St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1859-07-07
Communications.
Correspondence Of the St. Charles City Integenc-r.
Illinois Correspondence.

MoNT MEAcHAM, Ill.,, June, 1859.
EDITORS lNTEIIGENcER 1T has often
been remarked that southern man
with northern principles was the most
staunch and sound man among us.
This is, of course, to be understood po-
litically. And in fact so has it proved
to the extent of our observation. We
find it somewhat SO here, though for
the most part this county has always
weighed heavily ON the Hunkcr side
Of the political scales. 1t is true, as
| apprised you once before, that the
great majority of early settlers here
were from the slave states, but yet,
even among these we find some of the
most settled and fixed anti-slavery
men in our ranks. Among them you
will find no doughfaccs," politically
speaking, but firm, bold, rcsolute to
their purpose, they are to be relied on
avery timo, and in o,e,y position.
Such, you know, are the men who are
going to whip (conquer) the world
only get these southcrncrs to sec and
feel the benefits of reform and prog
rcss, and they'll be right.
1t was quite amusing to listen to
the remarks of an old kentuckian,
short time ago, upon the advantages
of progress, and the difference to
he observed between the kentuckian
and the Easterncr. Said he =" If Il
kentuckian is inquiring for the char
actcr of country to which he has
some thought of emigrating, his in
quiries will be, first, if thar is plenty
of dears and bars thar second, if thar
is plenty of mass (mast) so that the
folks can get hog meat and third, if
the ground is rich" But said he,
" when you hear the inquiries Of
Yankee for the advantages of a coun-
try he asks, first, if there are school
houses and churches there A.; second, if
the people have put out orchards and
third, of what kind of soil it is" He
added -" When first came to llli-
nois my leading and principal object
was to settle in some place where |
could get plenty of game, mast and a
rich soil that would produce corn for
my bread without much labor and
so selected place here in the bot
toms. Well, here lived for good
many years with no higher idea than
to raise small piece of corn for my
bread, and to furnish little fodder
for my critters and COW brutes to
raise some cabbage and ingons and
such garden truck, and to hunt bars,
deers and coons, to make my meat,
and with the skins of which to buy
my tobacco, coffee and whiskey. But
some eastern people came in after
a while around me, who, as observed,
pursued altogether another course.
| marked their thrift, and the cheerful,
active and happy way in which they
took life, and it set me to the work of
investigation. | saw the elements OF
civilization and refinement in them,
and those of barbarism in myself. A
sense of propriety and a preference
for the best induced me to alter my
course and to copy, for the most part
after their example. sold my gun
the first thing, and would never have
one about Inc since. This l consider
q prominent feature of that scmi-bar
baric state from which determined tc
extricate myself. My whiskey, and
whiskey-loving comrades, | also aban
doned. | sought to establish schoo
for my children, and to turn my chic
attention to the cultivation of my
lands /; and as you see, my farm sup
ports us and we are prospering more
or less from year to year"
This man resides here still, living
monument of reform from scmi-barba
rism to civilization and rational an,
practical christianity. BY his obSery
ing mind he saw, years ago, the pre-
gressive strides Of pro-slavery rule
and espoused the cause Of the free