The north Iowa times. [volume] (M'Gregor [i.e. McGregor], Iowa) 1856-1857, 1857-01-23
81 N g2co@ @ soieS~a %% %% MGREGOR, FRIDAY, JAN 23 1857

life the contrast, between the opposing
rights of the master and the slave were
presented in the strongest relief
Among the early emigrants to northern
Arkansas was q young man. by the name
of Alfred Lytton, from The state of Yer
mont, whose sole fortune at first consisted
in an affectionate wife and two small
sprightly children. To make amends
however. for his deficiency in precuniary
means, the Yankee possessed produc.
tive natural capital of shrewdness and
persevering industry, with considerable
education and excellent moral principles
and with these he determined to battle
manfully with the stern difficulties of life,
and hoped to better his disagreeable con.
di,ion. Accordingly, he settled down on
a piece of public land, and commenced
the arduous contest. During the day,
from dewy dawn until dark, weaponed
only with the axe of the pioneer, he fought
against the ancient Titans of the forest,
overthrowing whole armies. by the week
or month; and often till the starry noon
of night he used the potent agency oi
fire to exterminats the gigantic trunks and
tangled limbs which his bravery had
brought to the ground, while not unfre-
quently his fair and fond Mary, and even
their little blue-eyed boy of i've summers,
assisted to burn the brush. Hg4t ~ 5as
For him., there was no such word az
rest, save as sign of the few hours pass
ed in necessary sleep for not SO much az
the sacred Sabbath could be devoted to
the refreshment of the mind or body-it
must be devoted to hunting wild game in
the Ozark Mountains, or the family would
be without sustenance for the ensuing
hebdomadal struggle with the demons Of
poverty and toll. And thus feeted away
the first summer, and the autumnal har-
vest, worth some hundred dollars, was the
trivial reward Of all this wearisome labor,
more arduous than that of any slave on the
cotton-farm of the south.
The acute intellect of Alfred Lytton
could not fail to perceive that he must de-
wise more favorable method of exertion,
or relinquish his cherished prospects Of
life in despair. He concluded to turn
stock-raiser, and being unable to purchase
horses or cows, he laid out the paltry pro.
ceeds of his crop in swine, and the invest.
ment soon realised his most sanguine ex.
pectations. His herd increased with the
remarkable rapidity SO peculiar to that
unclcan animal 80 that when the public
lands of the region came into market, he
had sufficient funds to buy the small tract
embracing his improvement.
i But the new position of the emigran,
as frce-holder had no tendency to lessen
his never-ending efforts of mind and mus
Gle. Day and night, summer or winter
he must stand between his plough-hsn
dles, or follow his wandering herds among
!; the hills to guard them from the prowlinl
wolf or predatory black bear. Who hai
a title to talk Of bondage that never knew
the pains of pOverty-the bitter thraldou
of eternal toll +? And who, that has ex
perienced these, knows not that indiyenc,
} is the harshest Of all possible task mas
ters? Oh how many such terrible con
! flicts. moral issues. involving the yer]
! fundamental fact of existence, are waget
alone and unwitnessed in thousand val
leys, from the snow-drifts of Maine to tn,
} wild woods of Oregon! History take
no account of these humble encounters il
J the great battle of human life, and ye
! they would often be found more severe
, and even far more sublime. both in tn
| prowess and perseverance of the individ
| ual combatants and in the tremendou
nature of the strife. than any recorded o
! field or foray.
, Contemporaneously with the heroi
struggle Of Alfred Lytton. and in tn
! same neighborhood, another of some
: what different character was going on
: The youthful slave Nelson, bright, in
telligent mulatto, belonged to an energeti
farmer, one Samuel Hume. The maste
{ was neither better nor worse than major
: ity Of his class -exacting . reasonabl
q amount of labor, and allowing the ord
/ nary indulgence TO his servants, accordin
. to the custom of the country.
However, the mulatto Nelson happen
: ed to possess an ambitious disposition. an
0 resolved. by some means. to acquire a
Q education. The children in the famil
taught him the letters Of the alphabet an
! the first rudiments Of the spelling-booi
: and from that moment he scarcely eve
: gave himself the requisite repose for eve
n tho preservation of his health. He carr
! ed volume with him wherever his bus
It ness called him. and studied it by snatch
q es and when the labors Of the long day
a work ended, his lucubrations by pine
0 light commenced. and not unfrequentl
n lasted until morning. In this way, after
Q few years, he succeeded in mastering man
y difficult sciences. Nevertheless, he wa
d not altogether unsssistsd in his high e1
! deavors towards self-instruction. II
: borrowed the necessary books from Alfre
e Lytton. and also received whatever tuitio
: the latter had the leisure or the learnin
II to impart and from this communicate