The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1870-08-20
PEPPER AND SALT.

On the morning of late Republican County
Convention, We met Mr.. Fox, then, as was sup.
posed, the leading candidate for sheriff Said
we, "Well, Mr.. Fox, everybody tells me you are
ahead = YES" responded he, facetiously, and
with confidence, "the For ought to be ahead of
the hounds" In the evening, when We saw him
last, things were reversed, the hounds had got
ahead OF the For! To carry ont the simile
further: We saw him next day, at several times
and different places and always surrounded by
an anxious crowd Of republicans, who seemed
over anxious to conciliate him. It was the old
story of ''the For at bay, surrounded by the
hounds." The question is, Will he allow him
| self to be deoeiyed by the men who "fooled" him
before !'''' Prize rings for young ladies-wed.
ding rings. IA young gentleman of rather lin.
tied literary attainments, who seemed to have a
faint idea of Dickens unfinished novel, The Mys.
t.ry of Edwin Drood," came into our Office the
other day and said: 'say, Mister, hev you
Newspaper with any thing in it about the mys.
terious disappearance Of Edwin D. Rood 7" We
gave him a last years almanac. . "A young gen.
| tleman, not very we'll versed in the French Ian.
guage, bat somewhat of a warrior, was repeat.
ing from memory what he knew about the late
war news: "The Prussians have captured the
French! Great battle at Saarbrook, 800 pieces
Of Artillery 5000 prisoners and stores, also four
n'ixer-louses tMitraileuse). They chased one of
'em mile and had to knock il down with
| club" What he knows about . revolving
breach loading cannon is equivslet to what "Gree.
ley knows about farming ~. We have young
lady here-a chewing gum.ist who-challenges
the world. She can spell "Phthislc" and neither
miss letter nor skip "chaw." She can expec.
torats (spit) across the Public Square and hit a
pins head. She expects.to-rats higher than any
other gum grinder in this region. Any young la
dy in the gum business having "stamps," she says
can come aud see her 80. 1t was brave Of that be-
wildered chap, who, in a moment Of fearlessness,
drew up in front of the Jail and sinsly and alone
dehed the prisonerst to come out in body and fight
him. Judge Leavens charged him % and costs.
.... There is barn few blocks north ON La Sale
st. and a block west said to he haunted. The
owner of the barn few years ago lost his wife,
and he sometimes thinks she comes back TO nee
him. He imsgines he sees her in her shroud ~
pale and beautiful as she looked when i. became
his sorrowful duty to see her placed In the mar.
row and cold bed which will never see the sun
light, except as it gilds the glittering marble
whereon is inscribed her name It may be
shoekingly abrupt to suddenly depart from the
sublime to the ridiculous, but does it not happen
every day? This kind hearted man often re.
peats his sorrows, and brooding upon them, be.
lieves he sees her often in her ghastly habilla.
ments, and has become monomsniac on the sub.
Ject, and has frequently admanished his neigh.
bors not to go near the barn. Some youngsters,
who had found sleeping in neighboring house
uncomfortable during the late broiling season,
resorted to this barn to sleep on the hay nights
disregsrding his admonitious ito don't" A way
silly crept up one evening, and, providing him
self with box of matches, made his hands gilt.
ter with phosphoressence The boys saw it.
Their hair stood on end; their eyes nearly jump
ped from their sockets, and, spsechless with
fright, they threw themselves down among the
horses, nearly breaking the bones Of the frighten
ed boys and badly frightening the horses. Why
none of the five where not killed is mystery
The point in this is, that it is . fact, and the
young men, even TO this day, solemnly assert
that they saw u ghost, and we have all theil
names !....An unfortunate girl in the west end
of the city recently had trial before polit
justice to see who WAS responsible, Se. It va,
remarkable that so many young men had "busi
ness in the country, for few days, you see.'
IA good joke on the late republican convcn
tion was this: They appointed J. c. Crooker
of Mendoza, as one of their Central Committee
He is staunch and even bitter democrat Dis
covering their errsr, they went to the Republican
Office before the proceedings were published ani
substituted the name of c. w. Bernhard. Their,
arc t,ro Crookers at Mendoza, one is the long ani
the other is the thin gentleman One IL ~. c.
&c, and the other ~. B." "don't he!" On,
Crooks right and the other is the Left Bowe,
Croker. Why can't we run the democratic
Croker right in and tit the other out -. Las
heard of the renowned Bowman he was travelling
with the shabbona B. B. c. ''selling pools" OF
them-wo suppose 80. Fisher Esmes, the re
doubtable and unsquclchabe drayist, says he'll
"whale' us il we ever put his name in the paper
We'll, here we eo--a full grown whale" .. jim
Cross introduced the first oysters of the season
here on the 1Gtn inst. jim i, enterprisinv al
over 80. When there is a rush of passengers ant
stitch on the new railroad-to Streator, that i'm
posing building feet square and 6 feet high, il
some places, occupied by son Of st. Crispin
Al