The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1854-12-23

COCK totitu not DC iOuNL ON tne premises.
In truth the extent his possessions forms
no occasion for slovenliucss Of culture.
Neater, cleaner lands cannot be found IN the
State. The enclosures arc almost exclusive
" OF Virginia rail icncc, st1kcd and ridcrcd,
such as 40 civilized bullock will think Of at
tempting. We had heard some years since
Of "a contract with Professor Turner TO sGt
some dozen miles Of Maclura hedge here,
hut neither saw or heard Of il while present.
II may be however on the upper Sangamon
farm, which we did not visit. The usual
practice of good farmers in this part Of the
State, is here followed, Of cutting up and
putting in stock all the corn. At this work,
the sons of Mr. :, in striped overlauls,
were engaged, On the day OF our visit. Al
the stocks are wanted for feed, they are
hauled into lot adjoining, and fed upon the
grass, stalks, ears and all. Hogs either run
witA the cattle or are turned in after them,
ana thus clean work is made Of feeding.
The question may aris", where such a
number of steers eau be- found, a are here
annually fed and turned oil. This is, per.
haps, no difficult question to answer now,
for cattle are plenty at present in Illinois;
and instead of increasing his business, Mr.,
5, owing to the slight pressure Of years and
iniirmity, has rather decreased IT Of late.
But years ago, when the land was newer aud
the country ras wilder, the BUSINESS Of fin.
ding and driving cattle on such 4 scale was
one Of enormous labor, and furnished a field
Tor the genius Of such a man as Mr.. StrawD
1t was his custom to scour all Southern
and Central Illinois, Missouri, aud the set.
tied parts Of Iowa; riding by day and by
night, across praires, and through timber,
10y the ROAD or without road, AZ the case
might be, in manner fairly cntltlins the
story Of ii to the pages OF romance. Sleep
was Of no consequence TO him. TO ride a
week, day aud night, without wink Of
sleep, except what no got upon his horse;
Vas no uncommon occurrence; and this has
been followed for eight or nin0 days together
more than once, as we have from his own
story. When the country was particularly
Wild and difficult, pilots were employed, and
mcn were ready here and there to heed thc
| call Of Jacob Strawn, at whatever hour Of
the night hc happened to make his appear.
nnce. Yet he would cross a new section of
territory almost as If by instinct; the quick
and accurate apprchvnsious Of the features
Of territory, which habit and keen obscr-
vance had given him, seldom left him at
7 loss while there were daylight or stars.
/ Perhaps some may suppose that there is
/ no chance for art or skill IN driving cattle.
/ If any have such n notion, trial or two
/ with drove Of wild bullocks would extract
the concct. Mr. Strawn can drive any bul-
. lock anywhere. W. to the wild steer break.
/ inG from the drove 10 escape him. On his
( trained horse, Mr.. ;. is alongside Of him,
and the youngster feels the Whack Of that
terrible cattle whip, fairly cracking through
all his interior in repeated strokes, TIL he
roars with pain Ii this docs not suffice,
/ the story is told Us, that in his prime, hc
could ride alongside the animal, and without
dismounting seize him by the horn with one
hand, and by the nose with the other, and
tumble him upon his SIDE before he could
"know wha. made his head swim How far
this is true we do not know, but have rca.
[ son to think il has been done. OF course
one or the other must give in" and 80 far
II has always been the bullock. -...
! y constant service Of twenty or thirty
/ years Of this kind could not fail TO develop
| personal heroism none the less reHii7 orr ar
/ count oi It's peaceful ends. For years tUgcth-
/ er the Beef market Of ST. louis was either
, supplied or controlled Nv Mr.. Strawn. Till
/ his business had reached twenty-five thou
sand dollars per annum he kept no books
I whatever; all lis receipts, payments and ba-
lanccs being carried in bis head (; yet no man
caught him in mistake nor could any man
be found who could at ali cope with his ra-
pidlty Of calculation. lie would ride
/ through drove off hundred steers, weigh
them all in his mind, add the amounts togc-
ther, calculate their cost at the market price,
and before the owner would count their
number the money would be rendered.
"Will you take it il so here it is, if not,
enough said; and Jacob Strawn is SOM
where else" We have heard it said that he,
or two of his three oder sons would almost
inlalibly decide, 10y the eye, the weight Of
any bullock, or number Of bullocks, within
from five TO ten pounds each, on a ride
through them and that the difference would
never pay the trouble Of putting the animals
upon the scales. All steers are known To
him. His eye once on horned animal, and
he knows him henceforth as a man knows his
brother. Of all his two thousand cattle, each
is an acquaintance, and his proper pasture Ii
remembered, and his absence from it noted
at once, even though in his possession but a
day.
Not very singular though seemingly SO, is
it, that while possessed OF this unialllne
knowledge Of animals, he seldom remembers
men. The friend who called with US, though
neigh5or Of his for twelve year ;, and one
with whom he repeatedly does business aud
Mt whose Office he had called that very day,
could not be named 10y him. He remembers
perhaps u countenance, but can seldom call a
name. He is fond Of seeing company at ms
house. and cntertains all who will stop with
him free olcXpensc, and takes it hard while
abroad. if he is not invited TO cat on proper
occasion but he prefers to do most OF the
talking, rafting on in 4 sharp explosive
manner quite difficult to be understood by q
stranger, but full Of fun and humor when ont
can fairly get hold of his idea. lie hates q
slow, hesilating man, as badly as did Napo
leon, and will never hear him through. A
. prompt, energetic, decided man is hls de
light. Lazincss and failure to pay ones
debts are his two Mortal sins. lie has drank
no whiskcy or alc' oiic liquors 10: forty
wears A dish OF milk and apple pie--uncu
ARE his delight over all ylands. He de
, clares that hc never had gold till iorty-iiv'
years Of age, and was never tired, till he be
gan to get "lat and lazy'--say WITHIN SIX OF
eight years.-Four lawsuits are his Who'll,
, legal experience, none Of which resulted tC
+ his entire satisfaction. lie is no politician
does not read the papers extensively, anc
unless some friend shows him this article
will probably never know that anything is il
print about him.-lle attends church some
times, when at home, commonly with the Me
, thod;sts though his wife is connected witt
the Presbyterans, at whose worshiphe vii
be occasionally present. His untiring devo
, ton to his one business anL his neglect o
sleep, brought on partial arrangement o
his mind few years ago ; and he was pacet
in an Asylum for the Insane for shor
time, where rest soon restored him. Lii
health is however less firm, and sleep ever,
; night, though but four hours, cannot be neg
lccted Yet the daylight never finds him il
, bed 1t was rich joke to him that lad,
, called to "sec his farm" at five o'clock in tn,
afternoon Five o'clock in the mornin.
| would have made the idea respectable to him
His present dwelling is large two stor,
5 building Of brick, erected in 1888. he tim