The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1868-09-03
JOHNsTOWN LETTER.
WRITTEN BY PETROLEUM V. MASSEY, JB.

WRITTEN BY PETROLEUM V. MASSEY, JR-
We Red Republicans. hearin' that Cart
Shurz was comm to enlighten US ABOUT poll
tics, got up flaming handbllls, with Dig !et-
ters, as black as nigger, and sent them all
over the county, but what was our surprise,
when Tuesday evening came, the Boys IN
Rlue. as we called them, didn't turn out,
and in course, the meetin' was very small.
There were two hundred Red Republicans,
ten Black Republicans. three hundred Demo
Gratis, one hundred ladies and women, and
about one hundred aud fifty boys 1t was
fair night, and the meetln' was held on Ell
lis's Public Square. 1t was after eight
O'Clock before anybody appeared, but me
and Mr.. Boggs sent some boys down to sing.
and some men to blow horns. and they blow
Ell a tune that had psalm set too it. In
the meantime one Mr.. Hunt hunted soft
place for the meetin', 81 that the people
could stretch themselves without exposing
their nakedness, or hurting their feelings.
After me and Mr.. Boggs told the speaker
what TO say, we came down and Mr.. Boggs
opened the meetn' with prayer by saying,
''he wished to God the boys could be kept
quiet" The boys shouted amen. and kept
on yeiping like blood hounds. Me and Mr..
Baggs thea organized the meetip' by ap-
pointing two young men and fifteen boys as
officers. from paper that we wrote down at
the Office before we knew who would be there.
The names in course didn't fit, but Carl
Shurz didn't know that, and so all went on
smoothly. We preferred young men before
old ones, on the Reconstruction principle"
People kept asking where the meetin' was,
which insulted us so much that we told them
that it had rent to the station TO meet the
speaker. after which several country people
JicoS ,oiR, al nd Nr
Doggs didn't much like.
Mr.. Hughes. of Wimore, got funny and
said twice t! at if the speaker didn't soon
come he would address the meetin' himself.
(Lafter.) While this laf was going on,
some one cried OUT, "a fight! fght!" and
the little knot of men, ~Unen, children, Mig
gers and dogs scattered, and Carl Sharz
leaning on another Teuton's arm mounted
the scafol4. Me aud Mr.. Boggs sent fell
low round to cry fight" just to make room
for the distinguished stranger, who had
Sobered up enough to "talk Injun." Having
reached the goal of safety, the speaker broke
forth in a torrent of broken English. or bro
ken German, | don't know which. Two
fellows cheered him simultaneously at once,
but one fellows voice give out, as if he had
swallowed potato. and the other fellow got
skeercd and his voice died away like the light
OF a sky rocket This was all the cheerir'
was done, for me and Mr.. Boggs had told
them not to cheer lest they might skeer the
speaker, and Mr.. Swank of the Tribune
who was there to put down what DIR. SlUI's
would miss, and thus make the speech read
veil on paper. Owing to the noise of the
boys Mr.. Shurz missed some paragraphs of
the speech that he said at Pittsburgh and
other places. Mr.. Shurz IS about the size OF
q man that is five feet eight inches high, and
Jul, oh tboE
weighs one hundred and fifty pounds He
stated that he had been hired by the Red
Republican Committee of the "re construct
ed" to make speeches at the North, and as
his rOice was weak he would Ike rs little
noise as possible. BY O0ioe he meant stoHe
0ck of course. He said. as me and Mr.
Boges had told him, that the bonds ought
to be paid in gold and our party was pledged
TO do so. altho' it soasnr tie bargain at first,
and it would take seven hundred millions of
dollars additional tax to DO this This be-
gan to make the people stare and look on
easy, so Mr.. Boggs and me pulled his coat
tail and told him to talk about The tariff.
This he didn't hear, but sat down, thinking
that his time was up. blamed Mr.. Boggs
and he blamed me and we would have tt IL
out or that HHe only for the "Glee Club''
which struck up tlfe digger Song' to
Yankee Doodle" in commemmorashun of
Gen. Grants explorations among the InT-
ms. This Digger song was sung so well that
one could almost see the motions, after
which we adjourned to meet again at Ian
caster.
Mr.. Boggs and me tried to get up some
enthusiasm, but the speakers words feli like
stone in bottomiess well. We will try
It again. however, and run the toriF instead
Of the bonds. ] think this will kindle up
the Boys iB Biue,' aud the lOU men of all
parties and the uiggers too. Nous rerroRS,
which means we will see.
Yours in the wool,
NAsBY, JR.
n. B., which is nota Jene The Tribune's
devil put a cipher too much in and made the
meetin' 1000 instead of 700. which the edi-
tor, bein' man of verasity, will correct ver-
bally about home, and it won't do any harm
abroad If you put down the numbers,
dou't make it more than 16 900, and then
watch your devil, or your yerasity might be
impeached too. n.
P. s., which is postscript Me and Mr..
Boggs is going to have resolutions prepared
for the next meetin' to put ourselves on the
record. so that if Grant is elected we can get
into offs. N.
P. s., which is postscript No 2. Me and
Mr.. Boggs told Carl Shurz not 20 talk any
''nigger' here, bat to tell them folks at
Lancaster that are purity black. that it was
thought out west that Grant and Colfax' x'hdd
traces Of Niger blood in them. This we
think will make them many votes down
there. n.
SERIOUSLY INJURED.-Mr. Thomas Dur
bin, Sr., Of Clear6eld township, was thrown
from his wagon, ia consequence of his horses
becoming frightened and unmanagable, on
Saturday last. while Geccendiug Kill in the
vicinity of Loretto, and received injuries of
very serious if not dangerous character
one Of the wheels of the wagon, which had
but recently received new tyre. passing
along and stripping the flesh almost entirely
from his right arm, besides fracturing one
of the bones. He now lies in a very preca-
riousicoudition near I,oretto, being tooseyere-