The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1868-03-17
The early Dnyso of Gen. Grant by
His Fn her, and the Early Days" of
Hans Patrick lie Conner by His
Uncle, aHs.

General twas about twelve years old,
he had his head examined by blind
folded pnrenOlogist. After the manip
ulator of bumps had recovered from hi
astOniShment at the most extraordinary
head, Il Doctor Buckner asked whethe
the boy would be likely to distinguish
himself in mathematics eyes," sale
the phrenologist, "m mathematics o.
anything else; ii woald not be strange II 10
should see him President of the CRitot
States"
The Uncle of Hans Patrick LIE Con-
ner, is writing to the st. Louis RepubH
can, a sketch of the "early days" o
Hans. 1t seems that Hans has hat
his bumps felt too. Read the facts:
The first phrenologist that ever came
to our part of the country examined
Hans Patrick's head through a micro.
scope. There were many persons present
all eager to hear what the man had t.
say, and the boy for fear that he would
crush the two dozen bird.eggs couceal,
ed in his trowser's pockets, remained
perfectly quiet while the examination
was going on. The phrenOlogist NUT
tured to himself as he proceeded: "This
is no common head; it is a huge head; a
tremendous head, a saphead." asked
him if he thought Hans Patrick would
come to anything. He replied: From
the development of n particular organ
here (digestive), think he will come to
his meals three times a day as long as
he lives, or as long as he has The meals
to come to-" This gratified NE very
much, for there is no surer sign of fu-
ture greatness than good appetite. In
the afternoon, the phrenologist and I
were walking near pond where Hans
Patrick had been skating. He had fall
EN- upon the ice, and the Professor had
discovered the idcntation made by his
head. Marvellous head" he said to me,
sit is hard as copper" Hence tie term
Copperhead, sometimes applied to men
whose heads are too hard 70 he affected
by the slippery surface of fanatical
opinion. All the phrenologists who
came to our place for ten years predict.
ed that Hans Patrick would become
President. They predicted the same
thing OF all the other boys in the neigh
borhOod. None of these prophecies
have come true as yet, but you may look
for a perfect whirlwind of Presidents
from Nubbin Ridge one of these days.
Grants daddy writes:
perhaps it was my sons taste for
horses, and the great pleasure which he
took in riding and driving, of which l
gave you some account in my last let
ter, that prevented his ever becoming
addicted, so much as most boys, to other
amusements. lido not know that he ever
cared for any others ut all, except play
| ing marbles; of that he was extremely
fond. / believe he never danced until
hs went to West Point"
John Marshall, q cousin and school
mate of his, now prominent lawyer IN
Georgetown, relates the following anec-
dote of him.
Ulysses came to him, one day, and
offered to bet some marbles that lie
could Jump twenty-five feet, at single
Jump, he to select his own jumping
ground. Marshall took him up, and
they made the bet. Near 10y the tan
merry was q high, perpendicular bluff
Ulysses went to the top of this and
jumped off, sinking up to his middle in
the soft mud where he stuck: but lie " OH
the wager
The Uncle of Hans Patrick says of his
nephew.
Il think my nephew's early passion
for mules diverted his attention from
the common pastimes of boys of his age.
He was upwards Of four years old be-
fore he could play chess, dOminoes,
seven-up, &c. | never knew him to
dance in his early life, except when he
was logged by the scho0lmaster.
The following anecdOte is told of BIN:
He made q bet of six marbles, ALLEY
tors, or alley gators, have forgotten
which,-with small boy whom he
knew he could take the marbles away
from if he lost, that he could jump
thrty-five feet at one jump, he to select
the ground. He assembled n bluff near
by and leaped from the top oft into the
mud ut its base, sinking into the soft
earth up to his ears. He has since got
out. For long time this circumstance
caused him to DC known by the appel
| lation of "Stick-in-the-m mud" term
that has now become quite common"
Grants papa braggs considerably on
the good looks of his son when a baby,
but says he did not grow up as hand
some as the other boys. The Uncle of
Hans says of that boy:
"In respect to looks, Hans Patrick
was most beautiful child. He was
the lOveliest little creature / ever saw.
His complexion was white as alabaSter,
and his eyes glowed with prismatic
| glory that astonished the natives. We
| lies, when they had child to christen.
They would take him to be christencd
and leave their own at home, thus ex-
hibiting to their friends what beauJi-
full babe they had. Ladies used to
come miles and miles to see him. Ere
0uently there were so many of them on
a pilgrimage of this kind at time that
half of them had to sleep in barn and
do their own cooking. do not think
he grew up to be as handsome a man rs
the rest of the children. Ladies would
not 90 far to kiss him now; they would
probably go farther to avsid it,"
Papa Grant says that working in
the tannery was something that Ulysses
never fancie6. He would avoid il
whenever he could by driving the team;
or by going to get a load of passengers
and hiring boy to work in his stead"
Now mark the similarity between Hans
Patrick and Hiram Ulysses;
"My nephew Hans passion for hard
labor was never sufficiently strong to
damage his health. Most of the work
we had to do was chopping wood, and
he was always very awkward at it. l
have known him to break half dozen
axes i'll single day. 1t cost so much
to buy axes that l used TO let him go a
fishing in preference to chopping wood" :"
Father Grant explains how Hiram
Ulysses became "U. s."
Ulysses was entirely unprepsred by
any previous study, pursued with spe-
cial reference to fitting for West Point,
but he got through the examination
and was admitted. never saw him
while at West Point, except on the oc-
casien of one visit, which he made to
his home during the furlough at the end
of his second year. 1t is said of him
that while there he was not one who
took pains to make himself popular, but
| A.. m A. hora 1;lyad him hAlipVf