carries the forms from this room to
the press-room in the basement below.
We then find a closet or wash-room for the use of
the employes on this floor, for Mr. Pomeroy, in his
consideration for working men, an-anges, as far as lies
in his power, so that his men may have all possible
comforts. The next room is occupied by the stereotypers, where
the plates are cast from the impressions taken upon
papier machk, from the forms made up in the composing-
room. After leaving this room we pass into the club-room,

MA^K M. POMEEOT. 107
which has been fitted up in the finest style for the
employes, who pass their evenings and leisure hours
here in reading, writing, and playing harmless games.
This room is carpeted with fine Brussels, has a very
large bookcase filled with the works of standard au
thors. The corners and niches are filled with curiosities and
relics from all parts of the globe. There you may
exercise your muscle with dumb-bells weighing from
five to fifty-three and three-quSrter pounds, the latter
bells being Mr. Pomeroy's especial pets.
In the hall we find a wardrobe, which is divided into
compartments, in which each man upon that fioor can
keep his clothing.
Another stairway leads into a vacant hall, which will
soon be fitted up as a book-bindery. The whole build
ing is heated with steam, and lit with gas which is
manufactured in a small gas-house a short distance
from the office. The whole building is as completely
fire-proof as any in the country.
On the corner of Main and Fourth streets is a corner
stone of the finest white Italian marble with the fol
lowing inscriptions. On the east side is a hand grasp
ing a -dagger, with the inscription " Drincipia non
homines" above it, and below is engraven " Nemo me
impune lacessit." On the north side you will see
" Democrat — M. M. Pomerot."
This stone was laid with appropriate Masonic honors.

108 LIFE OF
the full force of city officials, and the largest concourse
of citizens ever seen together in that city was present
upon that occasion.
The building adjoining the office, erected this sum
mer by Mr. Pomeroy, is sixty-five feet wide and the
same heighth and depth as the office. The ground
fioors are used as store-rooms, the second floors as
offices, etc., while the third and fourth stories are used
as an opera house, the only one in La Crosse.
This is also heated with steam, and lit with gas made
in the same building as that for the office.
Mr. Pomeroy intends fitting up the opera house in
the handsomest style.
We wish to impress our readers with the richness of
these buildings simply because eight years ago their
owner did not have sufficient food, or money to buy it
with, for himself and family,
Mr. Pomeroy has devoted both time and money to
the improvement of La Crosse, which city has become
identified with him as the field of his wonderful success,
and the people should use every effort to retain him as
a citizen.

MAEK M. POMEEOT, 109

CHAPTER XIV,
Success of the La Crosse Democrat.— Milk and water evaporated hy
caustic.
The marvellous success of the "La Crosse Dem
ocrat is undoubtedly to be attributed to its bold and,
at times, almost savage spirit against the men and the
measures of the party in power,' coupled with what
have been called its extreme Democratic views.
At the close of the war there were here and there
Democrats all over the country of a bolder spirit, higher
courage, and more positive principles than the mass of
those calling themselves Democrats, who had opposed
all the measures of the Republican party during the
war and had suffered for it. They had been socially
and politically proscribed, many of them mobbed and
personally maltreated, their property destroyed, and
not a few of them had been seized and held as political
prisoners in Federal forts and pther places of confine
ment solely on account of the expression of opinions
unpalatable to the men in power.
Such men as these, and all brave, true, earnest men
who were Democrats- in'piinciple, were sick of the milk-
and-water, cowardly, half Republican newspapers which
had passed for Democratic during the war, and wanted

110 LIFE OP
an outspoken and fearless champion of truth and right
to speak for Democracy and the paper.
They found it in the -Z# Crosse Democrat. In addi
tion to the qualities already attributed, Mr. Pomeroy
infused into it his own personal enthusiasm and indom
itable individuality, by which the paper became not
only a faithful exponent of Democratic principles, a
fierce, audacious, savage assailant of power, but a part .
of the man himself, a mirror of his thoughts and feel
ings, as rapidly thrown off from his wonderfully active
and untiring brain, and a p'erfect expression of his
driving and aspiring spirit.
It is no wonder that the paper grew rapidly in circu
lation. It touched as Avith live coals the hearts of the
Democratic masses, and kindled them into enthusiasm
and infused into them hope and courage. The people
were always right, but their leaders were false and
betrayed them. "The people rallied to the support of
the Democrats as this became known to them. They
were all athirst for truth. They hungered for old-
fashioned Democratic principles. They found in the
Democrat something that met their great want.
They recognized it as their friend, their defender, the
undaunted advocate of their opinions and interests.
Whenever a copy found its way into a neighborhood,
it was read and re-read by the whole democratic bro
therhood.

MARK M. POMEROT. Ill
Having read one number, they felt an unconquerable
longing for moi*. Of course they subscribed for it.
Clubs were formed, and it was taken in large numbers.
So it spread and is still spreading. It is to-day found
in every part of the land, far away in its remotest set
tlements. It is the great exponent of democratic opinion
for the whole country ; and its work is not done. Its
mission is not ended. It has before it years of labor
and struggle, before the country will be fully redeemed
from the consequences of political inisrule. It has still
work to do, and it will do it. As it represents the
people, it will be sustained by them. Common interests,
common dangers, and a common glory in the triumph
of the right, bind them together in indissoluble bonds.
It is proper to say, in this connection, that probably no
one thing has added more to the universal popularity
of the Democrat than its bold advocacy of repudiation
of the national debt. It was the first press in the coun
try to take this position, and is now its only prominent
advocate ; but this will be the next great political issue
between parties, however the coming election may turn,
but more surely if Grant shall be elected, than if he
shall be defeated.
Mark M. Pomerot will be the acknowledged head
of this grand and patriotic movement. His paper, as
heretofore, will stand at the head of the great aemt op
industet, and lead it to victory.

112 LIFE OP
On this issue he will carry the country by storm in
1872, when the people will rejoice injp, deliverance, for
which, to him, more than any other man, they -will be
indebted. Then will come his great and just reward.

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 1 13

CHAPTER XV.
Treating of Mr. Pomeroy's mamier of conducting a printing-office.- His
Idndness to his employes.
Me. Pomeeot's history and career in La Crosse are
striking evidences of what can be accomplished" by
pluck, devotion to principle, habits of economy, busi
ness skill, and a determination to succeed. He went
there in the spring of 1860, -with less than $5.00 in his
pocket, to establish, by work, a Democratic paper in a
Republican district.
Many of his friends advised him not to go into a
district politically against him, and urged the necessity
of his going to New York and trying in a large city to
develop the resources of his genius that friends gave
him the credit of possessing. He was advised to let the
political field alone, and to devote his time and atten
tion to writing humorous articles and sketches for pa
pers, and to become, if possible, a magazine editor, and
to devote his time to book-making. . He would not
consent to this, but preferred, as he said to some friend
in Milwaukee, " to go where the political fight was the
thickest, and work, earnestly in hope to help his party,
and if he could iipt help those who held the same prin-

114 LIFE OF
ciples as himself, he wanted, at least, to find some place
where there was an enemy on whom he could wring his
'blows." La Crosse was, therefore, the field for him. The Re
publican majority was counted by thousands in that
section. The country was new ; the city was new ; the
man was poor. The harvest was sadly in need of
reapers there, and he at once entered upon the work.
His La Crosse Democrat should be an encouragement
to every poor printer in the land. We do not mean
poor printers, but printers who are poor.
It shows what a man can do by work. It shows
what results may be brought about by a mechanic, by a
laboring man, by a young man, if he is only persistent
in well-doing. The office, when he purchased an inter
est therein, was but a small affair, worth less than 'the
jewelry he now carries upon his person. -It was in bad
order. The circulation of the paper amounted to noth
ing. The business of the office was insufficient to pay
its expenses. The material was dirty, and needed to be
put in shape. The office had been run on credit, and
had been run into bankruptcy. Scarcely a dealer in
any kind of goods in La Crosse but what had a bill
against the establishment, editors, or employes. The
credit of the concern was worthless. The office owed
the employes nearly $1,000 for labor and services ren
dered, while the debts to tradesmen, boarding-house
keepers, and other business men of the place were

mark M. POMEROT. 115
legion. On taking hold of the office, the first business
of Mr. Pomeroy was to put it in repair, clean it up, put
things in shape, sweep out, mop out, clean the windows,
clean the ink, oil, and^ dirt from the machinery, put the
type in order, and give the place an air of business.
This was looked upon as a waste of time and money by
his other partners.
It had always been a rule with Mr. Pomeroy, that
success could only follow order ; that prosperity fol
lowed neatness, punctuality, and devotion to business.
He put the new office in order, making a place for
everything, and gave orders that everything must be
kept in place, machinery kept clean, type kept in order ;
that the men employed about the establishment, instead
of Spending their time in billiard-saloons and in the
officfe playing various games during working hours, as
had been the custom before he took possession of the
establishment, must confine their attention to their
work, and remain in the office during business hours.
This little change effected a saving of twenty-five per
cent., it being found that too many men were employed
in the establishment, and that the time somebody was
paying for was being frittered away in places where it
ought not to be. Conversing with one of the employes
of the establishment, who has been with Mr. Pomeroy
for years, we use his exact words as nearly as possible :
"Pomeroy had not been in the office, as proprietor or
part proprietor, more than thirty minutes before us em-

116 LIFE OF
ploy& found that there was a new man at the wheel.
The greasy pack of cards was thrown out of the window.
The old checkerboard was slashed into the street, and
half-a-dozen old pipes went througk the window. People
were- set to clearing up, putting things in order, and it
seemed as if it was the intention of somebody that that
office was to do business in the future, instead of being a
sort of loafing-place for those who did not work, for the
bothering of those who did. He argued that those who
labored should be promptly on time. That they must
stay there till the hour of departure. He put a stop to
the employing of drunken printers, and compelled a
neatness and attention to business that the office had
never before known. All who were working in the
establishment seemed at once to catch the infectioii of
business, and felt that success would follow. The sec
ond day of Mr. Pomeroy's ownership of the office, in
talking with the men as they were standing about the
composing-stone, he said to, them, that the office could
be made to pay. That it did not pay, through the mis
management of those connected with it. That too many
men had been employed. That there was too much
waste, and it must be stopped. He said he wanted only
good printers about him, and good men ; and he used,
as near as we can remember, this language : ' Now,
boys, there is a prospect of a hard time for all of us.

MARK M. POMEEOT. 117
You have worjked here in this office a long time, and it
owes you a good deal of money. You have not collected
your wages as you should have done. It was the duty
of the.manag^rs to pay you every Saturday night. You
have suffered your wages to be kept away fri'om you.
This is an injustice to your families. You have squan
dered your time, many of you, playing games here in the
office during business hours, or at places of amusement
or dissipation, when you ought to be at rest. If during
business hours, it was an injustice to your employers ;
if after business hours, it was an injustice to yourself.
" ' Now I want to make a success of this newspaper. I
want to make a printing-office that will be a credit to
all of us. We are all interested. If I succeed, you suc
ceed ; if I fail, you fail. The office owes you a good deal
of money now. It cannot pay you till it earns it. If
y<m will take hold and work I will go on the streets aud
solicit business. I will procure job-work. I want you
folks to do it in the office ; if you don't know how to do
it well, I will teach you. If you can. do it well and
don't, I don't want you. This is a fair bargain, you
work for me and I will pay you for it. In working for
me, you work for yourselves. The money this office
owes you you shall have. I will agree to pay every
Saturday night your earnings, if you want your money
then. I would prefer to pay you then, rather than have
you give me credit. Your old accounts I will pay you

118 LIFE OP
as fast as we can get the money. It is expected that I
am to manage the concern, look out for the finances,
and make a newspaper here.
" ' If you will take.care of the details, I will take care of
the rest. I will try and make a paper interesting to the
reader, and you make it neat in appearance, you keep
the office neat^ and we will all get along together. I
want to be your friend, and I want you to be mine. So
long as you are gentlemanly and attentive to business,
I shall do everything I can ta farther your interests, and
when you are no longer gentlemen, you can no longer
have employment in the office. You stand by me and
I will stand by you. The office is unable to pay large
wages, but I am going to make it a paying concern, if
it takes years to do it, which will not be only able to pay
good salaries ; and to those who are the most faithful to
the office and are the best deserving, will I in future give
better positions than- they are now having, and better
salaries, that they may be perfectly contented with their
situations, and that the partnership between employer
aud employe may be mutually beneficial' "

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 119

CHAPTER XVL
Why Mr. Pomeroy is popular as a writer.
The great object of a writer is to be read. How
much he is . read frequently depends upon his style, and
this country has produced no journalist whose style is
as proverbially popular as that of " Brick Pomeroy."
It is characterized by a union of grace and ease, point
and power, fancy and force, vigor and vim, perspicuity
and perspicacity.
The imagery with which he illustrates an argument
delights us while we are made to feel the ratiocination
is conclusive.
The witticisms that his diamond-pointed pen dashes
off as it gallops over sheet after sheet of foolscap,
while plunging through the discussion of subjects often
bare of interest, remind one of the flre we often see fly*
from the sterile rock under the -steel-shod hoof of an
impetuous charger.
It is his wonderful brilliancy of style to which he is
doubtless indebted for the unparalleled popularity of his
flourishing journals. The wing of his fancy knows no
weariness — the freshness of his flowers seems to be
fadeless; he takes prudent care, however, not to smother,
facts with metaphors. His object is always to either

120 LIFE OP
furnish information or to throw the light of practical
sense upon facts already well enough known, but not
well enough understood.
One of his fortes is ridicule ; he seems to have found a
lesson in Don Quixote, and studied it well. Seeing Cer
vantes drive knight-errantry into an eternal hermitage
before the red-hot shots of his waggery, " Brick," being
fortunately endowed with the lively keen sense of the
ludicrous, opens the batteries of his humor upon what
ever he opposes, until he forces the world to join him in
laughing it down. His caricatures are, however, free
from malice, and personal piques never show themselves
in his editorials.
Another one of his controlling traits of character is,
his independence — an independence that is, in the
largest sense of the term, manly. Journalists generally
seek to ascertain how the people feel toward them, and
trim their sails accordingly.
Some papers have stooped to boast that they followed
public opinion. Mr. Pomeroy pursues whatever policy
is dictated to him by the convictions of his conscience.
He is, in his fidelity to truth, incorruptible. * Endowed
as he is with a remarkably sanguine temperament, he
may, in a glow of enthusiasm, color rather richly •some
facts he may have to paint, but that the canvas on
which he employs his brush is solid material, never
fails to be literally true.
Courage is the best companion independence can

MARK M. POMEEOT. 121
have, and " Brick" is distinguished for nothing more
than he is for his utter fearlessness. His independence,
in fact, is the natural offspring of a profound contempt
for danger — great decision, and immutable firmness.
These high qualities conspire to eminently prepare him
to become, what he already is, one of the people's truest
tribunes. Among other characteristics which belong to
him in a rare degree is his exalted sense of justice.
That which is right becomes, in his judgment and
regard, sacred, because it is right. Haughty he never
is to the humble, nor is he humble to the haughty. He
has more respect for virtuous rags than he has for vicious
. ribbons, and he scorns to conceal either his contempt or
sympathy. That large, blue eye of his does not know how to
look a lie. There is no terror in other men's money for
his unquailing spirit. His bearing is the same in the
presence of millionaires that it is in the presence of beg
gars. He has a far deeper reverence for the white hairs
of an honest pauper than he has for the ^hite liver of a
tricky nabob, no matter what his party professions.
It is when we look into the elements of which his re
markable character is composed that we cease to wonder
at the growth of his fame. It is only once in a century
Providence sends us a man endowed with- so many ex
alted virtues and wonderful attributes — all, too, under
the care, as it were, of superhuman energy and indom
itable will.

122 LIFE OP
As a politician, Mr. Pomeroy takes broad and com
prehensive views of public policy, and seems to thor
oughly understand the fundamental principles of polit
ical economy upon which constitutional liberty is
established. He is an earnest Democrat, but his democracy is the
result of principle, not partisanship. Were the Democ
racy in power to-morrow, and its leaders in office were
to prostitute their official positions to private purposes
of pelf, no Radical in the land would denounce them
any quicker or more fiercely than he would.
He is in his private character without a stain, and
holds, as a cardinal' principle of political ethics, honor
to be the life-blood of statesmen and all manner of men
in office.

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 123

CHAPTER XVn.
A chapter of anecdotes.
Many amusing anecdotes are related of Mr. Pomeroy
during his residence in La Crosse. Upon one occasion,
the 4th of July, six or seven years ago, he was invited
to read the Declaration of Independence, and also to
make a short speech. He accepted the invitation — the
crowd assembled — and the amazement of all can be
easily imagined upon seeing Mr. Pomeroy ascend the
rostrum -with a number of smooth shingles under his
arm. In explanation, he stated that, as he had to de
liver a primitive speech, he thought it might prove ac
ceptable to his hearers to have things done up in a
primitive style ; and as in olden times the people used
boards instead of writing-paper, he merely followed
- their example ! Whereupon he proceeded to read the
Declaration. of Independence from his boards, much to
the amusement of all present. Some of his hearers were
" board" by his reading ; others were not !
During the war it was currently reported that Mr.
Pomeroy made large amounts of money ; that is, while
he held the position of army correspondent. He did
not attempt to deny the statement, but said in his paper
that he made from twelve to twenty million dollars.

124 LIFE OP
when, in truth, he did not make a dollar, because he re
fused to support the Administration.
Mr. Pomeroy, while possessing the gentleness of a
woman, inherits from his father, of whom the following
characteristic anecdote is related, the coolness and self-
possession he exhibits in times of danger. Mr. Pomeroy,
Sen., was in possession of a handsome property, which
he had invested in lumber, then in rafts ready to be
transported by river to Baltimore. During a fearful
storm which destroyed many houses on shore, some one
sent word to Mr. Pomeroy that his rafts, and " arks"
filled with produce, were all going off, or falling to
pieces. He hastened to the scene of destruction, sur
veyed it calmly — for he could do nothing to save it —
lighted his pipe, and as the last ark was falling to pieces,
he coolly remarked to a man who stood by him :
" If that a^'k. had been stronger, it would not break
up so easy, would it ?"
At one time Mark intended lecturing in Indiana, but
was told that a riot was anticipated, and that he might
be attacked if he attempted to speak. He shrugged his
shoulders, and at the appointed time ascended the ros
trum ; as he did so, he allowed his cane to fall — a solid
steel one — and the ring of the metal resounded through
the building. Picking it up, and stUl holding it in his
hand, he commenced his lecture. Once he was inter
rupted. " My friend," he said, addressing the man who
created the disturbance, " I came here to speak, and I'm

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 125
going to say my say if I die for it ; and if you don't
hush your noise, I shall be compelled to break your
head." He was allowed to continue his talk unmo
lested. The Republicans of La Crosse soon became afraid to
offend Mr. Pomeroy, for his mode of punishment was so
unique that it was far more disagreeable than corporeal
infliction. A stranger one day went into a bank in La
Crosse to draw a certain amount on a check. As refer
ence he used the name of Pomeroy. With an oath the
banker exclaimed :
"He is poor reference."
Nothing was said ; but in the next issue of the La
Crosse Democrat was published an article advising all
the friends of the paper to transact their business with-
the other city bank, stating that it was the best and
only reliable bank in La Crosse.
The banker at once came to Mr. Pomeroy and made
all necessary apologies, which were accepted, and the
enemies became good friends.
Once, while in a place of public amusement, one of
the employes of Mr. Pomeroy resented an offensive re
mark which was made by a bully in the crowd. As the'
man was well known for his fighting propensities, no
one dared to espouse the cause of Mr. Pomeroy's friend.
The words became louder, until a powerful Western
man, some distance from the disputants, rose from his
seat, and asked the cause of the disturbance. Upon re-

126 LIFE OF
ceiving an explanation, he came forward, his huge form
towering above all there, and said to the man :
"I am not personally acquainted with 'Brick' Pom
eroy, but I know of him as a brave and honest man,
while you are a coward and a liar ! Now, if you don't
like that, come and I'll fight you to your heart's con
tent." The man must have been pleased with the
statement, for he disappeared in the crowd.
In the early days of the La Crosse Democrat, money
was so very scarce with Mr. Pomeroy, that he was often
compelled to give his men his promise to pay instead
of their money, which, singular to say, so great was
their confidence in him, was always accepted, and never
once were those notes left in the hands of the men be
yond their maturity.
When travelling, Mr. Pomeroy was constantly play
ing some practical joke, which usually resulted in benefit
to himself; for instance, he would often mark his bag
gage M. M. Pomeroy, U. S. Navy, which secured him
every attention. During the Tom Hyer excitement,
Mr. Pomeroy tried in vain to find a vacant seat in the
cars upon the New York and Erie railroad. In passing
through one of the cars, he remarked in rather a loud
tone to one of his friends —
" Did you see Tom Hyer when he went into the next
car?" In a moment nearly every seat was vacated, atd
Mark selected one of the most comfortable, and watched

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 127
at leisure the disappointed faces of those who rushed to
see Tom Hyer.
The original name of " Brick" was Marcus. He was
named after an uncle who was terribly opposed to -De
mocracy. The old gentleman tried to convert his
nephew, but in vain ; and therefore he considered him
not only a hardened sinner, but a lost sheep to the Re
publican fold. When "Brick" became editor of a
Democratic paper, the old uncle was still more exaspe
rated, and after some words between Mark and himself
in regard to political matters, he remarked to one of the
boy's relatives, that if Marcus was his son, he would disin
herit him, and that he was sorry he was named for him.
" Easy enough to change it," replied the independent
young man, and from that day he has written his name
Mark. The old gentleman has at last come to declare, that
Marcus was about right anyhow, in his opinion.
Although very muscular and firmly built, Mr. Pom
eroy is as agile as a race-horse. He once, for mere
amusement, became a competitor in a foot-race, which
he won, running three hundred yards in the incredible
short time of twenty-nine and a-half seconds.
Sometimes the most simple of "Brick's" practical
jokes cause him some " compunctious visitings," but he
always makes all the restitution in his power to the
party practised upon. He, one day, while journeying
in the cars with a party of friends, became very much

128 LIFE OE
interested in an old lady whose early training had so
inculcated habits of industry that she, to save time, had
brought her knitting with her, and was pegging away
with all her might.
The old lady having occasion to leave her seat for a few
moments, laid her knitting down : when she returned,, it
had disappeared. Presently a well-dressed, sober-look
ing chap took the Seat before her, quietly pulled a sock
from his pocket, and commenced knitting.
" That ar knitten is mine," said the old lady, eagerly.
" Excuse me, madam," said the humorist ; " perhaps
you are mistaken, but please examine it."
The old lady took the work, peered at it through her
spectacles. The yarn certainly looked like hers— ^she
ought to know it, cause her Sal spun it — but the sock .
puzzled her, it was not near so far progressed, and then
her knitting had only two needles in it, while this young
man was knitting with three. With a sigh of intense
disappointment, the old lady returned the knitting with
the remark, " Wall, stranger, you knit powerful well for
a man, but you are the first critter I ever saw what knit
a sock with three needles." Having ravelled out her
work and wound the yarn on the ball again, the ball'
was so much larger, and the stocking so much shorter,
the old lady knew at once it was not her work, and gave
it up as lost. Mark took the knitting home with him,
and put it in his museum, for a curiosity, and wrote to

MARK M. POMEROT. 129
the old lady, whose address he had taken, to draw on
him for any amount of money.
At the commencement of the war, Mr. Pomeroy's
means were so limited that he could not be very liberal,
but he always divided his mite with the poor around
him. When, however, he became prosperous, »he was
noted for his generosity. Soldiers and their families
often had cause to bless him.
As one instance, I cite this : The son of a^poor widow
lady was offered a good position if he could procure for
himself a suitable outfit, which required forty dollars in
addition to what he had. His mother went to some of
her friends, but failed to get the- desired amount. Mr.
Pomeroy, hearing the difficulty, gave the full sum, with
the message that if the boy needed more to come to
Mm, that he was always willing to assist those who
were industrious in their efforts to procure work. The
boy is now in the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md.,
and we presume a friend to the man who aided him
when hardly able to help himself
In 1862, Mr. Pomeroy endeavored to elect, by a piece
of political manoeuvring, the independent candidate of
that district, the Hon. S. B. Stoddard. The office of
the principal Republican paper of the city was in the
same building as the La Crosse Democrat. One even
ing, after the forms had been prepared for the weekly
issue and left for the night, Mr. Pomeroy went into the
0*

130 LIFE OP
press-room, took the leading article from the form,
which was in favor of the other candidate, and inserted
in its place an editorial of his own in favor of Stoddard.
The paper came out in due time the next morning, nor
was the change discovered until a man came into the
city from a country place twenty miles distant, to thrash
the editor for going back upon the Republican can
didate. The mistake, a joke, was never explained ; but the
proprietors concluded that it would scarcely do to
remain in the same building -with M. M. Pomeroy, and
so they moved their office. By this act the Republican
vote was greatly reduced, as many -Republicans voted
for Stoddard on reading in their organ that it was their
duty to do so.
The good citizens of La Crosse certainly remember
when this call appeared in the city papers : " All those
who love their country more than party, who revere
the Constitution, and who love the Union, are requested
to meet at Singer's Hall on Monday evening at eight
o'clock. Per order loyal citizens." ,
"Brick" read the order; said it meant Democrats.
Monday evening the Democrats, headed by M. M.
Pomeroy, assembled at an early hour in the hall, called
the meeting to order, and elected a president. The
Republicans came, found three Democrats to one Re
publican ; therefore the largest force held the ground,
and the Republicans were obliged to assemble and hold

MARK M. POMEEOT. 131
then" meeting' in an old building to transact their busi
ness — ^in words, the formation of a " loyal league."
Only yesterday a gentleman remarted that it was
perfectly marvellous to see the effect of the La Crosse
Democrat upon the minds of the lower classes, particu
larly the backwoodsmen, whose senses can best be
reached by something plain, and, in some acceptations
of the word, "broad." As an illustration, he gave the
following fact, which was related to him by a friend who
formerly held some position in Mr. Pomeroy's office in
La Crosse. "In 1867, a party of gentlemen were on
their way from Nebraska City to St. Joseph and were
overtaken by a violent storm of rain and snow. It was
intensely cold, and they feared to go further, as night
had almost overtaken them, so they decided to take
refuge in the next hut they came to. They were then
on the north bank of the Big Tarkio, where houses are
few and far between, but at last they reached a log
cabin, uninviting it is true, but from the chimney issued
a smoke which gave every indication of a good fire
within. The inside of the cabin was still more repulsive
than the exterior, and the surly man who opened the
door, bade them continue their journey, as he had no
accommodations for strangers. They however entered,
and saw from the number of loop-holes in the walls, that
they were in the presence of a bushwhacker.
" In looking around the room, one of the gentlemen
discovered a La Crosse Democrat, and he knew that they

132 LIFE OF
were saved. So taking the paper in his hand he ap
proached the host with these words : ' I see, my friend,
that you subscribe for the La Crosse Democrat, and any
man who takes that paper, and heeds- the teachings of
'Brick' Pomeroy, can't have a bad heart enough to
turn a man out in the storm such a night as this.'
" ' Do you take it ?' he eagerly questioned.
" ' Of course I do,' was the reply, ' and last year I
helped to print it. Mr. Pomeroy is a friend of mine.'
" It is needless to say that the party re.mained over
night, and were as hospitably entertained as if they had
been in a palace."

MAEK M. POMEROT. 133

CHAPTER XVin.
Organization of " The New Tork Democrat." — Interview with Mr. J. Howard.
On the 24th of July, 1868, as the result of some cor
respondence, Mr. Jos. Howard, Jr., an accomplished
journalist, called upon Mr. Pomeroy, and during the
conversation, the latter said :
" Howard, I want to start a New York Daily ; which
would you advise, a morning or an evening paper ?"
" That depends," answered Mr. Howard, " if you have
$200,000 you care to risk, start a morning paper — it has
more infiuence ; but if you care to venture not more
than $50,000 rour better opening is an evening." —
" Suppose," said Mr. Pomeroy, " you figure on an
evening paper and let me know exactly what it will
require to put it through in good shape."
" All right," rejoined Mr. Howard. " Dine with me .
to-morrow, at six o'clock, and we will talk it over."
The next evening Mr. Howard produced the figures
and estimates and said :
" Well, what do you think, Pomeroy ?"
Pomeroy. " I'll do it."
Howard. " You need an editor."
Pomeroy. " That's M. M. Pomeroy."

134 LIFE OP
Howard. " And a managing editor."
Pomeroy. " That's Joe Howard."
Howard. " I guess not."
Pomeroy. "I guess yes. It's a matter of money,
isn't it ?"
Howard. "Yes."
Pomeroy. " That part consider settled. How soon
can you have the force engaged, the rooms ready, and
the paper on the street ?"
Howard. " This is the 25th of July. I'll agree to
have the paper ready on the 15th August.
Pomeroy. "All right. Go ahead. Be thorough.
Draw on me for funds."
The difficulties in the way of a newspaper enterprise
but few appreciate. They are of many species — me
chanical, physical, mental, and moral.
They were all overcome. The corps — a peculiarly
apt and experienced set of men — were engaged and at
work on the 14th of August. The editorial and business
officeB were furnished and occupied. The composing-
room, -with new cases, type, and appliances, was in
readiness, and at two o'clock on the day appointed the
presses delivered the first edition of the New York
Democrat to the score of thousands ready for it.
It started with more than 20,000 and ran rapidly up,
ranging from 25,000 to 30,000, and from 30,000 to
35,000, until the middle of September, by which time
the pressure from all sections of the country was so

MARK M. POMEEOT. 135
'great, that Mr. Pomeroy detennined to add to his en
terprise, a daily morning paper, which should be not
only democratic in name, but in essence, and so at all
times and under all circumstances. He accordingly
gave directions to that effect, and the proper steps are
taken at this writing, September 18, 1868, which will
ensure the early forthcoming of that greatly needed
sheet. Perhaps it is proper here to call attention to a marked
peculiarity of Mr. Pomeroy's nature. He directs, and
others perform as he directs. Although the responsible
editor of his several papers, he throws the inimediate
responsibility upon his assistants. He marks out the
course, and indicates the goal, but assumes none of the
petty cares that attend the actual conduct of these en
terprises. This not only leaves him time for thought and op
portunity for oceupance of new fields, but insures that
perfection of result, which can only attend the use
of power in the hands of responsibility.
The wonderfiil success attending Mr. Pomeroy and
his journals, is rightfully attributed to his sincerity, his
•honesty, his pluck, his endurance, and his rare know
ledge of human nature.
Two favorite sayings of his tell the story :
" I am democratic at all times, and under all circum
stances." — " Principles ; not men."
The" eternal fitness of things would seem to be his

136 LIFE OP
omnipresent guide, and with .that end in view, what
may he not attempt, with brain and opportunity on his
right and on his left.
We see by the fact related in this chapter, the organ
ization of The Democeat, a peculiar trait of character
with Mr. Pomeroy, his quickness, be it at repartee,
to seize an opportunity, or in making decisions. It is
yes or no. He seems to know what a person wants
the moment he enters the room, or his presence, often
deciding before a story is half told, but not before he
has comprehended it fully. We have seen him refuse
charity to impostors — the next moment to open his
purse unasked to relieve real necessity.
In the manner of writing he is peculiar. Seated at
the desk, he will write a column of bitter invective —
then a column of pathetic appeal — then one of the
humorous, descriptive, or political articles which have
given him such a wide-spread name and reputation —
then dash off a column of jokes and personals; doing
in two hours what other men could never do, or wi'iting
in an hour more of, or upon a subject than most profes
sional men could do in a day.
He never re-writes; pages after pages of his manu--
script go into the hands of his printers without addition,
erasure, or change of a comma or word.
If a writer in his paper furnishes an article that in his
idea is not quite up to the mark, he finds no fault, but
says:

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 137
" Yes, that is good, but see if this will not fit the case
a little closer."
Then he will snatch a pen or pencil, and, in half the
time used to prepare the original article, write one, red-
hot, as the saying is, and say :
" Read this — Follow the idea — write to the point — hit
'em right on top of the head — never do you look for
consequences — ^I'll take care of the rest !"
He is the most rapid writer living, and will, while
writing one article, be dictating another to a man on
his right, and still another to a person on his left. The
amount of mental labor he performs astonishes all who
know him.
A prominent New York journalist asked him one day,
in our hearing :
" Mr. Pomeroy, how under heaven do you accomplish
so much ? How do you live under the enormous labor
you perform ?"
Says he, in reply :
" Oh, easy enough — it's no work for me ! I believe
what I write — never write unless I have something to
say— know what I wish to say, and say it, without
thinking about the consequences. And then I never
dissipate in any way. God gave me a work to do, and
He is helping me. He will help me so long as I take
care of myself and strive to do my duty. I never drink
liquor as a beverage — never injure my brain by the use
of tobacco or stimulants — try to keep my health-^have

13& LIFE OP
a clear conscience, and a disposition to work. And I
know, if I work earnestly 1 shall succeed some day, for
those for whom I labor will help me -when I prove my
self worthy of help."
" Well, Mr. Pomeroy, your enemies say hard things
about you."
" Yes, but they don't know me ; and when they learn
what kind of a man I am, they feel foolish. But I don't
care what my enemies say. Thank God! my friends
are satisfied with me — ^I am satisfied with myself and
the cause I am engaged in — and He who rules us all
seems satisfied with me, or I should not succeed in the
face of the opposition before me."
" Well," said a personal friend, " I don't endorse your
ideas, but I like you as a man, and wish you well."
"If you wish me well you must endorse my ideas, for
to wish me well is to wish me success."
" That is so, isn't it*?— well, so be it !"
M. M. Pomeroy came to New York backed by the
people of the United States as never was man endorsed
before. He asks no man for a dollar, has abundant
means to lose half-a-dozen ordinary fortunes, if need be,
to insure his success. He intends to fight the bond
holders, all corrupt politicians and robbers of the people,
to defend the rights of States and the interests of the
working class. He cares not for losses to property or
life — he means conscientiously to fght for a principle,
and intends to see that principle win, if at the end of a

MAEK M. POMEROT. 139
bitter war in the North. He is the most implacable
enemy the Republican party ever had ; and he will, if
in the power of mortal, give that party the death
blow.

140 LIFE OP

CHAPTER XIX.
An author cannot be judged by his writings.— Mr. Pomeroy's ideas of
Masom-y.
Mark M. Pomeeot is a practical demonstration of
the fact that you cannot always judge an author by his
writings. As a man, he is a singular compound of wis
dom and simplicity. Many judging him from some of
his articles in the La Crosse Democrat, believe him to
be a rough, unpolished man, given to the use of profane
language, intoxicating beverages, tobacco, and all other
vices incidental to the fast men of the age. In his pri
vate character Mr. Pomeroy is unimpeachable ; he is
never the companion of dissolute or bad characters ;
does not use tobacco in any form ; entirely ignores the
use of stimulants, and will discharge a man from his
employ quicker for indulging in liquor than for any
other failing.
He is very tender-hearted, and is generous to a fault.
The following characteristic anecdote is related of him,
which shows his simplicity of manners, and his sym
pathy for toilers for bread, especially women :
Mr. Pomeroy, during a conversation with an almost
unknown lady writer, asked for one of ber books, that

, MARK M. POMEEOT. 141
he might notice it in his paper. The lady, appreciating
the compliment, gladly presented him with the book.
" Can you make it convenient to call at my office to
morrow ?" he asked, " and I will pay you for it."
" I believe, sir," replied she, " that it is customary to
present editors -with the book for the notice, is it not ?
And besides, you have given me copies of your ' Sense'
and ' Nonsense.' "
He stood a moment as if embarrassed, and then said :
" I will feel badly if you don't let me pay you ; and as
for giving you my book, that's a different matter. I am
able to do it, for I'm a great big man, and you are onlj^
a little delicate woman, who should not be obliged to
battle with the world."
Mr. Pomeroy appreciates fun, and never neglects an
opportunity of creating mirth. Only a short time ago,
as " Brick," with his coat off, was working in his office,
there entered a handsomely dressed, pompous-looking
nsan, who scarcely noticed the hard-working man. The
great " Brick" was the one he wanted to see, but he con
descended to ask the following questions : _
" This is Mr. Pomeroy's office, is it not,young man ?"
" It is, sir," answered Brick, politely.
" Office of the La Crosse Democrat f"
" Yes, sir, a branch office."
" Will Mr. Pomeroy be in to-day ?"
" He will, sir."
" He has rooms at the Astor-House, has he not ?"

142 LIFE OP
*' He has, sir."
" Will you give me the number of his room ?''
" Certainly, sir," said the obliging " Brick ;" and writ
ing the number of his room he handed the card politely
to the man, who walked across the City-Hall Park in
search of the " Brick" he had just been talking to.
Brick looked into the office where we were sitting
laughing at the scene, and asked, with a sober face, but
mirthful eyes, what pleased us so ; and then added :
" I answered his questions politely, did I not — every
one he asked me f
Ml*. Pomeroy has a hearty, genial way about him that
fascinates even his political foes, who cannot help re
specting his character as a man, although they do not
admire his political course. One fact is indisputable,
that those who have known him longest like him best.
" Tell me some of Mr. Pomeroy's faults," I asked in
my search for facts in regard to his life, of a young man
who had been with him many years.
" Indeed," was the reply, " you must go to some one
who has never known Mr. Pomeroy, to find out his
failings. I have been with him too many years to see
them." Although far from being cruel, it- is not best
to make an enemy of him, for his memory is powerful,
and his manner of resenting an injury original.
He has many peculiar traits of character, one of which
is, secrecy in regard to his anticipated movements — po-

MARK iSI. POMEEOT. 143
Utical and financial. Another is, his rapidity of thought,
which enables him to decide in a moment ; he then
moves with sudden and overpowering energy, bending
every power to the accomplishment of the matter in
hand. Quick to decide — prompt to act — he deems ar
gument on an abandoned project a loss of time and waste
of energy, unfitting a man for what , is in immediate
view. Perseverance in any course he has adopted, is
another striking trait. If he cannot master a man to-day,
he at once plans, and waits to capture him to-morrow,
or when the proper time comes. He abandons a fight
to-day, to renew it in a month or year, with tenfold
vigor — going down like a duck, to come up again when
least expected. •>
He delights in an open fight in argument with an
enemy, -and never holds off from pursuit of a flying foe,
until he grounds arms and surrenders, when all the past
is forgiven, and the only desire is to work in unison for
the future good of mankind.
Mr. Pomeroy is a worker himself, and he hates a man
who will not bear his share of toil fairly. He himself
devotes to his duties from sixteen to twenty hours per
day. He is also fond of out-door sports, is a thorough
horseman, a capital pistol and rifle shot, and expert with
the bowie-knife, is of powerful build, can easily hold fifty
or sixty pounds on the back of his hand at arm's length.

144 LIFE OF
He is a great lover of art and literature, and regrets
that his early opportunities were such as would not ad
mit of the gratification of his tastes, nor the cultivation
of his remarkable talents.
Mr. Pomeroy is a Mason, Brother, Companion, and
Sir Knight: a true Mason in every sense of the word;
created by God and confirmed by man.
As a Mason, he is peculiarly consistent, believing that
there is more of religion in the teachings of Masonry,
than in many so-called Christian societies. He never
speaks ill of a brother or relative of one, unless he does
it in defence of truth ; and to worthy Masons, he has al
ways an open hand. But he insists that it is no part
of a Mason's duty to pay money or go out of the way to
aid Masons who are addicted to intoxication — who squan
der money foolishly — who will not try to help them
selves, and who would use the sacred ties of Masonic
Brotherhood to support them in idleness and dissipation.
The " Jewels" of a brother Mason he would defend at
peril of his life, as is the duty of every valiant Sir Knight.
While he never asks aid himself on this score, he is only
too glad to recognize the calls of others, if they- be
worthy. One idea of his is this. In response to the
question to him one day propounded :
" What does that lot of letters H. T. W. S. S. T. K. S.
on your Masonic charm stand for ?"
He at once replied;

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 145
"He That Whispers Scandal Seeks To Kill Society."
Whether this is the correct interpretation or not we
cannot tell, but it seems to us to be a very good one,
and worthy of remembrance, and of general adoption.

146 LIFE OF

CHAPTER XX.
Difference of opinion in regard to the personal appearance of "Brick."—
Pomeroy a twin. — Praise from Mr. Greeley.
A Massachusetts paper says :
" We saw ' Brick' Pomeroy in New York-^a little old
drunkard, with narrow face, low forehead, and piggy
looking eye."
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the spiciest daily in the
world, says :
" Beick" Pomeeot. — Mr. M. M. Pomeroy, editor and
proprietor of the La Crosse Democrat, is now in New
York. One who knows of him only by his writings,
knows but little of him as a man. He has one of the
best built heads we ever saw ; a tremendous brow, with
a forehead as fine and white as that of a girl ; his great
blue eyes are as ^innocent, as full of fun, as those of a
baby, but as sharp as those of a lynx ; he is graceful in
demeanor, quiet voiced, full of vim, and nervous in tem
perament. He writes like a steam-engine ; his pen fly
ing over the paper like a flash of greased lightning.
The Weekly Democrat has a circulation of over 270,000
copies; and goes into every city, town, and hamlet of
the nation.

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 147

\From the N. T. Citizen.']

Question of Identitt. — It is not generally known
that Mr. Pomeroy, the editor of the La Crosse Demo
crat, and more lately of the Democrat in this city, is a
young man of refined and elegant appearance, with a
small, white hand, a broad forehead, and slim shape.
He neither drinks nor smokes, and has none of the char
acteristics of a seasoned Hard-shell of the olden school,
while a steady glance from a woman will make him
blush to his ears. His disposition naturally throws him
¦with those of a religious tendency. Clergymen are
common visitors at his office, and find him always ready
to assist the objects they have in view. One of these
who had a bald head, and on whom nature had most
unjustly set the seal of the wine-bibber, was seated in
his outer office writing, when a specimen Fourth Ward
Democrat, more than three sheets in the wind, called to
pay his respects to the King of the Copperheads. This
fellow was shown into the same room with the clergy
man ; and, stalking up behind the latter, who was lean
ing over the desk deeply occupied, brought a huge,
dirty hand down upon his bald head, so that the marks
of his fingers were visible for hours, shouting : " How
are you. Brick, old fellow ? I knowed you at once, I
did. How are you, old cuss ? I knowed you by your
bald head and your red nose. You are one of our sort,
you are. Give 'em Old Nick, them Republican cusses ;

148 LIFE OP
you are the chap that can do that same, you are. I see
it in your eye."
Explanations were useless, and the clergyman rushed
into Mr. Pomeroy's private apartments for protection,
with the marks of the strong admiration of his friend
still upon him. [From the Crawford County ifihig) Forum].
Brick Pomeeot. — While riding leisurely along in
one of those elegant streel>coaches for which New York
is famous, from the seething Convention at Tammany
Hall, down Bowery, past the Tombs, and to City Hall
Park, our attention was arrested by a modest and un
pretentious sign, hung out from the corner of the old
Sim building, which read: "The La Crosse Demo
crat." Curiosity, as well as a commendable desire to
see and form the acquaintance of its distinguished ed
itor, induced us to call a " halt ;" and in a few moments
we were ushered into the sanctum. After a formal in
troduction, we were greeted with the words, " Welcome,
a thousand times welcome !" from the lips of the man
whom the bondholders and gold-brokers of Wall-street
fear more than any other who treads this continent.
.And now, while our conversation is momentarily in
terrupted by one of his business agents, who is directed
to the news-room, where enormous piles of weekly Dem
ocrats are lying upon thg counter, allow us to daguer
reotype his physiqice and general appearance to our

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 149
readers. Imagine a man very neatly and genteelly
dressed, five feet ten or eleven inches in height, about
forty years of age, symmetrically built, neither heavy
nor slender, straight as an Indian chief, a fine, shapely
head, somewhat bald, sitting firmjy on a finely propor
tioned neck and shoulders, blonde complexion, as fair
as a woman's, darkish auburn hair, large, liquid, lus
trous, speaking eyes, and a countenance expressive of
mental overwork, yet lighted up with calm, but terrible
earnestness — and Beick Pomeeot stands before you.
Whoever looks upon that face is at once prepared for
the curious anomaly of seeing side by side, in alternate
columns of the La Crosse, some prose idyl, like " Satur
day Night," in which the tenderest cords of the harp of
humanity are played upon with exquisite fingers, and a
venomous philippic, scarcely inferior in quality and con
centrated energy to its great Demosthenian original,
against "Ben. Butler, the cock-eyed beast of New
Orleans." " Brick's" conversation is like his editorials — nervous,
sententious ; in short, a melange of sense, tenderness,
Attic wit, flashes of thought like flashes of lightning,
and above all and beyond all, an earnest, intense enthu
siasm, which invincibly fascinates and enchains the
listener. Republicanism laughed scornfully at his fiery edito
rials four years ago, as they appeared" in the little, slen
der columns of his paper, which enjoyed a still slenderer

150 LIFE OP
circulation. To-day, his mammoth steam-presses in La
Crosse and New York, send to the world nearly three
hundred thousand copies, laden with every species of
argument and illustration to catch the eye or appeal to
the sense of working men ; and if " Brick" Pomeroy
stamps his foot, the bondholders, from Wall-street to
Hamburg,, clutch tremblfngly their golden couponed
bonds, to make them sure.
On exchangltig farewells, ." Brick" kindly presented
us with a beautifully bound copy of his late work, enti
tled " Sense." We have read it carefully through with
one whose opinion is more valuable than our own, and
found it gold ; pure, beaten gold. It is exactly adapted
to make men out of boys — men of worth, stamina, char
acter, probity, and vigorous manhood.
A health to you, "Brick," wherever you are! Be
firm, be true ! Our heart is with you in the conflict of
Labor against Capital, Taxpayers against Bondholders,
Union against Disunion, and Right against Wrong.
We clip from the Reading Eagle the following ex
tracts from the report of Mr. Pomeroy's reception and
speech at Reading a few weeks since :
" Mr. Pomeroy stepped upon the top of the railing,
not over nine inches wide, and from that rather insecure
position addressed the people for more than two hours.
He is a fluent, eloquent, and graceful speaker; and
though on his first appearance, and at intervals through-

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 151
out his address, he was greeted with trepiendous ap
plause, the motionless attitude and close attention of
the people, closely packed together under the cold star
light, listening in the utmost silence, was still more
complimentary to the speaker.
" We regret that our space prevents us from publish
ing his address entire. It was eloquent and unanswer
able, and was addressed principally to Republicans.
There was no coarse language, no profanity, no bitter
personal denunciation, but the plain truth, spoken by
a plain man, and intended for plain, common-sense
people. Those persons who expected to hear Mr. Pome
roy disgrace himself and his party were disappointed.
"A large number of ladies were present, and remained
to a late hour. Mr. Pomeroy spoke rapidly, and with
out apparent fatigue, though somewhat wearied by
travel. He has a clear and sonorous voice, which could
be heard distinctly by the vast crowd in attendance,
which is estimated at five thousand persons at least,
most of whom were working-men.
" Only one slight disturbance took place, caused by
an intoxicated ' loil' man on the outskirts of the crowd,
but he was speedily silenced, and made a retreat to the
Mansion House, where he concealed himself Mr. Pome
roy expressed his thanks to the people of Reading for
' his kind reception and their close attention, and closed
his speech by proposing three cheers for Seymour and

152 LIFE OP
Blair, which, were given with a will, immediately fol
lowed by three tremendous cheers and a tiger for
' Brick' Pomeroy.
" In person Mr. Pomeroy is of medium height, and
well built, somewhat bald, with light hair and light
complexion. He has a fine forehead, and an open, pre
possessing countenance, with an expression of quickness,
tireless'- energy, and dauntless bravery. As a speaker
we have never heard him excelled. His humorous re
marks drew forth bursts of irrepressible laughter, and
his eloquent, and frequently pathetic remarks, were
listened to with the closest attention and highest ap
parent a,ppreciation by all. His voice, clear and pene
trating as the notes of a bugle, penetrated to an in
credible distance, - and every sentence was distinctly
audible. " In manner Mr. Pomeroy is a plain, unassuming, and
courteous gentleman. He dresses plainly, but elegantly,
in black, and wears on his breast a beautiful and costly
emblem of the Masonic fraternity, of which he is a
prominent and respected member. He is strictly tem
perate, using neither liquor nor tobacco in any foim,
though he is not a fanatical prohibitionist, preferiring
to let every man make his own choice in his mode of
living. "Mr. Pomeroy greatly admired our beautiful city,
and was delighted with the people, the scenery, and the
blooming fertility of Old Berks, which he promises to

MARK M. POMEROT. 153
visit again. He has left behind him hosts of friends, of
all parties, some of whom were agreeably disappointed
to find that the terrible ' Brick' Pomeroy is not a ruffian
nor a fiend, but a modest, unassuming, courteous, and
affable gentleman in every sense of the word. The im
mense turnout of the people is an evidence that the best
wishes of the masses are with the Democracy and their
champion, and that Berks county will respond heartily
to the request of Mr. Pomeroy, for an unprecedented
Democratic majority at the coming elections."
None of the newspaper descriptions of Mr. Pomeroy
are perfectly correct, and, in truth, it is as difficult to
describe the personal appearance of this most singular
man as it is to enumerate the phases of his character.
He is five feet eight inches in height, firmly built,
with powerful chest and lungs, measuring around his
chest forty-three inches. Although accustomed to labor
in his early life, his feet and hands are small. His face
is peculiar. He has a very high forehead, and the thin
light hair of susceptible, nervous temperament, and also
light, or sandy whiskers. His mouth is not small, and
his lips are full, but refined and pure. They are impul
sive, and indicate both affection and hospitality. Even
before he speaks, those who know him well can tell by
the curve of his lips if he will utter words of kindness
or fierce denunciation. His lips denote ambition, firm
ness, self-esteem, and self-control — also approbativeness.
He is pleased with himself and all he does.
7*

164 LIFE OF
His nose is far from being handsome, but it is de
cidedly characteristic. It is apprehensive and inquisi
tive. His is not a combative nose, but on it you may
read noli me tangere (touch me not). On his own
ground he will fight to the death, and in argument is
pretty sure to have the last word.
His ears are large, and indicate the Democratic ele
ment of character.
It will perhaps be observed that we have spoken of
the eyes of Mr. Pomeroy in one place as gray, in an
other we have called them blue. In reading the num
bers of the first portion of this book, Mr. Pomeroy in
serted gray for blue. As we glanced into his eyes to
satisfy ourselves as to their real color, we found they
were black, for the sight of the eye covered nearly all
the pupil, so large and intense it was. One singular
fact has never been mentioned. In the pupil of his left
eye is a red brick, which grows darker and more fiery
when Mr. Pomeroy is politically excited. Some poet
calls the eye " the window of the soul ;" and we believe
it is, for Mr. Pomeroy's eyes are irrepressible — so is he.
Sometimes they glow with intense emotion, gleam with
hate, sparkle with mirth, flash with anger, melt with
pity, light up with joy, and darken in sorrow.
His is not an educated eye ; it is the impulsive eye of
a child ; and we can scarcely realize how any one who
has ever looked in Mr. Pomeroy's eye can consider him

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 155
anything but. pure, honest, and noble, in his efforts for
the grand cause he has espoused.
{From the La Crosse Democrat.')
" Time is the vindicatoe. — There have been few
people in the world more maligned, slandered, misrepre
sented, and abused, than the editor of this paper —
M. M. Pomeeot.
" So long as we can remember. Radicals have suffered
and writhed under his sharp lashings, and, as a defence,
have invented the most absurd and improbable stories
relative to Mr. Pomeeot's character — or want of char
acter — one could possibly conceive.
" There is hardly a big or little print in the whole
country that has not had its snarl; but all were to
little purpose in crushing out the renowned traitor they
sought to -annihilate. While all of them were the
vilest and grossest misrepresentations, they were also
devoid of the strength that attaches to decency and
earnestness. " Finally, however, about a year ago, the editor of a
small, obscure paper, printed at Corry, Pa., got his
' mad' up, and sent out a scorching shell, that was
pushed along by the whining Radical press, until it
had gone the length and breadth of the country. At
the time we paid no attention to the effervescing vile-
ness of this scab of Jacobinism,- trusting to time to set
all things even. And time has done it.

156 LIFE OF
" We have before us a slip cut from the Oregon (111.)
National Guard, from which we take the following
extracts :
" ' Not many months since, the people of this county
were regaled with an article on ' Brick' Pomeeot, by a
portion of our county press, copied from the Corry
(Pa.) Republican. Every paper caught it up, and
many of them testified that it was true to their own
knowledge. While in Rockford the other day, we met
the gentleman who edited the Republican, and while in
conversation with him referred to the article in ques
tion. He acknowledged that he wrote it, and also that
it was manufactured entirely from fancy, not a word of
truth being in it. He said, as a publisher of a Radical
paper he thought if he couldn't tell anything against a
copperhead by telling the truth on him, he would lie.
He said the other Radical papers did it, and he Wanted
to keep up.' '
" Here "is a first-rate Radical confession, showing that
the stock in trade of the Jacobin mob is lying and
slandering. This Pennsylvania editor confesses to hav
ing never seen us, yet he published what he called a
personal description, and gives reputed happenings in
our career, which he now confesses to have been en
tirely imaginary, and without the slightest foundation
in truth ; and such were all the vile stories that have
been published in that connection. We took not the
trouble to denounce them, because our friends, and

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 157
those who knew us, knew them to be lies, and for our
enemies we had no care.
" Twins — Beecher and Pomeeot. — The coming
monthly of that eccentric genius, Packard, the advance
sheets of which the editor has kindly furnished us, con
tains a peculiar article on 'Twins.' In it the author
makes the absurd point, that men in general are
ashamed of twins, that they go back on them, and
rather avoid the honor of their paternity. But read
him: " ' Another singular twinitarian fact is, that, whereas
the mother is always inexpressibly proud of twins, the
father not unfrequently has to contend with a sharne-
facedness on the subject, of which he is, in turn, still
more ashamed. You see a couple blessed with twins
get aboard of a street-car with their double chubby
treasures. The mother makes the most of them, shows
them off in a variety of cunning maternal ways, and
challenges the admiration of the whole company ; but
the father sneaks off to the platform outside, under
pretence of requiring the fresh air. We saw that very
thing done no longer ago than the day before yester
day, in a stree"t-car in Brooklyn.
" ' In fact, the only man that we have any idea would
always be proud of twins, everywhere, on every occa
sion, and under whatever circumstance, is Brick Pom
eroy. -Mthough we never saw Brick Pomeroy, we

158 LIFE OF
feel an assured conviction that he would never think of
going back on a pair of twin Bricks in a street-car, or
anywhere else.
" ' Does the reader ask us why, in this particular
matter, we have such an exalted opinion of the young
Democratic David? We answer, our faith in Brick
Pomeroy's loyalty to twins is founded on the fact
that " ' Brick is himself a twin ! and that Henry Ward
Beecher is the other one !
" ' It cannot have been forgotten that, on a memor
able occasion, when Mr. Beecher was expostulated with
for saying original and live things in the pulpit, he
plaintively responded :
" ' But if you only knew the things I donUt say !'
" ' Too true ! alas, too true ! And here is where the
twinship comes in :
" ' Mr. Beecher does not say 'em, but his fellow twin
does say 'em. Brick thus supplements or twins Beecher,
whereby we get an entire man, which is a purely provi
dential matter.
" ' And Brick has made a vast deal more by saying
the things which Beecher does not say, than Mr.
Beecher has ever made by not saying the things which
Brick does say.
" ' But if Mr. Beecher only would say 'em in his own
heaven-gifted way, what a commotion he could raise,
what a newspaper he could make I He could be the

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 169
monarch of the world — the adored leader of the choice
and master spirits of this age.
" ' The twin that speaks its uttermost convictions
without fear, favor, or affection, is the favorite of these
times, and we feel obliged to providence for proving
this truth so strikingly by means of Brick Pomeroy.
Not that we sympathize or agree in principles or con
victions with that conspicuous twin; far from it; but
we do go in for the out-and-out expression to one's
personality, under any and all circumstances.
" ' The application of this short secular sermon is,
therefore, this, oh reader: If you are going to be a
twin at all, be the twin that says it, rather than the
twin that doesrCt say it — the twin that does it, rather
than the twin that <?oesw'i do it.' "
" Teuth PEOM THE Tribune. — The Tribune of this
morning is disposed to be complimentary. We begin
to tremble lest we have done something wrong. Praise
from happy Horace — goodness gracious ; praise from
godless Geeelet — really, this will not do. Pitch into
us, old buffers, but for pity's sake don't slather us with
flattery. We always knew that we were good ; but
great — oh, go 'long. This is what Hoeace says :
" '.The Hon. Mark M. Pomeroy, the great Democratic
editor and statesman of the West, has honored us with
a copy of his ' new national daily paper,' The Democrat.
We are glad to have an opportunity of congratulating

160 LIFE OF
Mr. Tilden and his friends that they are about to have
an organ that will ' force the fighting.' We have been
convinced that the disgust which the pure Democracy
of New York felt for the Herald and the World would
take expression in thjs form. It was impossible for a
great party, a party of lusty, zealous, and bold men, to
forever follow the uncertain leadership of the Herald,
or to find comfort in the endless columns of twaddle
which the hangers-on of the Manhattan Club daily dis
till into the New York World. They halve yearned for
a leader like Pomeroy ; and now Pomeroy comes
among them, a Saul among Democratic prophets, and
raises the banner of true Democracy in New York. ,
" ' Mr. Pomeroy informs us that his paper will be
' red-hot ;' that it will be ' a true, reliable, out-and-out
Democratic daily paper ;' that it will be ' the sharpest,
plainest, most readable, best edited and most interesting
daily paper ever issued in America ;' and that ' it will
persistently and unflinchingly advocate the equality of
States or another war.'' He also assures us, that in
arranging this platform, it is ' with a full knowledge of
the wants of the people, their sentiments and demands.'
The difference- between Mr. Pomeroy and the other
Democratic editors is, that he is sincere. He claims to
be a Democrat, and nothing else. It is all very well
for these curled darlings of the Manhattan Club, sod
den with the fumes of Mr. Barlow's champagne, to
write their rhetorical fribbles about the Constitution

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 161
and the laws, but the true-hearted Democrat, the Dem
ocrat who goes to the polls and assists in swelling the
great Democratic majority of Ne-w York, wants just
such teaching as Mr. Pomeroy proposes to give him.
" The advent of Mr. Pomeroy is a matter that more
immediately concerns the World, the Herald, and the
Express than it does the Tribune. At the same time,
it is an event in New York journalism. It is also
something to know that we have Mr. Brick Pomeroy in
journalism, and that he leads a mighty and well-
disciplined party. As for the World, it serves no pur
pose, either useful or ornamental, except to print the
inexhaustible letters of George T. Curtis, and the inter
minable speeches of Mr. Tilden."

162 LIFE OP

CHAPTER XXL
Mr. Wells' description of a true Orator.— Pomeroy as a Poet, Artist, Philoso
pher, and Actor.
Mr. S. R. Wells, in his " New Physiognomy, or
Signs of Character," thus speaks of the true orator :
" The orator requires the mental and vital tempera
ments. He must be feelingful, emotional, frank, and
open, and be largely endowed with Language, as an
outlet for his thoughts and feelings. He must have a
vivid imagination to give its charm to his ideas, and
Ideality to adorn his style. He should have strong affec
tions, td'warm up and animate his nature. The more
highly educated, the better he can use his faculties.
Still, the Indian of the forest may possess all the natural
oratorical qualities and become celebrated, although
untaught. And we have had very fine specimens of
native orators even among backwoodsmen, who were
unlettered. " One may excel as a debater without rising into the
sphere of the orator. He may preach a most eloquent
sermon without any oratorical display. He may be
purely of the intellectual sort, and, as a speaker, he miiy
claim some degree of reputation; but if he combine
something of the poet and actor, with real devotion,

MAEK M. POMEROT. 163
his power will be proportionately increased. Truth
should be a crowning principle, and he who speaks,
should speak frmn the heart to the heart, if he would
vfuyoe, the heart.
" He is the best orator who knows most of the human
mind. Would he awaken the affections, he knows what
chord to touch. Would he excite the passions, he
knows where to strike. Would he stimulate the sym
pathies, or develop the reverential emotions, he must
appeal to them through Benevolence and Veneration.
Would he touch our sense of honor, our manliness, he
must appeal to those faculties on which these sentiments
depend, and he must feel and express these sentiments
if he would work on the feelings of those who hear.
This is the secret of oratory.
" A man with a bad cause, and knowing himself to be
in the wrong, can make but a weak appeal compared
with him who is actuated by the consciousness of being
in the right, and of serving God as well as man. Take
the case of Patrick Henry on that memorable occasion
when he exclaimed : ' I know not what course others
may take, but as for my single self, give me libertt,
OR GIVE ME DEATH. !' "
We thank Mr. Wells for so clearly defining the secret
of Mr. Pomeroy's success as an orator. Like the Indian
of the forest, his sole preceptor in elocution was the
grand master of the Indian, Nature. He speaks /rom
the heart to the heart, and he not onLj feels the truth

164 LIFE OP
of every word he utters, but he convinces his hearers
that he believes in his expressed sentiments.
Like our good, kind-hearted Horace Greeley, Mr.
Pomeroy is honest, and in this age when honest men are
so hard to find, be they Republican or Democrat, they
should be appreciated.
Mr. Pomeroy is, a poet — his mental temperament is
exquisitely susceptible — he has not the poetry of the
passions, nor of the intellect ; his is the inspired poetry
of the spiritual sentiments. Read his " Magic Article"
in his book of "Sense." It is a prose poem. In the
delicate finger-tracery of the frost on his windows
he sees all that is beautiful in nature. He says:
" It seemed as though a convention of angel-artists had
been summoned by the dying Winter-king, and by -the
light of the aurora borealis, had made him a picture of
such magic beauty, that no one could look upon it
without feeling to do him homage. There were the
bold, heavy strokes of some rough old forest-spirit who
delighted in making mountains, rocks, cascades, and
deep ravines. There stood the work of less dashing
artists, delighting in the production of plains, rivers,
oceans, and deserts. Then there were plains filled with
forests deep and dark — with woods resembling the
famed Bois de Boulogne — with prairies and deserts
stretching off into the distance, till lost in touches so
delicate that the breath of a spirit even, must drive the
work away. There were sketches by gentler artists —

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 165
of birds, of plants, of flowers, and a thousand beautiful
fancies. There were the choicest, most delicate em
broideries, rivalling the finest Honiton, so neatly woven,
of so fine a texture, and of such handsome patterns, that
it seemed as if the wedding lace and bridal veils of
angels had been stolen from their heavenly wardrobe,
and placed on the windows before me to teach man his
utter insignificance."
We see in this beautiful poem the ideality and .sub
limity which he sometimes shows in his speeches.
He is sympathetic, and can at once read the style of
his audience, and adapt his oration to their intellects.
He is a splendid imitator, and his sense of the ludicrous
is intense. I have seen his audience one moment shed
ding tears over some pitiful tale of woe, and the next
laughing at his truthful imitation of some drunken sot.
He is, as a speaker, fiery, honest, and earnest ; he
speaks, urged on by his love of liberty and sense of
manly independence, and his words fall like hot shot
and strike home to the hearts of his hearers. He is not
a cautious speaker, and does not feel his way, but dashes
at once into the heart of the argument regardless of con
sequences. His language is large ; his sympathies and affections
strong, and his executiveness almost boundless. If
trained for the stage he would have been a consummate
impassioned actor.
He is no philosopher ; he does not spend time in ana-

166 LIFE OP
lyzing causes or in indulging in comparisons; he grasps
results, and uses his powerful perspective gift in carving
out his way politically.
He is very original and comprehensive, and is capable
of putting parts together and drawing conclusions. He
is reverential, and his religion consists in " doing unto
others as he would have them do unto him." His Hope
and Faith are strong ; he trusts God always, and man
until deceived by him.
His social affections are strong. He, when not en
gaged in national affairs, is, strictly speaking, a family-
man, fond of home enjoyments, and devoted to wife and
child — his little Mary, a fairy of seven years — of whom
he speaks with all the tenderness of a fond father. He-
is mirthful as a child, and enjoys the sports and pas
times of a boyish nature.
Mr. Pomeroy is an artist. His creative ability is
large. His pen-and-ink sketches are so ably drawn that
we can shut our eyes and still see the pictures portrayed
in them. As a man he is familiar and democratic ; there
is nothing exclusive about him ; he uses as studies the
highest and the lowest specimens of humanity, and his
wonderful descriptive powers enable him to give to the
world the result of his investigations.
We have faithfully endeavored to give a fair estimate
of Mr. Pomeroy, politically and intellectually, judging
as well by what we know of him as by the facts given
us by those who have been long and intimately con-

MAEK M. POMEROT. 167
nected with him, and we sum up all by giving the
secrets of his wonderful success. In the first place he
thoroughly understands himself, and therefore is con
versant with every phase of human nature, and when he
undertakes to reach a goal, he does so, fully determined
to win.

168 LIFE OP

CHAPTER XXn.
As a popular orator.
As we said before, Mr. Pomeroy is, as an orator, bold,
dashing, original, forcible and eloquent, be it in appeal,
illustration, or sarcasm. Fowler and Wells, the well-
known phrenologists, say that he should have been a
public speaker, rather than a writer, and class him as a
statesman of high order, combining sense -with ability.
When speaking he is extempore entirely — never at a loss
for words.
He handles an audience as he would four-in-hand, and
becomes at once on familiar terms with it.
He uses wit, satire, sarcasm, appeal, argument, and
illustration, alike with force, and holds his audience till
the work be done. Asa specimen of his powers in this
respect, we give an extempore speech made by him at
Waverly, N. Y., on the evening of Sept. 26, 1868, with
out other preparation than the school of events. It is a
verbatim report as taken down by his short-hand re
porters, without addition, erasure, or alteration, and will
bear perusal — ^the more, as it indicates his reasons for his
political earnestness.

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 169
SPEECH OF ME. POMEEOT.
Ladies and Gentlemen of Waverly — After thanking
you from a full heart for your generous welcome here,
I ask from you to-night your attention more than your
cheers. Let me say to you, my friends — for every work
ing man in America, every young man in this country,
I care not whether he is. Democrat or Republican, so
long as he is honest, is my friend, and his prosperity is
my happiness — let me say to you here to-night, I would
rather have your attention than your cheers, and you
will please me, as your friend, as one working for your
interests, if you will remain perfectly quiet and not cheer
me at all, and not give any demonstration of applause
to anything I may say. I will state, furthermore, that
if I am interrupted, if any gentleman sees fit to inter
rupt me by talking to his companions in the crowd,
although he may do it kindly, that moment I shall
leave the platform and talk to the people outside this
densely packed temple. I wish to be heard. I ask
your attention that you, my former fellow-citizens, my
friends, all may understand what I say — to indorse the
right and denounce the wrong, if any wrong positions
are taken or words said here before the thousands as
sembled. First I will read to you from a very loyal,
dark-complexioned, black and tan-colored handbill,
which has been, by Republicans, distributed broadcast
over the streets of Waverly. I wish your attention.

170 LIFE OP
ladies and men, as I intend to convert every Republican
in this wigwam. I presume they call them wigwams
out of compliment to Grant's early Indian experience,
(Applause.) I see there are about one hundred and
seventy-five Republicans here to-night ; I can tell them
by their looks. They are not as wide between the eyes
as Democrats, and act as if their palms itched for wool.
(Applause.) " The bill reads as follows :
'"INCANTATION OF THE DEMONS.
KU-KLUX KLAN 1 TURN OUT !
Double, double, toil and ti'ouble,
Fire buiii and cauloron bubble ;
Adder's fork, Copperhead's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's w.ing,
With the charm and powerful trouble,
Like devil-broth, boil and bubble.'
"Brick Pomeroy, the champion of modern Democ
racy, the man who was driven out of Rosecrans' anhy,
will boil the charmed pot in fort hell to-night in Wa
verly. "Brick Pomeroy, who happily calls the citizens of
Waverly God-and-morality sneaks, who curses green
backs, and glorifies gray -backs, will give the Democracy
the latest news fi:om the place where it is 'Red-Hot.' "
I presume you are the demons, and have come out
to hear the head demon of all ! (Applause") I have

MARK M. POMEROT. 171
been represented as the very worst pill in the box.
(Cheers.) But I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, and
especially ladies of Waverly se-wing-societies, that I am
no worse than your own husbands, sons, brothers, and
lovers, who run me down as the worst man in the world.
Nor am I bad enough to become a Republican. (Ap
plause.) For the kindness of some of my left-handed friends,
in issuing this bill, and thus advertising me, they will
please accept my heartfelt thanks — the more, as it is all
at their expense. They tell us of a Ku-klux Klan:
that it will be manifest at the election in November.
Well, it will be a klan of working-men — of the young
men who are now mortgaged to support an aristocracy
of bondholders ; it will be a klan of men working for
their o-wn interests; it will be a klan that will vote for
the right — vote to bring this country back to the peace -
and prosperity it does not now enjoy, and which it never
wUl under Republican rule. (Applause.) This bill ,
says that " Brick " Pomeroy, champion of the modern
Democracy, was driven out of Rosecrans' army. It
has been said I was driven out of Rosecrans' army. I
never was in Rosecrans'. army. I never was in any army
except as newspaper writer. In 1862, I was driven
out from the army of eastern Arkansas, from the army
' of the trans-Mississippi valley, then commanded by one
Prentiss, of Illinois, one of the illustrious liars, robbers,
and cotton-thieves of the army. Not because I was in

172 LIFE OP
the army, not for comiption, not for stealing, but, as the
order stated, for stating, in the La Crosse Democrat,
which, till that time, was an almost -unknown paper,
that in my opinion, after thirteen weeks of earnest ob
servation and attentive study of the way in which the
war was conducted, it was my conviction, with a full
understanding of what I said, that the war, which was
being carried on by the people of the North, for the
restoration of the Union and the preservation of their
liberties, had become, through the mismanagement of
cotton-stealing Generals, through the corruption of po
litical officers, under the sanction of an incompetent
President, a murderous crusade for cotton, niggers, and
plunder generally. For these writings I was given a
mock trial, and ordered to leave the lines, go North,
and not return to the army under a penalty of being
hung as a spy. It was not Rosecrans' army, but it was
the army of the Northern people, commanded by a thief.
It is a trifling thing, but there is nothing like having a
thing right. One word more: I have been often ac
cused of being a traitor to my country ; accused of
being in sympathy with the rebellion, and opposed to
the Union. I have been accused thousands of times by
the leaders of the Republican party now in power, but
so rapidly going out of power, of being in sympathy
with those who, they say, sought to destroy the princi
ples of liberty, and the institutions of America. Allow
me here to state to you, my friends, and many are here

MAEK M. POMEEOT: 173
in this large temple who knew me years ago, before,
esents crowded so thick and fast upon us, that never in
my life was I an enemy to my country ! (Applause. ) I
have never sought to war upon the principles of liberty
or the right. I have never joined issue with any party
or people in a war upon the Constitution, the liberties
of the people, the rights of the States, or the laws of my
country. (Applause.) I loved my country in her peril.
When a boy — a poor, dirty-fingered mechanic, a young
working-man — ^the world lay all unopened before me.
I had the same promise of life, the same hopes for the
future, that you young men, you working-men, you Re
publicans who intend to vote for Grant and Colfax, and
you who intend to vote for Seymour and Blair, have.
I had the same hopes, same ambition, same desire to
work and make myself a home, that you have. I was
poor. Many of you knew me as a poor boj. I was
young. I was inexperienced. I had been taught
from earliest infancy that the lessons given us by the
statesmen of America, were lessons for us youths to
learn from, and for the citizens of America to emu
late. (Cheers.) I was taught that it was the duty of
every citizen to love his country, to love his God, to
love the homcrones of his heart, to love the principles
of liberty, and to defend those principles, and the Con
stitution -of his country, which protected him and his
alike in the enjoyment of personal and national bless
ings. (Cheers.) I looked forward, as the young work-

174 LIFE OF
ing-men of my country all looked forward, to the day
when I might have a happy home, earned by mys^Jf,
when I might be surrounded by beloved ones, whom
I could care for as we journeyed on toward the " golden ,
home," to which we are all hastening, in the land of the
leal, just over the Great River. I was willing to labor,
as you are willing ; I wished wages, that when Saturday
night came — the most blessed of all nights which God
has given to us men of toil^I might take home to the
loved ones the fruits of my industry. I have never
wished to war upon'^the people, the principles of liberty,
the rights of States, or the Constitution that protected
me as a citizen, penniless though I often was ; and from
that time to this I never have had any wish to injure
my country, or to insult the patriotic sires now with Him
above. I wanted protection for my earnings. I wanted
to live as others who are good and true lived. I wished
to grow up a man among men, a lover of the principles
of liberty, and- defender of the faith of my fathers.
(Applause, long continued).
. When I was an apprentice boy here iu Waverly,
almost before Waverly was founded or formed into a
village, I was tempted by the Republican party to for
sake Democracy, to forsake the principles and teachings
of my fathers, forsake the interests of the people, and
join the Republican party, which was then coming into
power. Why was I tempted ? I will tell you why. The
Republican party came into_ power before my initial

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 175
vote was cast. When it commenced its career, it asked
the people of America to forsake Democracy. It asked
the young men, and especially the workingmen, to leave
the Democracy and join issue with this new Republican
party. Why ? Because it said it was a party in favor
of retrenchment and reform — a' party in favor of the
protection of the people in their rights and interests.
The Republican party said to us that there existed at
the South an institution known as Slavery; that that
institution was at war -with us ; that it was antagonistic
to the industrial interests of the North ; that it was the
duty of every man in the North who loved his country,
to defend the interests of his country by putting down
the aristocracy at the South, by putting down those
twin relics of barbarism — Slavery and Polygamy. We
were told that there was an irrepressible conflict be
tween free and slave labor, and it was our duty here to
put down the aristocracy in the South, no matter if that
aristocracy was protected by the constitution of our
country. Let us digress. Let us look at the constitution of
our country. "What was it ? Who made it ? What its
purposes ? What its object? Who gave it strength and
power ? How was it observed ? It was a sacred com
pact made between States, between Commonwealths at
the time when our confederation of States was formed.
That constitution guaranteed to the people North and
to the peojjle South certain rights and certain privileges,

176 lip's op
and it promised to defend them in their interests, earn
ings, and industry. At the time the constitution was
formed, there existed in America an institution known
as slavery. Those who formed the constitution held
different ideas. Some men of the North wished slavery
abolished, and some of the South did not wish it abol
ished. The people of the South refused to join the con
federation ; they refused to cast in their lot with the
people ; they refused to surrender their rights as States
or Commonwealths, unless this common constitution
which- was to be adopted would protect the people of
the South the same as it protected the people of the
North, in their principles, earnings, and rights. The
constitution was adopted, and it pledged the people of
the South and North — Virginia and Massachusetts alike
— protection for their common interests. The Abolition
ists came into power following a forced necessity. They
claimed " that the will of the people was the supreme
law of the land." It was the right of the people of the
North to abolish slavery — no matter how many prom
ises were made in times of common danger to pro
tect it.
The war came upon us. It broke in upon the interest
of the people of the North, the people of New England,
the people who are so excessively pious that they " hang
a cat on Monday for killing a rat on Sunday." (Cheers.)
This agitation culminated, or brought on the war, which
it has conducted ; and of its results I will speak in a few

MARK M. POMEEOT. 177
moments. That war was a very serious one. It was a
gigantic one. When I was a boy here in Waverly, we
had no idea of war. The dark cloud of battle hung not
upon us as it has since. The Republican Party brought
on the war — brought it on by seeking to interfere with
the rights of the States, and seeking to deprive States
in the South of the rights they had, under a common
Constitution, helped create. It educated the South to
believe, through Greeley, Banks, Helper book and
Helper doctrine, that they had the right to secede ; and
that it was for the interests of the Confederation that
they would secede and depart from the Union. Horace
Greeley, the illustrious father of the Republican Party,
almost, or rather its wet-nurse, and the one who has
adopted it, said that if the South wants to go out of the
Union, let it go. It was the general opinion of the Re
publican Party through the North, that the people of
the South had the right to go out from the Union if
they saw fit. .The people of the South, misguided, mis
informed, under the influence of certain men who be
lieved they were right, at last attempted secession. At
last the South sought to withdraw from the Confedera
tion, because, as they said, they could not live at peace
with their neighbors at the North, for the reason that
their neighbors of the North did not wish to live at peace
with them. They said if they had an aristocracy it only
affected them and their interests, and did not ii^terfere
with the North. They said that if they had an aris-

178 LIFE OP
tocracy, it paid taxes and helped the North. They
cited, in proof of their claims, the fact, that although
they made large sums of money at the South by carry
ing on the husbandry of that section, they spent millions
of dollars at the North ; that they gave employment to
the mechanics of^the North ; that they bought pianos,
clocks, and carriages ; they bought articles of furniture,
bought articles of luxury, because there was a superi
ority and ingenuity of mechanism in the North that had
not been developed at the South', and which beautified
and cheapened these articles, for the. reason that it was
the interest of the people there to give their attention .
to agricultural affairs, and they had not developed the
mechanical resources of the South. They claimed that
their so-called aristocracy benefited the people of the
North. That it gave employment to thousands of
workingmen ; and that the money made on the rice,
sugar, and cotton plantations of the South, was largely
expended in the machine-shops of New England. That
it was expended all over New York; that it gave em
ployment to thousands of women and children in the
factories of New England. They sought to go out of
the Union, and not interfere with our affairs as we had
interfered with theirs. They went out to establish for
themselves a separate and independent government and
confederation, under their Constitution, looking for their
interests, their rights, and their toil, as we looked out
for ours — where they could have a right to regulate

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 179
their affairs in their own way. Then it was the war
came upon us. 'When the people South had been led to
believe that they had a right to secede, then it was that
the loyal people of the North declared that secession
was a heresy, and could not for one moment be tol
erated. I was at that time a Douglas Democrat. I
said, as a young man, that the principle of St^te rights,
and allowing every State to govern its own affairs, was
the only safeguard of liberty here in America. (Great
applause.) I was in Tavor of the continuation of the
Union in accordance with the good old plan. I said
that the people of the North, through legislation in Con
gress, had no right to interfere with the local questions
affecting the interests of any one of the counties in any
one of the States. If we allow the people of one State,
in her Legislature, or by her Congressional representa
tives, to interfere witE another State to disturb her do
mestic relations, what safeguard for the future have we?
The State gives us protection. The State takes car^ of
our children for us ; and it is to the State laws that we,
the people, look for protection, as the States look to
Congress for mutual protection iu time of peace or war.
The State alone> protects us ; for the Confederation was
formed for the better protection of the States by each
other, and not to deprive each other of any right
they had under the Constitution. (Many voices:
'That's so,' 'Good,' 'Good.') It is so!' The Amer
ican people said so in days agone, when the Constitu-

180 LIFE OP
tion was formed, and they are stating so to-day, all over
the land, as you will see by the masses of enthusiastic
people who are speaking for State rights, white suprem
acy, equal taxation, and an honest administration of the
laws. (Cheers, and loud cries of 'Good! good!') At
that time I was opposed to secession. I did not join
with the rebels South. I said it was the duty of the
people to put down rebellion ; said that the States in
the Union could not go out of the Union. I said the
Confederation was formed to last till eternity. That it
was the duty of every man. Democratic or Republican,
young man or old, who loved his country, to stand by
and defend the beautiful flag in front of me ; to stand
by the defence of American liberty ; to stand by Amer
ica as our forefathers stood by it and for us ; and that
he who would not stand by it, that he who would not
give his voice, strength, or means to put down an armed
rebellion that the Union might be saved until dissolved
by common consent — that that man was not a patriot,
and I did not like him ; I cared not whether he was
Democrat or Republican, foreign or native-born, it made
no difference. If he was for his country, and for the
Constitution, liberty, and the laws, he was my friend.
(Cheers.) If he was for the Constitution I would support him,
as he would support the Constitution. If he was in
favor of warring upon the interests and constitutional

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 181
rights of any State or people he was my enemy, and I
should so consider him.
At last, when the war was well upon us, after the
Republican party had educated the workingmen to
hate the aristocracy South — which brought us blessings
instead of curses — after the fanatics of America had
educated the people that it was their duty to war
upon the Constitution — after the war came upon us
then came a chance for the people to show their patri
otism. Then, also, came a right for them to criticise
the administration, then came a duty for them to per
form, which was to hold the Republican party respon
sible — to force it to live up to its promises, and that
duty as a citizen I proposed to do. (Great applause.)
The Republican party came into power promising
retrenchment and reform. (Cries of ' That's so.') It
said to me, as a young man, at a mass-meeting held in
Waverly, in 1856, that it was the duty of the working-
men to protect their interests, that it was the duty of
the young men cf America to look out for their inter
ests. (Great applause.) They said it was their duty
to protect themselves, their -States, and their children
according to law, and according to the soul of the leg
acy left us by the patriot sires of the Revolution, who
have gone to their homes just over the river. They
said to us young men, that it was our duty to put down
an administration that was corrupt. They said it was

182 LIFE OF
our duty to put down an aristocracy that compelled
the laboring men of America to support it. (Cheers,
and cries of ' Hear, hear.')
The Republican party promised us retrenchment
and reform. It said to me, if you will join with us, if
you will forsake Democracy, we -will give you a better
government, a cheaper government. (' That's so,' and
' Good, good.') We will give you more protection for
life and liberty. We will give you greater freedom of
speech. (Voices, ' But they didn't.') More protection
for your homes, persons, and earnings. I will tell you
why I warred upon it (the Republican party), why I
did not and do not like it ; why I am in earnest, and
positive in defence of the interests of my countrymen
by birth or adoption, and why I intend to be while God
spares me to work.
I was branded as a traitor. For what ? Because I
criticised the acts of the administration. (Cries of ' You
did right.') I urged the putting down of the rebellion
— urged: the keeping of the States in the Union. I
urged the defence of the flag and the Constitution, and
the preservation, unimpaired, of the laws of the land ;
but I did criticise the administj-ation. I criticised the
acts of Mr. Lincoln, for there was great cause. I criti
cised the acts of the Republican party. And I will tell
you why. I had the right to under the Constitution of
my country, as a citizen of America, as one endeavor
ing to guard the interests of the people : as the editor

MARK M. POMEEOT. 183
of a newspaper, and especially a Democratic newspaper,
it was my sworn duty to stand by the principles of
liberty, to stand by the Constitution of my country;
and, thank God, that duty I never have shirked in the
hour of most extreme peril of life and property. (Cries
of ' Good, good,' and tremendous cheering.)
The Republican party said it was wrong to continue
a party in power that warred upon our principles.
After the country had been brought into war; after
the people had been educated to hate the right ; after
the people of the North had been educated to hate the
South — who were of us and with us, as they shall be
again (cheers) ; after the minds of the young men and
workingmen of the land had been poisoned against the
sacred, blood-bought institutions of our country, and
against the Constitution, and against the States, which
it was alike our duty to stand by, support, and protect ;
after the Republican party had come in power, and had
demanded the management of its own affairs in its own
way, then came a season of most extravagant corrup
tion, and wanton robbery of dead, living, and unborn
people. Then came a season of tyranny and usurpation
of power, the like of which was never before. Then
came a season of profligacy and total disregard of right,
and disregard of all promises to the people, to the
workingmen, such as never had -been witnessed by any
other people on the face of the habitable globe. (Great
cheering, and cries of ' Give it to them.')

184 LIFE OF
(A gentleman here arose and said : Mr. Speaker — I
would state that there is some danger that the roof
will fall in because there are so many upon it.) — Well,
I will appoint those on the roof a special guard to see
that no more get up there. We have stood it out in
times of danger (cheers), and so long as it holds, we
are safe. (Cheers.) There are a great many Dem
ocrats now-a-days ; they are coming up from out of the
ground, coming from the roof, coming from the woods ;
and they are marching on toward the White House.
(Cheers.) You see many of them here to-night, but you
will see more before November. (Loud Cheers.) ' This
Republican party promised us retrenchment and reform.
What kind of retrenchment was it that took from the
earnings of the workingmen of the East and the farmers
of the West dollar after dollar to enrich New England
speculators? Do you call this regarding the promise
made the people when the Republicans sanctioned the
destruction of two hundred and ninety-eight print
ing-offices in the land ? Years agone, when there was
one printing-office mobbed over there in Kansas, there
went up a cry, a shriek and a howl from all the Re
publicans in the land. (Loud cries of 'That's so.')
They shouted " A free press, free speech, free men, Fre
mont ! Down with Democracy ! — down with the party
that will not throw the protecting arm of the adminis
tration around the people and protect them and their
outspoken newspapers in their long-established rights."

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 185
(Cheers.) And: yet that party which came in power
crying for free speech, which came in power charging
corruption, profligacy, and usurpation of power, tyranny,
and wrong upon the democratic party, sanctioned the
destruction of nearly three hundred printing-offices.
(Cries of, ' That's too true — that's so.') It ordered the
incarceration of hundreds and hundreds of the earnest
defenders of liberty in the North. (Cries of ' Shame
on the tyrants.') It put manacles on the wrists of hun
dreds of brave Democrats, and without trial or charge
— merely answering the tinkling of a tyrant's bell at
Washington — sent honest citizens to the dungeons and
bastiles, the Forts Warrens and Fort Lafayette of the
land, and kept them there till, in many cases, reason
deserted its throne, and till some satrap — till the ven
geance of some infamous, cowardly, rotten, devilish,
tyrant-protected despot had been satiated, and then
men would be turned loose without a trial or a charge
from which to clear themselves. This is the way the
Republican party kept faith with us. This is the way,
when that party promised to protect the freedom of
speech it commenced from the first to war upon it, and as
one of the editors of the country, as a young man stand
ing by the principles of liberty, honest and unused to
court ways, it was my duty to denounce it. (Cries of
' You did, good boy,' etc.) And it' was my duty to
charge it with infamous tyranny, usurpation of power,
and. disregard oi every pledge made to the people, and I

186 LIFE OF
thank my God, standing here before assembled thou
sands, that through all the lessons and troubles of the
past, I can raise my face to Heaven, place my hand upon
my heart, and say that I never indorsed the Repub
lican war upon liberty ; nor have I ever feared or ceased
to denounce it as inhuman and at war with the inter
ests of America and the laboring men of my land, and
I intend to fight that party as long as I live, because it
is my duty and pleasure, my right and my sworn pur
pose, to defend liberty here in America. (Great cheer
ing.) No matter how many others may fail because
of lack of pluck or moral courage, I shall stand by it
to defend, till our country is saved or till we have all
gone down together, buried under the bayonets of a
centralized despotism — that despotisdi which wars, upon
ten States of the Union, and which to-day is hurrahing
for Grant and Colfax, the nigger, and the bondholder
of America.
Look at your pet, Benjamin Butler, better known as
the spoon-thief and woman-insulter of America ! (Groans
for Butler). Look at that man and tell us of him. He
helped educate the people of the South to believe that
the Democratic element of the North would never war
upon them under any circumstances. He told them
that if they wished to go out of the Union the Democ
racy would let them go. But the Democracy of the
Union was for the Union and its Constitution, and de
fended that great heritage because that heritage and

MAEK M. POMEEOT.' 187
that instrument defended us, and it shall defend our
children as it has defended us, if to re-establish it must
come another war. (Cheers). Butler, years ago, told
the South that the Democratic party was in sympathy
with .them, and in Baltimore and Charleston he voted
fifty-two times for Jeff. Davis, and voted for secession.
He voted to bring war upon the country. He was re
warded by Lincoln -with a Brigadier-General's com
mission ; and from the time he donned the uniform he
has with other thieves disgraced, his course has been
one of corruption and -wrong-doing, of fraud, deceit, in
famy, treachery, venality, and wickedness ; and for his
aiding in the misleading of the people of America, for
his sacrifice of life, and for his incompetency, he was
rewarded by the Republican party that is in power to
day, with the position of leader. He stands to-day be
fore the world the leader of the Republican party.
The man who forced his way from a back-seat to a front
one in the intended impeachment of the chief Executive.
He is the man who is looked upon as the great leader
of the Republican party; the man who furnishes it with
more brains than all the other Republicans in the party.
(Cries of ' spoons, spoons.') He don't furnish spoons,
he takes them. (Applause.) He is playing the game
where the more you put down the less you take up.
(Cheers.) The Republican party has made its leaders
of the Butlers — the spoon-thieves — of the Logans, of the
men who attempted to raise regiments to go into the

188 ¦ LIFE OP
Southern army, and even General Grant, who offered
his services to the Southern Confederacy, and whose
services were rejected, because the South had no faith
in his competency, sobriety, or honesty. (Cheers and
great laughter.) The Republican party promised us
retrenchment and reform ; it has not given us that. It
promised us an honest administration ; and I will ask
any fair-minded Republican here to-night — ask any
honest Republican in the couiitry^-if that party was
honest — if it has kept faith with the people ? If it has
defended free speech ? If it has stood by the interests
of the people ? If it has protected the workingman ?
If it has done well for the youtfg man ? I will leave
it for any of you Republicans ; and if there are any here
who are honest, who can say that the Republican party
has kept faith with the people ; if I cannot contradict
him successfully, I will step from this stand never more
to raise my voice in defence of the liberties of my
country. It did not care for the interests of the people
when it gave contracts whereby millions of dollars were
stolen from the United States during its hours of agony.
It did not keep faith with the workingmen while they
were seeking to put down the rebellion at the South.
While the workingmen were seeking to defend their
rights and themselves under the Constitution, (cries of
' That's so,') it, by Republican legislation, gave your
notes, as workingmen. It made your notes the bonds.
It sold those bonds for forty cents on the dollar. It de-

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 189
clared that the holders of these bonds or notes, which
you must pay, should be exempt from taxation, in the
pockets of the bondholders of the country; and yet
there are in the land, men who ask us still to work with
the Republican party. There are men who have the
brazon effrontery to ask us to vote for their candidates,
who ask us to support bondholders in idleness, after
they have robbed the people to put gold in the pockets
of the rich, and furrows on the face of the poor ; and
who voted for the paying of the people — the working-
men, the soldier who fought, and the widows of those
who fell — in a depreciated currency; vrhile the bond
holders who gave no blood, and the speculator who
stole himself rich, is to have gold. (Cries of ' Good
boy.') Is this the way you keep faith with the laboring-
man of America ? Is this the way to encourage indus
try, by legistating labor into slavery, and setting up
protected aristocrats for us to worship? Is this the
way you propose to win votes from the people of Amer
ica, by telling them in advance that you -will make them
the slaves of the moneyed power of the country ?
I don't like the Republican party, because it trifled
with our interests and set its filthy body on the beauti
ful robe of Liberty, and tore the canvas of our national
painting -with its bayonets. (Applause.) It trampled
the workingmen and the young men of America under
an aristocracy that never existed in this country till the
Republican party came in power ; and which aristocracy

190 LIFE OF
I believe, as I believe in Almighty God, I shall live to
see put down under the feet of the honest, home-loving,
patriotic, laboring men -of the country, the Constitution
of which declares that ' taxation must and shall be
equal.' (Continued cheering, and loud cries of ' Good,
good ! Go on !') As the editor of a Democratic news
paper, striving for the defence of liberty, I thought I
had a right to criticise the acts of the Administration.
(Cries of ' You had, you had !') When I saw bad men
placed in office — when I saw your sons, your brothers,
your friends, and my friends, soldiers of the country —
the private soldiers of America, who were carrying on
the war — when I saw them sacrificed at the South, as I
did, merely for the gathering in of cotton, horses, mules,
plunder, and confiscated property — when I saw them
fall under the fire of the farmers of the South, who were
called guerrillas — when I saw them go down hundreds
by hundreds into the hospitals, to suffer and to die —
then I said the war, which was begun by the people of
America, had become, through the profligacy, corrup
tion, and incompetency of the Administration, but a
murderous crusade for cotton and plunder ; and, gentle
men, I believe I was right. (Cries of ' You were — good
boy !') And the people of America, and the people of
other nations, believed that I was right then ; and as
the day dawns upon us anew, they are believing still
more that I was right. And the people will strengthen
that belief by their increased Democratic votes this fall,

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 191
and the denunciation of the rotten party now in power,
but soon to go out When I saw the Republican party
waiTing upon the principles of liberty, I spoke against
it ; when I saw it warring upon the interests of the
workingmen, I spoke against it. I never in my life said
one word against the honest soldiers of my country. I
defy any man, alive or dead, standing here in fieshly
presence, or by ghostly power, coming from any place,
known or unknown, to point to one spot where, by word
or letter, by pen, ink, or with types, I ever said one
word against the honest soldiers of my country. (Great
applause. ) I defy any man to show it. If any man can
£how it, I will give that man every dollar I am worth in
the world, and agree to black my face, curl my hair,
and become his most abject slave the rest of my life, al
though black slaves are more fashionable now. (Cheers.)
I will tell you, workingmen, and you soldiers who have
been to the front, what I did say, openly and boldly :
I said that the Administration which would see private
soldiers sacrificed, to put money in the pockets of in
competent generals, was cruel, wrong, corrupt ; that it
was trifiing with the liberties of the people, and I hated
that Administration. (Applause.) I never said one word
against the honest private soldiers or the honest officers
of the armies of my country. I spoke against those who
wore the straps, and who sacrificed private soldiers for
the purpose of plunder. I said these men were wrong.
They did not care how much of your blood they spilled

192 LIFE OP
SO they could put money in their pockets. The man.
North, South, East, or West, Democrat or Republican,
old man or young man, who -will defend that flag — the
man wlio will stand by the interests of his country, to
defend the principles of liberty — the man who will bare
his heart to the rattling storm of hail as it comes from
the enemy's guns — that man is a patriot, he is a soldier,
he is a brave man, and I love him. And I care not what
be his creed or politics, nor where he fights ; and as I
love him, so do I hate, despise — and God knows I am
honest in the matter — the coward who would take ad
vantage of his official position, and, because given shoul
der-straps to wear, would sacrifice, for the purpose of
plunder, private soldiers ; who, unmoved, saw them
suffering in hospitals — who put them on board rotten
steamboats, and saw them go down, never to. rise again.
I have warred against incompetent American generals.
I have warred upon a rotten Administration, and warred
upon incompetent officers who entered the army solely
for purpose of plunder ; and, thank God, I have never
had occasion to ask pardon of any power on earth for
this offence against ' Republican loyalty,' and I never
intend to. There is no power that can pardon a man
simply for doing his duty. (Applause.) They called me
traitor. They say I am the worst man in the worid. If
I am that, why have I not been punished ? I stood by
my rights. I stood by my principles. I stood by the
interests of those who were fighting, better than they

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 193
stand by themselves, when they burrah for the party
that has divided this country ; that keeps ten States out
of the Union ; that has mortgaged every son of America,
every laborer, every child of the poor man to the bond
holders of the country, who are exempt from taxation,
and who live on the hard-earned money of the working-
men of my country. (Cheers, and cries of ' Good boy.')
Some of them say I am red-hot. I have been opposed
by Democrats and Republicans. They tell me I am
too extreme, too violent ; that it was not according to
Democratic principles to stand to Democratic profes
sions. Gentlemen, I tell you this, I take my Democracy
just as many of you take your whisky — straight, with
out milk or water. (Laughter.) Democracy with me
means Devfhocracy ; liberty means ZiSer^yy right means
right; wrong means wrong ; and the wrong I war
against. The Constitution means the Constitution ;
the rights of the States means the rights of the States ;
the rights of the people means the rights of the people.
(Cheers.) If I see a man stealing, I call him a thief.
(Cries of ' That is right.')
My dictionary was brief. My education was, per
haps, neglected in my youth ; but I '^^.s educated to be
honest, and that education I have never departed from.
(Applause, and cries of ' That is right') If a man lied,
I said he was a liar. If a man tinkled a little bell and
sent people to the bastiles of the land, I said he was a
despot. (Applause, and loud cries of ' Good boy.') If
9

194 • LIFE OF
the President of the United States sanctioned this war
upon liberty, while sworn to defend that liberty, while
asking the people of America to fight for that liberty,
and when he had the full power of America in his
hands, when he consented to this great wrong, I said
he was a tyrant — and before God I believe I was right.
(Great applause.) If I am not right, then, gentlemen,
history will correct me, and the American people will
correct me ; but they are not correcting- me this year
quite as much as they were. (Cheers.)
Then the Democrats said to me : " Go slow ; don't
be so extreme ; don't talk out so ; don't — dorCt — dorUt
be so ugly, ' Brick.' " (Laughter.) Some of my ' friends'
said, if you will just come in with this party you wUl
make money! You can't fight against the current!
This is now a military necessity. If you will only go
just a little slow, and help Jones, or Smith, or Brown
to get the straps on the shoulders, we wUl make money,
we will divide, and we will get along nicely ! We will
float with the current, and we can all get rich. The
trouble was, too many men wanted to get rich, no mat
ter at whose expense. (Applause.)
" Gentlemen," said I, " you can't do it in that way.
Go into the Republican party, steal, rob, plunder, com
mit all sorts of outrages ; but don't claim to be Demo
crats. (Cries of 'Good boy.') If it is Democracy to
endorse Repicblicanism, if it is Democracy to endorse

MARK M. POMEROT. 195
corruption, endorse tyranny, endorse despotism, endorse
this trifling with the rights of the people, then, thank
God, I am no Democrat. (Loud cries of 'Right!
right !') But if it is Democratic to stand by liberty, by
the Constitution, by the rights of the States, to stand
by the laws of my country, to stand by the interests of
the workingmen and young men of the land, then I am
Democratic, and always intend to remain such.' (En
thusiastic applause.)
Some said, "Go slow; you can't catch flies with
vinegar." They said we must use honey for catching
flies. I was not in the :5iy-catching business; I was
fighting the nien who were mortgaging the people of
America as slaves to the bondholders, and those who
were trampling the interests of our country under their
feet. The result was this. After I was sent home from
the army I was a very ' bad' man. The administration
thought I was a ' bad' man ; but it said : " Pomeroy,
don't criticise us, we don't like it ; you are a little too
red-hot." The administration offered me a situation in
the army ; offered me the colonelcy of a cavalry regi
ment if I would agree not to criticise the acts of the
administration. I said : " There are thousands of weak-
kneed Democrats who will do this ; but I can't do it.
I cannot agree to become any man's slave and not crit
icise his acts."
Let me relate a little incident that occurred in New

196 LIFE OP.
York. It is funny — rather funny ; but still it is true.
I relate it at the request of the gentleman on the stage,
who just now, in a whisper, asked me to.
Coming out from dinner on Monday, I saw standing
on the streets a one-legged soldier. He had attached
to his back by a strap a hand-organ. By means of this
organ he procured the means of subsisting himself,
wife, and three children. I walked along beside him,
and aSked him his name ; he told me. I asked him
where he lost his arm ; he said at Gettysburg.
" You were in the army ?"
"I was."
" Go in a Republican ?"
" Yes, sir."
" Come out a Republican ?"
" No, by  " (and he swore, but I will not.)
" Grind that organ for a living ?"
" Yes, sir."
" Come up in front 'of my office and you can start up
a little tune for me."
He went to the office, No. 166 Nassau-street, dropped
his hand-organ for business, and I noticed on the top
of his organ a paper announcing that the man who car
ried that organ had paid ten dollars a year license to
the Government for the privilege of grinding that organ
one year.
" Did you say you were a soldier ?"

MARK M. POMEEOT. 197
"I was."
" Fought to restore the country ?"
"I did."
" Paid ten dollars license to the Government you lost
a leg to save !"
" Yes, sir."
" What is that license for?"
" That goes to make up a revenue for the bond
holder, as I understand it, and that's what makes me
a Democrat. I don't like any such business as that."
" Play a tune, and I will pay you for it."
He played "Away Down South in Dixie." I said :
" That is nice ; I like that. That was a loyal tune.
I like it for two reasons : Abraham Lincoln said it was
the nicest tune he ever heard in his life. (Laughter.)
He fell in love with it. Abraham was loyal — no man
can doubt that — and wishing to emulate his example, I
loved Dixie. Dixie was loyal — I loved Dixie, and
therefore I was loyal. (Great laughter.)
" Play it again."
He played it.
" What will you ask to sit in front of my office for a
week, from one o'clock till four, and play that one tune
continually ?"
" Two dollars per day,"
" Very well, I am going into the country to talk to
the Democrats, and with all who labor, who come to

198 LIFE OF
hear me, and I want you to play this tune here till I
come back. Go into the office on Saturday night, and
my cashier -will pay you."
Down went his organ and out came " Away down
South in Dixie." He played it right straight along.
A crowd gathered around, and one old gentleman
says, " When are you going to change that tune ?"
" I don't know ; that man hired me to play this one."
" Oh, my God !'-' says he, and moved on. (Great
laughter.) By-and-by, down came a gentleman from up-stairs,
of whom I lease the premises, and said :
"Move on, or you will attract a crowd. You are
getting up a nuisance."
He said, "I cannot move on. I am hired to stay
here." "Who hired you??'
" This fellow that runs this newspaper here."
" I don't want you to play here. You are a nuisance.
Move on."
" I cannot ; I will lose my wages."
"Play some other tune, then."
" No, it is in the contract that I play this one tune,"
and he kept playing away.
The gentleman went up stairs, and in a few moments
came down again. He spoke to one of my clerks and
said:

MAEK M. POMEROT. 199
"I wish you would get an order for this man to
leave." The clerk replied :
"I can't do it. If I order him away I lose my
place." " Do you mean to say that Mr. Pomeroy has hired
this fellow to play that tune all day ?"
"Yes, and every day for a week." (Laughter.)
"Do you think Pomeroy would maintain a nui
sance ?"
" I don't know anything about that, but if Mr. Pome
roy has told the soldier he will . maintain him playing
Dixie for a week, you may bet your bottom dollar he
will do it. (Laughter.)
The third time he came down and said :
" I. want you to move away from the front of this
building." I heard the remark and said to him :
" Hold on ; I rent half this building ?"
" Yes, sir."
"Pay ten thousand dollars a year for what I oc
cupy ?"
"Yes, sir."
"This half is mine?"
" Yes, sir."
" This man has a right to play this tune in front of
my half"
" I don't like the tune. Let him play some other tune."

200 LIFE OF
" No ; I want that one tune played. It suits me. Mr.
Lincoln said it was the best tune that ever was in
vented." (Great laughter.)
"That soldier," said he, "cannot stay here."
Said I, " He can stay there. That soldier was a Re
publican soldier. He went into the army and fought.
He went there to save the country. He lost a leg fight
ing the rebellion. He has returned to his home. He
finds his wife and children in want. He pays ten dollars
a year license for the privilege of grinding this rickety
old hand-organ. That license goes to make up a reve
nue, which goes into the pockets of your bondholders.
(Applause.) That soldier fought for his liberty; he is
having it now. I want him to stand right here, and
play every day, and this same tune."
" Will not some other tune do ?"
" No^ I want this tune, to remind the workingmen of.
New York -who pass by here every day, that ' Away
down South in Dixie' are carpet-baggers, lazy niggers,
and Freedmen's Bureaus, a great big standing army,
that the workingmen of the North are laboring day
after day to support, at war upon the receipts aijd in
terests of the North, as they are at war upon the hus
bandry of the South. I want him to play that same
tune, in order that the people of the North may know
where their money has gone to. He is going to play
here ; and if you molest him I will mash your head for
you." (Great laughter.)

MARK M. POMEEOT. 201
I left the office at five minutes before four yesterday,
and he stood there grinding, "Away down South in
Dixie." I am going to hire him to grind all next week.
Still, it is not pleasant music for the bondholder. I
know it is not nice; but they have given us a little
trouble, and this is one of the ways in which I propose
to have my share of revenge out of them.
Makes a Republican speech.
Now, a little Republican speech, if it is possible for a
Democrat to make one. I may fail. If I do, you must
take the will for the deed. A few years ago (I am talk
ing as a Republican), I came as a Republican, and
preached to you here the necessity of a change of the
Government. I said that the power of the Government
depended on the consent of the governed. I^aid there
was a need of change — that we must have retrenchment
and reform; and I told you, Mr. President, that the
Administration — ^that the party which would submit to
the mobbing of one printing-office in America — deserves
to be forever annihilated. I said, as a Republican,
that the Democrats were wrong ; that they were dis
honest. I made speeches here, and charged you to take
care of your interests. I made war speeches ; I urged
the necessity^ of putting down the aristocracy at the
South. I asked you to look out for your interests, that
America might be greater. I charged you that it was
your duty to protect your earnings. Then came a war.

202 LIFE OP
Then I was in my glory. I did not fight worth a cent.
As a military genius I never was a success. But I could
make war speeches. I was blessed with more gift of
gab than any, six auctioneers. I urged you working-
men, you young men, to leave your homes. I said :
" Follow the destinies of your flag — take the flag and go
forth against the rebellion. We at home will take care
of your interests." Oh yes ! I made lots of war speeches.
I promised the workingman a great deal. I told him :
" If you will fight, I will take care of your wife ; I will
protect your children ; I will hoe your farm ; I will milk
your cows ; I will churn the milk into butter ; I will sell
the butter, and put the money in my pocket, if I get a
chance." I figured up how much you could make, you
men who really loveit^our country, by going to the
war. I did not put this question to you on a patriotic
basis. I said: "K you will leave your homes, your
farms, your workshops, and go forth to put down the
rebellion, we will pay you thirteen doUars a month.
Besides that, we will pay bounties — money in advance
— so you may leave it with your families ; us good loyal
Republican fellows will do it ;" and lots of you believed
we were honest. Some of you fought, some of you re
turned, others sleep on the battle-fields of the South.
What have I been doing meanwhile? I didn't fight
Fighting was not my best hold ! I was willing to carry
on this war, no matter at what expense of life. I was
¦ willing to shed the last drop of blood, and yet, some-

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 203
how, I could not get the first drop of my own started.
I was willing to sacrifice my uncles, my cousins, my
nephews — everybody fit to carry a musket. I was wil
ling to 'sacrifice every one of the relatives I had — pro
vided they would leave me their property. That was
what I was after — spoons. I made war speeches to you.
You did not want to go to the front. I said it was
necessary to go. I cited the Constitution — your inter
ests. I said it was a duty you owed to your country to
fight ; and that we would pay you for it. How did I
pay you ? I didn't put my hand into my pocket and
haul out the money. I .gave you bounties. I had a
certain New England knack which allowed me to figure
this thing out very nicely.
But then came calls for more troops. The war was
lagging. We must have more men. The poor people
must be more.jpfcerested in their country, because this
Government was established in their interest. There
fore let us, gentlemen, who can't fight — Republicans
who must remain at home- to take care of the Demo
crats, and protect our soldiers from the fire in the rear —
let us devise means to start the people off to the front.
We will pay every poor mari^^very Irishman, every
German, every youn^ man^%Siijo. How will we raise
the -mohfey ? We will sign the notes of the country :
we will give the bonds of Waverly, and sell them in
market. For a hundred dollars' worth of bonds we will
receive a hundred dollars cash. Then we will pay the

204 LIFE OF
money to the poor man, and he can do the fighting.
The poor man takes the money, leaves it with his wife,
goes to the front and becomes a patriot. This is a very
nice arrangement. Therefore, we vote that we will thus
raise $10,000 in this city. We- sign the bonds which
are but your notes — you men who own property, who
own machine-shops, stores, farms — these notes you must
pay at some time. We signed $10,000 worth of your
notes. We then take these notes over to the rich man
across the ,way, and say : " Here are notes which the
people will pay in five years. We will give you seven
per cent, interest on your money. We want to borrow
$10,000 on the notes." The rich man says, " No : I
can't see it. It is a great question with me whether the
rebellion will be put down. I worked hard for my money,
•and don't propose to squander it." " But we must have
the money. Those poor people won't fight unless they
have some, recompense." The rich man says he will let
us have, for a thousand-dollar -note, four hundred dollars
in currency, or give us, perhaps, five hundred dollars on
the note, the best bargain we can make. If you don't
go forward at one call and for one bounty, you are
drafted ; therefore you are compelled to take the money
we offer you. The rich man pays five hundred dollars
on the note, and we hand the money to you. We re
alize, as agents, a few dollars for our trouble. You go
forth to fight. What is the result ? The workingman
who went to the front and perilled his life to put down

MARK M. POMEEOT. 205
the rebellion returns to his home and works year after
year to take up the note which was sold for Irim — sold
at fifty cents — he pays one hundred cents on the dollar
back. He' pays interest to the rich man. He pays
the entire debt of the nation, and the rich money
lender pays nothing. I, as a Republican, made lots of
money in the bounty business. I took the contract to
fill the quota for Tioga County. I sold the bonds — ¦
your bonds^bonds on every foot of land in this country
— notes which you, workingmen, must pay — and with
the money put five hundred men into the army, and ten
percent, of $10,000 of it went into my pocket. That
was not much money for a loyal man to make.
I had been talking of retrenchment and reform —
talking nicely of conducting the Government with econ
omy. I had said it was an insult to the American peo
ple to rob labor of its reward. I went to Washington
one day and secured a contract. They wanted ships in
which to send soldiers'down to New Orleans and bring
confiscated goods back. I bought a rotten old hulk of
*a steamer in New York. Wishing to benefit the coun
try in its hour of peril, I sold this old hulk, which I
gave $5,000 for, for $100,000. I only made $95,000
profit. I was loyal. I was an honest man, the noblest
work of God. I was a man in sympathy with the peo
ple ; therefore $95,000 was all I wanted. I could not
haw made money if I had not beeil loyal ; if I had not
had friends in Washingtou — a cousin in Congress — a

206 LIFE OF
loyal man — a man who shouted : " Down with aristoc
racy ; take care of the people."
- I had also another cousin in the Senate. He was
also loyal. I had to divide profits with them both, for
it is expensive to be loyal. But I made $50,000 or
$75,000 clear, and put it in my pocket I had friends
in Washington; and I tell you, my friends, there is
nothing like having friends in power; You may talk
of having frie'hds in the West, friends in Ireland, friends
in Heaven even ; but they don't hold a candle to the
friends you have in the Treasury — those who are will
ing to haul out and divide with you — those friends who
put their hands into the Treasury, and who aU the
while pray: ' O Lord, deliver us from these Democrats,
who keep up a fire in the rear.' The hulk I sold was
rotten. It was laden with a thousand troops — your
brothers, sons — and started for Hatteras Inlet. Up
came a storm ; down went your troops, your muskets,
article after article, which had cost the people money.
Up comes a call for more troops, for more muskets. I
have contracts with my rich New England friends,
who don't like the Democratic majorities .because they
S they war with New England interest|^^. I have a
nee tp sign more bonds. I amgrowing richer. You
are growing poorer. The war is carried on successfully. ,
But we Republican leaders, the great head-lights of this
' God and morality' engine; we are all right.
At last the war is over. The rebellion is .put down.

MARK M. POMEROT. 207
You are told you can return to your homes. The Pres
ident told you you were not warring upon the rights of
States or^of any people. You were simply defending
your own interests. You return, and find things greatly
changed. I was poor when the war commenced. I
could not have got trusted for a No. 2 mackerel. I
was immensely poor — but loyal — but now am all safe
and sound.
The taxes are very high now. Let us see how you
raise your money for improvements, for education, for
taking care of your paupers. By taxation. How do
you do it ? I, as an assessor, take my book in my hand,
start out and call on the poor people.
"I go over to my friend Michael Flanagan, who
came here from Ireland.
" How are you getting along ?"
"Divilish hard luck I have of it."
" Do you like America ?"
" Bad cess to America."
" How much money are you worth ?"
"Nothin' at all."
"You have a horse and cart — you are a drayman
do-wn here in the vUlage— that is worth $300, and taxes*-
are very high. You came from Ireland, Michael, to
America to escape the oppression and unequal taxation
of the old country, which kept you always in debt.
You. cast in your lot with us, and therefore you must
pay your share,of the tax. Don't we take care of you.

208 LIFE OF
don't we give you work on the public works, and don't
we cheat you out of the money if we get a good
chance ?"
" Faith, that's so."
"How long have you been working to earn that
horse and cart ?"
" I commenced working on the railroad. I had a
dollar a day in Democratic times, and saved a dollar a
week. I laid up three hundred dollars, and bought a
horse and an Irishman's buggy. I earned a living for
myself and family."
" I want you to pay seventeen dollars on your horse
and cart."
Michael says he hasn't that much money to his
name. I tell him it is his duty to have that much. I
tell him to sell his horse, and he will have enough to
pay his tax and something over, and next year, Michael,
you will only have to pay taxes on your cart, d'ye see ?
Your taxes will be just half as high, and you wiU have
a lot of money left, so you can buy a dress for your
¦wife. You can educate your children, go on a spree,
sit on your cart and whistle ' Dixie' or ' St. Patrick's
Day in the Morning.' Next year you sell your cart,
and you will have enough money to pay your taxes and
have something over. And the year after that, Michael,
you will not have anything at all to pay taxes on. The
property is all in the country : you should not grumble.
What's the difference whether the rich man or the poor

MARK-M. POMEROT. 209
man has it ? We will fix it for you, Michael, you go
and pay your taxes. Michael says he don't exactly see
it ; but he is obliged to see it.
Then I go over to my friend Von Schneider, and I
say : " Good-morning, Mr. Von Schneider, how do you
get along ?"
" Very good, Mr. Bumeroy, I hope you ish veil."
" Well, Mr. Van Schneider, how are you fixed ?"
"Veil, Mr. Bumeroy, I ish fixed so bad as never
vas !"
" How long have you been to this country ?"
" I dink it ish apout ten years — ^I guess not !"
"How much money did you have when you came
here ?"
" About six tousand dollar."
" Any children, Mr. Von Schneider?"
" Veil now, Mr. Bumeroy, I told you how it vas : You
see, 'pout ten year ago I come mit dis country, und I
pring mine frau and mine two sons, and I makes mine-
self a little home, and I live mit mine boys, who ish
such goot poys as never vas. Und den py and py dey
comes mit de fitens, und dey say to mine boy Yacup
(Jacob) dat if he pese loyal he vill go mit de flag und
fight de patties mit de country. Und so dey come
along mit de pig prass pand speilin ' Who's pin here
since I's pin gone' (laughter), or some other of dem
patriotic tunes, and dey takes mine boy down to Pig
Pethel, where dem troops mit General Butler shoots at

210 LIFE OP
each other for exercise (loud laughter, and cries of ' The
Beast ! Spoons !' &c.) ; und den my poy gets killed
down dere. Und. den py and py dey comes along again
speilin mit der pand, and dey takes mine boy Yohannas
(Johannas) down where General Panks is preakin de
pack pone of de rebellion mit cotton (laughter), und
den my other boy he git killed. Den I vas loyal, and
I takes my monish-what is all gold, und I lends him to
de Government to help put down de rebellion. Veil,
den, py and py I tinks I go pack to de old country and
pring mine-jnudder and some of my brudders over to
dis country, und I go to de man what has de sheeps,
und I say I want some little dickets, but de man he
say, ' Oh, no ; we don't take that kind of monish here.'
Und I say, ' All right ; I goes pack and gits my monish
from de Government.' When I comes to de~Govern-
ment I say, ' Mr. Government, now I vants to go to de
old country, and you vill please give me my monish ;'
but he say, ' No, no !' Und de Mr. Government he look
very wise, and he say, ' Ve vill give you dis other kind
of monish ;' and so I gits fifty cent in de greenbacks for
every one of my dollar in gold. Vat you dink of dat,
Mr. Bumea-oy ?"
" Well, how much have you got now ?"
" Veil, I got 'pout three thousand tollar in greenbacks,
und it is all in my little farm, und I makes a little monish
to support mine frau and mineself "
And then I tell Mr. Von Schneider that I must tax

MARK M. POMEEOT. 211
him for his property, and he must pay it to my partner,
Mr. Collector.
[The speaker was here interrupted by the delegation
from Owego, Towanda, Elmira, and other cities and
towns, being compelled to leave the Wigwam to take
their respective trains for home. Before leaving, at the
request of the speaker, enthusiastic cheers were given
for Seymour and Blair and the white ladies of America,
followed by continued cheers for Mr. Pomeroy.]
I next go to my friend Billy Williams.
" How are you ?
" Very well, considering. I was in the army. Lost
a leg. Am now hobbling around my farm, trying to
support my mother."
" How much money are you worth ?"
"About a thousand dollars."
" Fought to save the country ?"
"I did, sir, like a little man."
" Are you a Republican ?"
" I am, sii:, every time."
" All right ; I honor your spunk. The Government
exempts you from taxation ?"
" No, sir; I don't want exemption."
" You pay taxes ?"
" Yes, sir."
" For what ?"
" Don't know and don't care. A soldier asks no ques
tions but obeys orders." (Applause.)

212 LWE OP
The next morning the Collector comes along to me.
Ah ! Good-morning ! Come and take a glass of wine
¦with me. It don't cost me anything you know, the
Government pays for all this. How much are you
worth ? I reply : Half a million.
" Why, Pomeroy, I knew you when you was not worth
a dollar." " Oh, yes, but I was loyal. I went into the spoon
business ; I sold clocks ; I filled contracts ; I fixed my
self very nicei"
" I knew you when you first started out as a Repub
lican ; when you could have carried all your clothes in
a cigar-box, and had room for a Grecian bend besides."
" Can't help that. Was loyal. I was a Republican.
I took care of the. people's money."
" How much are you worth ?"
"Half a million."
" That's very nice. We have to raise taxes, and they
are very heavy this year. We have to take care of
several crippled soldiers. We must have free schools.
We must pay for sheriffs ; we have judges and juries
to pay. We have town and city expenses, road expenses.
State expenses, all sorts of expenses. Taxes are veiy
high. As you are worth $600,000 your taxes wiU be
$17,000, and you will not feel it. How much is your
income ?"
"About $73,000."
" We will tax you about $11,000 on it."

MARK M. POMEROT. 213
" Oh, no ! I can't see it. I don't intend to pay taxes."
"Where is your money invested? In machine-
shops ?"
"No.'"
" In railroad enterprises ?"
"No.""Where?""In Government bonds. A Radical Legislature, a
Radical Congress, caring for the interests of the people
— while the people were straining every nerve to put
down the - rebellion — has kindly freed the aristocracy
from paying its share of the tax, and created an aris
tocracy at the North. We hold the bonds which the
people must pay ; and it is declared that these bonds
are exempt from taxation ; and I hold these bonds. I
have not a dollar tax to pay. I am one of the pets of'
New England. Excuse me, I do not pay taxes. You
can ask Flanagan, Schneider, and Williams. You may
ask the workingmen for their taxes. Go to the ¦widows.
Go to the ¦wives. Go to the orphan children. Go all
over the country, but don't ask me. I am protected by
Republican legislation; I am protected by Congress,
that has legislated the people into slavery. The people
must pay me interest in gold. I bought those notes at
forty cents on the dollar."
Now hurrah for Grant and Colfax — ^the bondholder —
for anything that compels the poor man to support the
rich. Why don't you cheer ? (Unbroken silence.)

214 LIFE OF
[The speaker here resumed Ids Democratic speech.']
Yesterday morning, while a guest of George Magee,
at Watkins, while reading in the Bible my morning
chapter, I found a passage, to which I wish to call the
special attention of the Republicans here to-night who
believe in St. Paul. I believe in the Bible ; I believe in
morality; I believe in Democracy; I believe in the
right ; I believe in protecting the interests of the work
ingmen ; and I believe St. Paul was a workingman when
he wrote the inspired words of which I hold here a copy.
I would state to you, my friends in Waverley, that many
of you believe, or have been told, that I was a drunken
loafer ; that I was a very bad man ; but I say to you
here to-night, friends, that here stands before you a man
who never was intoxicated in his life ; who is employ
ing, to-day, over two hundred men in his respective
printing-offices, and employs not one man who uses in
toxicating liquor as a beverage. (Continued applause.)
That is sufficient for that charge.
The passage is 2d Thessalonians, third chapter,
6-15 verses.
" 6. Now we command you, brethren, in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye ¦withdraw yourselves
from every brother that walketh. disorderly, and not
after the tradition which he received of us.
" 7. For yourselves know how ye ought to follow
us : for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among
you;

MARK M. POMEEOT. 215
" 8. Neither did we eat any man's bread for naught:
but wrought with labor and travail, night and day, that
we might not be chargeable to any of you.
" 9. Not because we have not power, but to make
ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.
" 10. For even when we were with you this we com
manded you, that if any would not work neither should
he eat.
"11. For we hear that there are some which walk
among you disorderly, working not at all, but are
busy-bodies. " 12. Now, them that are such, we command and
exhort, by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness
they work, and eat their own bread.
" 13. But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
"14. And if any man obey not our word by this
epistle, note that man, and have no company with him,
that he may be ashamed.
"16. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish
him as a brother."
Now these brethren who walk disorderly are carpet
baggers do^wn South, and the men who attempted to
disturb this Democratic meeting.
Now, I believe that there is a duty you owe to
yourselves and to your children, and that duty you will
find in the inspired writings, when it tells you not to
walk with those that are disorderly. When it tells you
that those who do not work shall not eat. And the

216 LIFE OF
non-laboring ones are the bondholders of America — the
ones protected by Republican legislation, those who
demand gold from your earnings, gold from your
pockets, gold from your children, and demand that
your children be made slaves of those who don't work.
Are you ¦willing to make your children slaves ? (Cries
of 'No, no, no!') Have you no love for your homes?
(Cries of ' Yes, yes !') If you are willing to benefit the
political tricksters who have lied to you, toyed with
your liberties, trampled your interests under their feet;
if you care not for yourself, in God's name, my fellow-
countrymen, young men, and workingmen, have some
mercy upon the children of America! .And don't, in
behalf of these children, do not, I beg of you, make
them slaves to an aristocracy, slaves to the bondholders,
that are growing richer and richer, year after year, at
your expense, and who are educating their children to
look ¦with contempt upon the children of laborers of
America. For your attention to-night, for your gen
erous welcome that you have given me, citizens, I in
days of boyish poverty knew, please accep t my sin
cere, earnest, heartfelt thanks. Good-night, (Immense
cheering."

MAEK M. POMEROT. 217

CHAPTER XXIIL
Specimens of Mr. Pomeroy's miscellaneous writings.
The Prater of the Widow. — Beside a grave knelt
a young widow, not long since, in a quiet town in the
^tate of Pennsylvania. By the foot of the little ' home'
where slept her husband, a child lay, innocent and ig
norant of its mother's sorrow. Curiosity excited us,
and we approached, to hear her, in 'broken words, with
hands clasped and upheld, face upturned and dishev
elled hair, pray as follows. The first of the prayer
we did not hear ; the close was this :
" And, Father in Heaven, I loved him. He was all
the world to me. He loved me — he held my head so
close to his heart — he cared for me so tenderly. But I
let him go when his country called, for it was to save
his country they told me. And oh ! my Father in
Heaven, how I watched and waited for him — how I
prayed for his safe return ! But Thy will was done, and
he was Taken from me. And with him went to save
his country my brother. , And he came home wounded,
and then he died, and left a mourner like me. And she
died broken-hearted, and left me this little child to love
as my own — as my own was denied me. And oh !
10

218 LIFE OF
Father in Heaven, help me to keep this charge — tell me
how to care for it — show me how to rear it and make it '
good. And give me — oh ! give me. Father in Heaven,
strength to labor for it ; for we are all poor, and alone,
and ho one to care for us now. Oh ! give me health —
give me strength to work for this dear one, for if I, too,
fail, who will care for the little one now ?"
And in the air we saw, over her, the spectre of her
loved and lost ; and this is what he told her, or tried to :
" Ah, my poor wife, pray on. Pray to God, for none
other in power will hear your prayer. I was taked
from you — ^I lost an arm in battle— a leg in the same —
I suffered in hospital; — I died and left you at the mercy
of those who fooled me. Yes, pray to God! He will
hear you ; but those who murdered me — who are rob
bing you — who hold a mortgage on that little one —
they will hear nothing unless it has the chink and clink
of gold. The country to them is nothing. The suffer
ings of soldiers who fought while they stole is nothing
to these. The agony of those who mourn is nothing.
All they want is the gold? And for this, for them, I died !
And for them I left you in poverty ! For them I gave
my life and your heart ! 'Twas to enrich them and
make a slave of that little one I died ! Yes, pray to
God, for none other in power -wiU help you !"
Editing a Newspaper. — ^It is fun! All you have
to do in New York, as elsewhere, is to nail up a sign

MARK M. POMEROT. 219
"and go it. Editors are as plenty as whiskey bottles in
Grant's wigwam ! So many eminent roosters come, for
ward with advice. Advice is good. That is, when we
have enough of it. We lack advisers — a few more
wanted. Apply to the devil, or next oldest apprentice.
Come early and stay late, and bring your advice. We
have had a few of those already. There are so many
men who know so much — just struck 'em ! If in luck,
they may know more.
They all wish us to succeed, and know just how we
can do it. Kind roosters — our pot of thanks fOr them is
red hot. Experience having proved that we cannot edit
a paper, or give it circulation, it is proposed to teach us.
Christ never had more lepers to heal than we have emi
nent roosters to give us advice, and who know just what
is needed to make The, Democrat paper a success. One
red hot delegate says, " Give 'em more hell !" Another
long-headed rooster says, " Rip it into old Greeley /"
Please excuse us — he don't wish us .to ! Another old
cove, with moss on his back, calls to say we are an injury
to the party, and advises us to go slow, and put in more
about the Monroe doctrine ! Here comes a loose king,
bald with the head knocked off, who brings twenty
pages of foolscap for us to publish, defending him in a
private quarrel originating between two hired girls.
' Another moral dispenser ¦wishes us to insert his article
every day proving that the Constitution was intended
by the consolidated commonwealths to protect the natu-

220 LIFE OP
ral contested elongations of the organic laws of the
patriarchs of our present form of government, originat
ing with Juvius JCeuvius Domesticulus, as exemplified
by Ovid in the reign of Charlemagne, and based upon
the normal elements of a great fundamental principle
according to Dryden, as set forth by Josephus in book
ninety-five, to which, and the preceding volumes, the
reader is referred. We send him out upon the World
rejoicing !
Another man of genius comes in ¦With an article cheap
at eighty-seven dollars, in which he proves that if the
steamer Merrimac had been erected on the plan adopted
by Noah, the unholy conflict lately in fashion, would
not have terminated the day it did. Referred to one of
the assistant editors who has gone to the country.
One man wants to furnish a column a day for two
years on the legal rate of interest in Utah. Another
statesman ¦wishes us to give a three-column puff for a
personal friend of his who sent in a bottle of peppermint
essence when his Aunt Jerulia had the hooping distem
per. Another man, who don't know enough to catch a
decent cold, stops to tell us that an article in the paper
five weeks ago will injure us if rejected. Another man
comes in to say he is exceeding glad we are succeeding,
and then wants to borrow a dollar till he goes home.
One wants more poetry — another more fan — another
more statistics — another wants more about Mrs. Lin
coln. Another man comes in with a five-column dUu-

MARK M. POMEEOT. ¦ 221
tion of one of our last month's editorials, and says it
would be good policy, now that the people demand it,
to say something about United States bonds.
Another man with Isid gloves comes in to say, " It
won't do, sir — it won't do, by  ; it won't do to at
tack the moneyed men of the country — ^the country, sir!
We'll not take your paper — your paper, sir ! We won't
advertise with you, sir ! You'll fail and burst up, sir, if
you intend to advocate the cause of the fools who know
nothing about finances — about finances, sir !" Just so.
Judge. And so they come, day after day — old men and young
men, smart men and fools. Men who can write, and
men who cannot. Nine-tenths of them with an axe to
grind — all with advice. In twp weeks we have had
over a hundred distinct lines of policy marked out for
us, and no two alike. And we'll follow them all — when
success has become irksome, and we wish to make a fool
of ourself, and fail. Some of our advisers know so
much, we wonder they don't run for President, or start
a cat-skin tannery out in the woods !
Meanwhile, send in the advice. Deliver all large
packages at the back-door, and mark the heaviest,
" C. O. D.," which, being interpreted, means : Cshtay
Out Doors.
Young men, if you are in need of advice, hire out for
an editor !

222 LIFE OF
SATURDAY NIGHT.
Young men and workingmen of the great cities —
Fathers, husbands, and lovers — ^will you sit with us to
night — ^this Saturday night, and talk with us, your
friend ? The labors of the week are ended. The little
tin-paU which so oft has accompanied you to the places
of toil, sits in its place — the home ones so dear to you
ai'e indeed glad Saturday night, the most blessed of all
God's earthly nights, has come again.
We are weary. Hours of toil and tension of brain —
hours of severe mental labor have for years made us
long for this, best night of all the week to us. As we
have worked through the week, we can rest, muse, and
think now; we can all leave the work-room behind and
rest, and tell the dear one of oiir heart, and the loved ones
of the household^ that we love them, and ¦with them to
night shall rest.
Throw care to the winds. Gather the loved ones
about you. Tell the wife who for days, weeks, months
or years, has shared more of your troubles than of your
joys, that you love her as in the days agone. And you
will see her face light up with the same smile which
so crazed your heart once — will see the love-light in her
eye, and out to each will swell the heart as in days long
since. Gather the little one, or the little ones, about you.
Unbend from business. Romp with the home ones.

MAEK M. POMEROT. 223
Men should not be statues, never bending, always cold
and forbidding. Down from your assumed dignity, and
be a true, noble-hearted man. Draw her you love to
your heart. Look into her eyes — go down into their
wondrous depths — remember it is intolerable selfishness
which strangles so many hearts ; be good, kind, loving,
happy. All the week she has toiled and waited for to-night.
Do not disappoint her now, and your home will be
happier each coming week. Her task is harder yet than
yours, for the walls of a house, no matter how large,
are not like the walls of a city. Perhaps the bloom of
youth, the silent eloquence of the eye, the loved presence
are not there as once. Then, workingman and brother,
see if you cannot call them back ; for you are the man —
she is but the patient, toiling, trusting, loving woman,
who would die foi- you and your love.
Are you going out ?
Do not go alone. Take your home ones ¦with you.
Give them a treat to-night. If you have saved only
enough for your own gratification, save it and stay at
home. If you cannot take.her and them to a place of
amusement, walk the streets and see the beautiful, or
throw off your coat and romp in the parlor or sitting-
room of mansion or shanty, as the case may be. Give
this night to your family and you will be a better,
happier man.
We love the laborers of America. We love the work-

224 > LIFE OF
ingmen enough to speak truth to them, for we would
make their homes happier, their labor less, their enjoy
ments more — their eternity brighter. And this we tell
them: Save your earnings. Do not squander it in haunts
of vice and dens of degradation. Ten dimes saved will
make a dollar. The dollar will buy shoes for the little
one — a keepsake for the wife — a book for her to read
when tired and weary with watching for your coming —
a picture for you both to look at, as it adds beauty to
your room. Save the dollar you are tempted to spend
foolishly. Beautify your home rather than some gilded
saloon. Try and be better, more noble, manly, and
more of a good husband and father. No man is so
happy as he who does his duty. You owe a duty to
yourself — a duty to your family. All the world is not
to them what you are, or should be. Your home can be
happier if you seek to make it so. Hours and dollars ¦
squandered are worse than lost.
If your wife is not dressed as are those you visit, save
your earnings and dress her so. If your home is not
attractive, see if you cannot help make it so. Life is
but a book full of littles woven together. It takes but
little to make home happy. Little by little, day by
day, week after week, see if you cannot add to it more
attractions. Read this chapter, a workingman's sermon,
to her you love, and see if she does not agree with us.

MARK M. POMEROT. 225
and will not agree to aid you to make you more happy.
Seal the bargain with a kiss, and begin to-night.
Do not squander your money in drink, for it weakens
your brain and heart ; it makes a kiss nauseating to a
woman who loves ; it robs you of the result of toil ; it
makes you less a man. We would not dictate, but in
kindness would say, drink is of no benefit. We wish
to see workingmen protected, but they should first pro
tect themselves ! We are made heart-sick to see them
over-taxed and over-worked to support an aristocracy
that is exempt from taxation and at war upon their
prosperity; we are pained to see them so careless of
their earnings. We wish their homes, even if small, tp
be more beautiful, and to see them enjoying their homes
and the society of their loved ones^if not every night,
every night they can. The days are fading out — the
furrows are stealing over our faces — ^the muscle which
now is wedded to toil is growing weaker ; and if we
who would be happy will not try to be happy and to
make our loved ones really so, then He who loves us all
has given us in vain Saturday night.
" Brick" Pomerot.
Brick Pomerot keepeth a Horse ! — Nothing like it !
If you don't have, keep, hold, possess, and operate a '
horse you are nobody. Worse than a girl without rib
bons — a boy minus a moustache — ^a prayer without an
amen. xo*

226 LIFE OF
You can't be in style except you keep a horse — darn
the expense. That is the stamp on fashion — a horse,
rearibus cum go-em ! Smith goes without life insurance
to keep a horse and be in style. Jones keeps a trotting-
horse and sulky, and wears linen pants all winter.
Blefe keeps a saddle-horse, rather than send his children
to school. White keeps a roadster rather than hear his
wife thumping on a piano. Everybody keeps one, so I
wanted one. Black told me there was nothing like it.
Said he, one day as I rode to dinner with him :
" You see. Brick, there is nothing like a horse. It
don't cost anything to keep one, and they are so con
venient. All you have to do is to rent a little stable,
buy a harness, carriage, robes, and a horse, hire a cheap
boy to care for him, and then you can ride to your
place of business, or, if you wish exercise, take care of
him yourself. It don't cost much — a horse don't eat
much ! And then you can ride out in the morning or
evening — take a friend, go and come to dinner quick,
and if you have an errand to do, there is your horse all
ready. And I went to a sale stable and gave a man five dol
lars to find me one. He did. I bought him, a beautiful
creature, seven hands high, fifteen years old, gentle as a
* lamb, fleet as the steeds of Arabia, and easy to keep as
a poodle dog. He was a white chap, well broke, could
trot, pace, gallop, rack, canter, amble, and walk — could
stand on his two fore legs, or his hind two legs, or his

MAEK M. POMEEOT. 227
four fore and hind legs, either or neither end up, and
then roll over, and get up or not as he wished to.
Just the horse for me. Was good under a saddle, in
harness or stable. I bought him. Price three hundred
dollars — got him at a bargain ; owner had just died,
and "the widow did not care to go in company except in
mourning, and white is no mourning, you kncrw.
I sold my watch and Jerulia's old jewelry for a hun
dred dollars, borrowed at the bank a hundred more, and
gave a mortgage on my house as security, and then
gave my note for another hundred, secured by mort
gage on the horse, and at last owned a beauty of an
equine. Then-^ sold the piano under promise of getting
a new one, and bought a buggy, sold the cow for a har
ness — for cows are not neat, you know — and run in debt
at a harness store for a whip, blanket, robes, brushes,
etc., till at last I owned a complete rig.
I never had fun before. Not being able to hire a
boy, I took care of the horse. Got *up at four o'clock,
curried him, rubbed him with wads of hay, old cloths
and brushes, fed him oats, hay, salt and saltpetre,
anointed his tail and mane to keep the hair on, led him
to the blacksmith shop once a week, blistered my hands
every day cleaning him, carried him water, and called
him pet names till he loved me like a mule !
Had lots of fun, and such exercise ! Never worked
so hard before in all my born or unborn days. Never
did so much for fun ! Once I was sick a month, and

228 LIFE OF
Jerulia had to take care of him. She loved me or
would not have done it. One day he playfully pro
truded his left hind foot into Jerulia's face, cutting an
ugly hole in her cheek and cracking five teeth out of
place. I had the laugh on Jerulia then ! Once he
playfully bit three inches of scalp from the top of my
head ! I amused him about twenty minutes with an
old fork handle ! Better than dumb-bells for enlarging
muscle !
And it was so nice to have a horse ! I could take
Jones, Smith, and Brown to their meals, and have
something to pay taxes on. And it was so nice to keep
a horse to lend your neighbors. One time our minister
borrowed the horse and buggy to visit his aunt over in
Pinville, ninety miles away. He went with his wife and
four children in the buggy, with a trunk strapped on
behind for the children to sit on. Was gone a week.
It didn't cost but sixty dollars to repair horse, harness,
and buggy.
Then one of the boys wanted the rig to go out girling.
He drove twenty miles in eighty minutes, to let his Mar
tUda see how fast he could go. The horse was a little
stiff for a month after that, but fifty dollars' worth of
liniment cured him, or nearly.
I like exercise, and this horse gave it to me. Once I
left him unhitched before the office for a minute. He
saw something and started. Ran over an old woman
and a calf Broke the calf of the old woman, and I had

MAEK M. POMEROT. 229
to carry her to a drug-store and pay damages. Ran
over a calf, upset the buggy and irritated the dash
board and one wheel quite much. He broke loose and
ran playfully six miles on the prairie. I caught him in
five hours, and now wear a truss. Playful animal '
Another time I went out to ride with a niece of my
first uncle's fourth wife. She wanted to see the grave
yard. We rode five miles out in the woods. I had
every confidence in that horse, dropped the lines in
order to do something, read a newspaper I think, and
just as the niece of my first uncle's fourth wife squealed
out'sort of tickledly, the horse ran gently against a tree
an'd we both got out. The horse went on, and so did I,
but I ran a mile before I caught him. Lost my way in
the woods and never saw the niece of my first uncle's
fourth wife, nor the buggy again !
I like a horse. It costs nothing to keep one ! If you
have a five minutes' walk it is easier to clean off, hitch
up, water, and drive your horse, unless the buggy be
broken, or harness out "of order. And it don't cost
much! We had white sugar in the house once,
and dessert after dinner twice this year ! And I have
Stopped all these foolish ladies' magazines and picture-
books, and Jerulia now stays at home like a sensible
woman. Can't afford to gratify all these little whims !
And it is such fun to see him play ! Once he kicked
the frontispiece of the buggy in, and I let him run in
the yard after admonishing him half an hour with a

230 LIFE OF MAEK M. POMEEOT.
broken thill. He likes out-door play. He ran over a
hencoop and killed the old hen, leaving nine orphan
children for the cat to eat ! Then he left his private
stamp on the bosom of two shirts, male and female,
and masked his feet through a pair of sheets bleaching
on the grass. And he knocked a ladder down, with
the end through the parlor- window, kicked the dust out
of the fiower-beds and scared thunder out of tbe twins
who were sleeping on the grass under a plum-tree.
Playful animal ! so full of life !
I have had him five months, and he has not cost over
nine hundred dollars nor given me over two hundred
miles extra travel. I have been offered nineteen dollars
for him, and if any poor man wants to take style and
have something to care for which will cost him nothing,
he can have him. Address, for two hours,
. Horsetally thine,
" Beick" Pomeeot.

^^

^^

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