He became
skilful at his father's business of tanning, but is a typical
Yankee in the facility with which he turns his hand to anything.
From 1835 to 1839 he was at Franklin, Ohio, where we find him
adding to his former occupations the breeding of horses, and also
dabbling in land speculation, with the, result that he became
bankrupt. But when he failed in business he set to work to pay
his debts in full. His death found him still striving to achieve
that end. He was regarded as whimsical and stubborn, yet through
years of struggle, endeavour, and even failure he was known as
trusty and honourable.
From 1841 to 1846 he lived at Richfield, Ohio, where he took to
shepherding and wool-dealing, which he continued in 1849 at
Springfield, Massachusetts. He seems to have developed much
capacity for wool-testing. When he came to England with a cargo
of wool, some English dealers sought to practise a fraudulent
joke upon his quick fingers. They stripped a poodle of the best
of his fleece and handed it to the oracular Yankee with the
inquiry, 'What would you do with that wool?' But there was
wisdom in him down to the finger-ends, for he rolled it there,
and in a moment handed it back with the confounding retort,
'Gentlemen, if you have any machinery in England for working up
dog's hair I would advise you to put this into it.
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