Twenty Years of Hus'lingJohnston, J. P. (James Perry)
General
Twenty Years of Hus'ling
Johnston, J. P. (James Perry)
Business; Johnston, J. P. (James Perry), 1852-
However, I called on all my creditors, and, after showing them a nice
roll of money as evidence that I had been "hus'ling," I received their
sanction to my investing the money in jewelry, and going on the road as
a wholesaler. I then opened correspondence with a firm in Chicago who
had been recommended to me as headquarters on jewelry, arranging to call
on them in a few days. They informed me that five hundred dollars would
buy a fair stock, to start with.
We returned to the home of my wife's parents; and the day before I was
to start for Chicago, her father, who was engaged in the grocery
business, called me one side and explained that he had become involved,
and that the money I had would bridge him over; and if I would put it in
his business and help him run it he would give me half the profits and
board myself and wife.
This I consented to do, and had no sooner settled down to business than
his creditors began crowding him, and in a very short time the business
"collapsed." The only thing I had from the wreck was an old
billiard-table which he turned over to me. As I had had quite a sad
experience in the billiard business only a year before, I now thought I
saw my only chance to get even. I therefore rented a room and opened a
billiard hall.
This was a regular bonanza, for about three weeks. Indeed, too much so,
for then, to my regret, the "City dads" passed an ordinance prohibiting
the running of billiard rooms. As I had commenced housekeeping about the
time I opened the billiard room, and had gone in debt for my furniture,
I found myself in a sad plight. The sale of the outfit enabled me to pay
but a small portion of my indebtedness.
I was now stranded, and ready for something else, but was completely
non-plussed to know what to do next. Of course I realized by this time
that I had a wife, and a "mother-in-law," and it began to look as though
there must be some genuine "hus'ling" done.
About this time the whole country thereabouts was thrown into the
wildest excitement over the supposed mysterious murder of Almeda Davis,
for which a young man named Bunnell was arrested, tried and acquitted.
Deputy-sheriff Dennis, who made the arrest, came to me the next day
after the young lady's death, and asked me to write it up for some of
the leading City Dailies. I agreed to do so, and to always give him a
good "send off," if he would furnish me with the minutest facts during
the whole case. He did so, and I guess would be surprised to learn that
I made more money out of that trial than he did, if it was a new
business to me. But it made us a comfortable living until about the
middle of winter, when I decided to move back to Ohio. Before arranging
to leave, I called on my creditors at Bronson--there were five of
them--and explained my position. They each agreed that I could do
nothing there, and might better make a change, and that they would
gladly wait till I could make a raise before asking or expecting me to
pay.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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