The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1867-08-17
The DOWn-Easter and the Bull
\ TRUE STORY.

! \ TRUE STORY.
There will be "smart chance" o!
"bul" in this story.
| cannot promise that It will be a
good story, or a funny story; butI am
keen to swear that it is true story.
What / am about to relate happened
in Muscatine Co., Iowa, midway be-
tween Iowa City, the capital of the
State, and Muscatine City, flourishing
town on the Mississippi River in Sec
tion of the country called the Wapsi'
noenock Settlement, from a creek bear
| ing that name, which runs through the
settlement.
1t was in '52 (and that part of Iowa
was then thinly settled) that | found
myself at the Eagle hotel" i'll West
Liberty, village of some five houses,
about a mile east of Wapsiaoenock
Creek (WapSi-white (; noe-earth noe
creek: literally, white earth creek
and situated on beautiful prairie hol-
low.
Some half dozen travellers and viii
layers were lounging.in front of the am
pie fire place in the bar room; for
though the settlers had only few days
since finished their harvest, the evea-
ings were somewhat cool, and a small
fire was necessary to perfect comfort
talking of the prospects and whether
there was likely to be n large emigra-
tion pass through to California in the
spring to buy their surplus feed and
other produce, when new character
burst upon the stage. As the door was
flung open, all eyes were fixed with a
stare of astonishment and wonder upon
the new conner
The stranger was tall. raw-boned,
lantern-jawe individual, with tiaxen
locks Struggling about his shoulders.
His long, spindle legs were encased in
blue Jeans, and he wore coat of the
" steel pen cut" and in color what he
would have denominated "blue nut, y
with an oil cloth cap drawn so tight
ly down upon his head that it had
the appearance of having been pasted
on.
Then, what appeared most strange
and unaccOuntable was, that he was
wringing, dripping wet. His whiteish,
yellow ear locks were parted down to
his cheeks, and streaks of dirt marked
divers miniature water courses across
his forehead and down his nose; water
dripped from the claw hammer tails of
his coat and from the wristbands of the
same. On bis back he carried an oil
cloth carpet bag, securely fastened by
stout leather scraps which crossed upon
his breast.
Marching into the Middle of the room
with an immense Clatter of cow-hide
boots, he halted and cast an inquiring
glance around the circle occupying
benches in front of the fire. Bagley, the
landlord of the Eagle" " arose, nodded
and said:
Good eve'in', sur"
"How dye dew Be yeou the land
lord O this ere housc'
"Yes-r"
want t know! Reckon you could
MT keep feller here, nor give him a
bite O. nothin' for supper, could yer?"
"Yes-r."
Eyer mean ter say We ken bed and
breakfast mei"
"Yes-r"
"Gol darn glad to hear on't-an' if
yeou ken only just mix feller a little
suthin' hot an strong, with good deal
of rum int al but little water, it'll dc
me a mazing site o good.
"Yes-r.r
as rong, mind-a good deal O. Ticker
You've got rum'"
"Yes-r."
"A good deal O. rum in but little wat
er-stitf, as the old deacon nsed to say.
stiff, Mr.. Landlord.
"Yes-r."
While the landlord was preparing his
rum, the stranger stood in front of the
bar, with his pack still upon his back,
evidently bent on seeing that the cor.
rect thing was done in the rum and
water mingling. Then having imbib.
ed regular snorter," he asked the
landlord to assist him to remove his
pack.
This being done, he was about hand
ing his carpet bag over to the landlord
to put behind the bar, when he caught
sight of an immense rent in it, and
therefrom protruding the corners OF
articles of clothing in it. As soon as he
made the discovery the bag fell from
his hand, his jaw dropped, and few
seconds he stood the very image of des-
pair. At length he reused himself, and
striking his clenched fist against his
forehead, he exclaimed in a voice OF
heart-rending agony:
.' Ruined, ruined, ruined! Teetotally
ruined, busted to smash! One hundred
and sixty acres of the best land that
ever lay out doors, ripped all to fin
ders! o, Sarer Ann, little knowest
thou that we are ruined, busted fam
ily! Little yeou thinkest thou art a
beggar. o, Jerusalem! How shall /
ever meet you since this destruction
have been wroughted! Arter all our
skrimpin' an screwin,' an pinchin, IAN
turnin' and twistin'; arter sellin' the
two year old heifer an the nine shotes
and arter thou, o, Sarer Ann, goin' to
church in a caliker, were busted fam
iIyi o, Jerusalem! All, all, lost, gone
/ in minnit! o, heow little Jed an
Sarer Ann, kin meet yeouf"
This ont burst from the tall Yankee
took us all by surprise. We could not
imagine what had happened to cause
him so much alarm and grief, for the
Door man was absolutely beside himself
with terror and despair, and tears were
flowing plentifully down his brown
weather-beaten cheeks.
awhat on earth has happened to you,
sir, to case you 50 much distress You
are certainly not lamenting at this
rate over that rent in your carpet bag T.
asked /, advancing to where the Yankee
stood. % Z