Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-10-11
Correspondence of the HERALD
An Old Settler-Wingville in Retro
spect and Prospect-Improve-
ments- A Prussian Soldier.

1t was born in mineral hole many |
years ago and made pigs and pork |
out of mineral as some other folks
made a calf out of gold. That calf,
you Will remember, was cut up into
the finest sort of mncemeat and
thrown away, and this compelled the
lsraelites to worship the true God. /
| might name divers villages in this
county that used to worship "pigs of
lead, and experience shows that the
exclusive worship of such animals,
if not heathenish, greatly democrat
ICES the architecture of a village, dis
torts its streets and iumbles up its
houses as if thrown out of a chuck-a-
luck bag. The miner when he is
done gOphering deserts his town, and
throws it like an orphan on the cold
charities of the world for somebody
else to adopt or turn out to grass as
they see fit. Wingville, it is called
Montfort now, has received u new
christening, and within the last two
or three years has begun to ad Just it.
self to the ideas of a large and enter
prising farming population that has
settled in and around it, Among
other evidences of change Of taste,
on the highest plot of ground in the
village, the citizens have erected an
elegant school house and furnished
and seated it in style that almost
borders on extravaganza. The old
wooden benches have been thrown
aside for the boys to "teter" on, and
nice dainty, cherry double seats with
desks in front have been purchased
from Chicago and fastened to the
floor. The enterprizing school board
have found their way into the school
fund as well as the people of Ian
caster, and have so impressed the
State with belief Of their honesty
and integrity, that the Commission
ers at Madison were glad to deposite
with them So, 500 of the State School
Fund for safe keeping. As is usual
in such cases, many of the old, staid
conservative settlers desperately OPP
posed the enterprise of the loan, but
when the building was finished, fur
nished and opened to the public, men
women and children came TO exam,
inc, handle and admire it, and each
one claims the credit Of putting the
thing through, and the fogies that
fought against it, Of course say that
they "killed the bear" The build
ing is designed for graded school,
with lower and upper apartments
sufficient to accommodate u numer-
Gus party of the rising generation,
with which blessing Montfort over
flows. But when Landlord Stevens
says that chill lren are so plenty there
that when you roll over an old log
they will run from under it, | think
he must be joking, though hs seldom
ests.
Montfort is just 20 miles from
everywhere, except itself-20 miles
from Boscobel, Platteville, Lancaster,
and the center of an immense and
wealthy farming region. The rail
road that is surveyed on the out
skirts Of the village is one of the
coming events that coasts its shadow
before, and with the advantages of
its position, l cannot see why it
| should fail TO become one of the
most prosperous and fourshing vii
lagos in the county.
If | had the time to write, and
your readers the leisure to hear it,
could tell you what Mr.. Hess, citi-
zen of Montfort, tells of the Prussian
military system. He served his reg
ular term in King Williams army
about the time of the introduction OF
the needle gun. The Prussian boy
must go to school till he is II. Until
he arrives at 20 his time is at his
own disposal. At this age, if no To-
ga! ground for exemption is offered,
he becomes q soldier in the regular
army, and is quartered upon the in
habitants. Tue infantry service re-
quires three years, the artillery and
cavalry service longer. Not only is
the Prussian soldier drilled in the
use OF arms, but in the winter even
ings the camp is converted into one
vast school where not only the de-
tects Of an early education are sup
plemented, but any scientific branch
es are taught for which the pupil
may have an aptitude, mathematics,
engineering, drafting and the like
1t is not strictly military system,
but an educational system, as we'll
adapted to peace as to war. This
may account to some extent for the
efficiency Of the Prussian soldier
Such are the men that King William
leads into France, but they have
neither the heart nor bravery in
fighting down an attempt, however
feeble, to establish a republic
TRAVELLER.
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