THE only one of the proprietors now living related to us the following interesting story: -

     "When I moved my family to the thirty-six acres of land which I had bought, I had no thought of ever laying out any portion of it in town lots, or of any town ever being laid out there, nor at that time had Walker or Patterson.  the idea, when suggested, was pleasing, and we at once took up with it.  Clinton had been laid out by Sam. Smith, and had never been paid out, I believe.  It was started chiefly on the donation principle.  Those who would put up buildings had their own time to pay for their lots, if ever they could.
     "When we got word that the Commissioners were coming on to locate the county site, we were greatly stirred up about how we should manage.  Kratzer and Williamson and Walker came to see me about it, and we all had a general consultation.  I thought we had no chance of getting it, for I told them that they had, at Clinton, Bill Douglass' mill and a lot of good houses, and Sam. Smith's big 

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brick house, and a plenty of smart Yankees to manage, and they had at Frederick Johnny Kerr's mill and a lot of rich Quakers around it, and both those places looked better then than our d___d little scrubby place; and Sam. Kratzer asked me

Benjamin Butler, J.P.

what I would do about it?  And I said to them that I had studied out a pretty d____d bad trick that I could manage if they would only go into it, and if they wouldn't there wasn't a d____d bit of chance for us; and they said, let's hear it; and I told them I would give $10 myself, and each of

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them must give $10, to make up a purse and get liquor for the devils we had, and engage them to go up to Clinton and Frederick, and get drunk, and fiddle and fight and play hell generally when the Commissioners came up there to look, and that we would get two good yoke of oxen to work on the streets, and the rest of the men must take hold and spade and shovel and pick and roll logs and dig up stumps, and be fixing up the streets right, while all the women and girls must get out into their gardens, hoeing and weeding and working like good fellows, and I would have the best victuals cooked and the best cheer the little old tavern could afford, so as to please the bellies of the Commissioners, and we might then come out first for the county site selection.
     "My plan struck their fancy, and Sam. Kratzer, although he was a great Methodist, didn't say a d__d word about its being a sin to cheat them that game, but at it he went, and they all fell into the plan.  And we had a clever fellow named Munson, from Granville, and a big fellow named Bixbee, from over about Big-belly, and they agreed to go along and each to captain a gang of the rowdies, and see that it was played out right.
     "It was Thursday afternoon when the Commissioners first came to our town, and they rode up and asked me if they could get to stay all night, and I told them that it was hard fare we had, but if they would put up with it they could, and they stopped.  I guessed who they were at once, and passed the word around, and everything went on as we had planned it, and the next morning about

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daylight the busiest set of bees ever collected about a hive were at work, hammering, pounding, digging, hoeing, scraping and working on the streets and in the lots.  Leah had breakfast bright and early; I had their horses all cleaned up and well fed, and ready after they eat to start.  They wondered at the work they saw going on, and if it was kept up always as they had seen it in town, and I told them were were all poor and hard working, and we never lost any time in our little town.  They said they were going up to Clinton and Frederick to see those places, and were going to fix the county seat, and wanted me to go along, but I tried to beg off - that I was poor and must work, and couldn't lose the time, as it would take them two or three days to determine it.  They said no, it wouldn't take them that long, and I knew d___ well if the trick was played out well by the rowdies that they would soon be back, so I sort of hesitated as though I would and I wouldn't go, and finally told Kratzer if he would go too, I would, as I would like to see them fix the county seat up there, and then Jim Dunlap, who was a jovial fellow about 35, spoke up and said to come ahead; the other two were sort of gruff, it seemed to me, and didn't say much, but looked solemn.  They asked if we didn't expect to get the county seat at Mount Vernon, and I told them no, that we were too poor to try for it; that I felt too poor really to go up with them, for some fellow might come along and stop with me, who would want me to go with him and look at land, and every fellow that I showed land to, gave me $2 which helped right smart.  There were three sorts

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of poor - God's poor, the devil's poor, and poor devils, and that we were all poor devils; but Sam. Smith was long headed, and Johnny Kerr had lots of rich Quakers to back him, so us poor devils were left out of the question.
     "We then rode together up to Clinton, and there the rowdies were cutting up, and the fiddle going, and shouting and cursing being done of the tallest kind, and then we went to go into the tavern there was a rush to the door way, and two men scuffling and fighting, and before the Commissioners could get in they were jammed and scuffed about, and in the din and confusion, and yells of 'pull them off,' 'part them,' 'don't do it,' 'fair play, by G__d,' 'hit him again, d___n him,' 'let 'em fight it out,' and all such calls, the Commissioners backed out from the tavern, and proposed to go and look at Fredericktown.  About that time old Sam. Smith came up, and when he found out they were the Commissioners, and going, he tried the hardest kind to get them to stop, but it was no go; they had seen enough of that place then, but promised him to call again tomorrow.  On the way to Fredericktown I talked much with them, and apologized for the way our people up there had acted, and they asked me if they cut up like Indians all the time, and I told them that about Clinton and Frederick there were a great many rich men's sons, and they had no trades, and would frolic a little just to put in their time, but they were a mighty clever set of people, &c.  And I pointed out to them the pretty scenery, and bragged on the land around, but said not a word for Mount Vernon.  When we got to

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Frederick, they stopped at Ayres' tavern, and found a good deal such quarreling going on as at Clinton, and I got afraid then that they might see through it, and suspect that we had a hand in getting it up, and so I got down about the mill, and sat on the logs awhile with Kratzer and Patterson, and left them up at the tavern to see the fighting in the year, and just before going in to dinner I called one of the rowdies to me and told him it was all working well, and gave him more money, and told him to swear the others not to revulge on them ever, and we would make it right with 'em.  After dinner the Commissioners sauntered around, and I proposed going back and leaving them, as they would want to stay all night there, and I had some work to do and chores to attend to at home before night; but they would have me wait a while longer for them, and I did it.  while there sitting on a log, we bet two gallons of wine with Johnny Kerr, as to which place would get the county seat.  When they were ready they started, and we rode back to Mount Vernon, where Mrs. Butler had the best kind of supper cooked up, and it put them in right good humor.  She knew how to fix things up right on such an occasion.
     "the men about Mount Vernon were all quiet, and kept so, and when Dunlap asked Coyle's two boys to take a dram with him, they hung back and hesitated, until I told them to come up and take a drink with the gentleman - that there was no harm in it; and they poured out the least bit of drams they ever took in their lives.  The next morning the Commissioners got ready to start, and I had

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got Knuck Harris, the only nigger in the country then, to sleek their horses off, and they came out looking first rate.  Dunlap was a funny fellow, and he thought he could hop, and bantered some of the boys to hop, but they were afraid they would be beat by him, and said it warn't no use to try, as they knew he could beat them.  But I told him to make his hop, and he went out in the road and gave a sample; I went over it just a little, and we hopped several times, until I concluded to show him what Ben. could do, and I hopped so far over his furtherest mark that they all laughed him right out, and he gave it up, saying I could hop some.  In those days I never found the man that could beat me.  When they were about starting I asked them if they were not going back to Clinton and give it another look, but they said no, and the Clintonites never saw them anymore.  They wanted to go to Delaware, and asked me to pilot them a part of the way, which I did, and when I go out with them back of George Lewis' place, I tried to find something out of them as to what they had determined on, but they evaded my questions, and gave me little satisfaction.  On bidding them goodby, I hoped they were not put out with our place on account of the hard fare I had given them - that I had nothing nice to give them, as I kept only a little log tavern, and supplied my table by hunting and butchering.  One of them remarked that if they ever came this way again, they were well enough suited to call on me.  I then said that I was poor, and felt discouraged, and thought that I would quit off and go some where else and make a

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better living for myself and family.  Dunlap then said I was doing well enough, and must not get out of heart.  And so we parted.  When we got back to town all the men gathered around me to find out what was our chance.  I told them what had passed between us, and that I was satisfied it would be found that our side was ahead, and I called them all up to take a good drink at my expense on Mount Vernon being made the permanent county seat.  That little trick of ours, I am sure, made the scales turn in our favor, and when we knew that it was established at Mount Vernon, you can imagine that we had loud rejoicing over it."
     In this time of war, when the public mind is educated to believe that it is fair in any way to gain an advantage over an enemy, there will be but few who will not consider this little county seat contest to have been properly conducted upon the part of the Vernonites.  The rule that "all is fair in politics" having of late years gained general acceptation and credence, those who have dabbled in government mental affairs will say that this was rightly done, and all who have won in matters of love, and who has not, will concede that "the end justifies the means,: and all who believe that "whatever is is right,"  will determine that Mount Vernon honorably, justly and legitimately became the permanent seat of justice of Knox county.

JONATHAN HUNTS RYDER.

     Jonathan Hunt informs us that he was one of the volunteer workers on the streets at the time the Commissioners came on and that Gilman Bryant

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sort of bossed the work, and being a cripple, he tended on them and gave out the whisky and water, cheering them up as he came around, saying:  "Work like men in harvest, but keep sober, boys."  Mike Click, and John Click, his brother, drove the oxen."  Mike was a bully hand with a team, and made them tear up stumps, haul logs, plow and scrape, as necessary.  Men never worked better on a road than that force then did.  They chopped down tree cut off logs, grubbed, dug down rough places, filled up galleys, burned log heaps, and made a wonderful change in the appearance of things.  It was the first work done on the streets of Mount Vernon.

- END OF CHAPTER