{"id":"01KG6YH3QE4EAWX81GZPASK45M","cid":"bafkreiagwzeexugiwojncks2wgcpzxsnevnem44a7gus7anmlgrmaibalm","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":4955,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T07:57:45.581Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 4","source_file":"01KG6YDD8GKW0DRD5H2MY1NRZ7","start_line":4897,"text":"rubs in the world; that he was of a solemn disposition; that he was\r\nof the mind of Solomon; that he lived calmly, decorously, temperately;\r\nand though a very poor man, was, nevertheless, a highly respectable\r\none. At times I imagined that he might even be an elder or deacon of\r\nsome small country church. I thought it would not be a bad plan to run\r\nthis excellent man for President of the United States. He would prove a\r\ngreat reformer of abuses.\r\n\r\nHis name was Merrymusk. I had often thought how jolly a name for so\r\nunjolly a wight. I inquired of people whether they knew Merrymusk.\r\nBut it was some time before I learned much about him. He was by birth\r\na Marylander, it appeared, who had long lived in the country round\r\nabout; a wandering man; until within some ten years ago, a thriftless\r\nman, though perfectly innocent of crime; a man who would work hard a\r\nmonth with surprising soberness, and then spend all his wages in one\r\nriotous night. In youth he had been a sailor, and run away from his\r\nship at Batavia, where he caught the fever, and came nigh dying. But he\r\nrallied, reshipped, landed home, found all his friends dead, and struck\r\nfor the Northern interior, where he had since tarried. Nine years back\r\nhe had married a wife, and now had four children. His wife was become\r\na perfect invalid; one child had the white-swelling and the rest were\r\nrickety. He and his family lived in a shanty on a lonely barren patch\r\nnigh the railroad track, where it passed close to the base of the\r\nmountain. He had bought a fine cow to have plenty of wholesome milk for\r\nhis children; but the cow died during an accouchement, and he could not\r\nafford to buy another. Still, his family never suffered for lack of\r\nfood. He worked hard and brought it to them.\r\n\r\nNow, as I said before, having long previously sawed my wood, this\r\nMerrymusk came for his pay.\r\n\r\n\"My friend,\" said I, \"do you know of any gentleman hereabouts who owns\r\nan extraordinary cock?\"\r\n\r\nThe twinkle glittered quite plain in the wood-sawyer's eye.\r\n\r\n\"I know of no _gentleman_,\" he replied, \"who has what might well be\r\ncalled an extraordinary cock.\"\r\n\r\nOh, thought I, this Merrymusk is not the man to enlighten me. I am\r\nafraid I shall never discover this extraordinary cock.\r\n\r\nNot having the full change to pay Merrymusk, I gave him his due, as\r\nnigh as I could make it, and told him that in a day or two I would take\r\na walk and visit his place, and hand to him the remainder. Accordingly\r\none fine morning I sallied forth upon the errand. I had much ado\r\nfinding the best road to the shanty. No one seemed to know where it was\r\nexactly. It lay in a very lonely part of the country, a densely-wooded\r\nmountain on one side (which I call October Mountain, on account of its\r\nbannered aspect in that month), and a thicketed swamp on the other, the\r\nrailroad cutting the swamp. Straight as a die the railroad cut it; many\r\ntimes a day tantalizing the wretched shanty with the sight of all the\r\nbeauty, rank, fashion, health, trunks, silver and gold, dry-goods and\r\ngroceries, brides and grooms, happy wives and husbands, flying by the\r\nlonely door--no time to stop--flash! here they are--and there they go!\r\nout of sight at both ends--as if that part of the world were only made\r\nto fly over, and not to settle upon. And this was about all the shanty\r\nsaw of what people call life.\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 4"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG6YGBGKG15EQNWSZXFWPM05","peer_type":"segment","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG6YDD8GKW0DRD5H2MY1NRZ7","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG6YCG626JN4FCG8QK17CQCF","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG6YH31Z1P650SEJAJ1Q49EZ","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG6YH3QET4WBZX6N4S2AMQ48","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-30T07:57:50.702Z","ts":"2026-01-30T07:57:55.602Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}