Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1871-07-21

Q at my expense. III the story IL no,
90. can only kindly hope that II
was not as mean q man who started
i IL on him as the man who started the
one on me-
Next! To descend and come to
George X. Shawl This is the indi-
D vidual who edits the part of the Net0s
that Ia effervescent and splurgy. /
(: know George! Once known, it Is
} not for him to be forgotten. That
face, far from being an affidavit-face
that countenance, with 80 much
scenery In it--who can or could or
would forget either? The first time
saw George--or the Major, "a he Is
, sometimes called for a sarcasm or q
joke-was some two, perhaps three,
years ago, when he was on his way
} from Minneapolis to Chicago, to take
charge of the Republican, of that
city-so he said. He had, as his
startling story ran, grown too big for
Minnesota. Bill King, and the ether
Minnesota minHows, might pass for
whales in the shallow, laughing
waters of that State, but they wern't
real whales after all, and he, George,
couldn't afford to carry them or fur
nlsh brains for them any longer-on
the paltry pay he had been getting.
The politicians of Chicago and llii-
nois, had noticed the comet PLAYING
| lightning-bug, and so Washburne
and others had begged him to no
longer walk a giant among pigmies,
but come down and be the editor OF
the Republican party for Illinois,
George, having heard that aa.
| Time and sun and favoring siy, ~
win change grub to butterfly, Il ~
bit at the trolling bait, and, although
his leaving tore the Tribune up by
the roots, and left Republican Min
ing of, took up his trail for Chicago
viG Iewa. He was on the way to
Chicago for about month, all the
while wandering around lonesomely
| I'm Iowa-when, all of sudden, the
leviathan changed into polliwig,
and, "because his brother-in-law
lived in the county," purchased an
unoffensive little paper at Grundy
Center. Why Chicago gave him up,
how Washburne surrendered him,
can never tell, I don't know--George
never told mo. can only write of
him as he appeared in his Atlas. He
started out well,-his friends were
delighted saying: George has got
it now! A daily was too sudden for
him, but seven-day arrangement is
just his gaitW Happy George! hap.
| py friends! But while this thing
was overcoming him like summer
cloud, trouble was coming up on the
other side, by Georges request. And
one bright day when Georges sky
was ut its brightest, and all the day
was sweet ns sun-set. heightened
constable took possession Of the
young. mans person, on charge OF
having robbed the p0ckets--while
they slept-of Arson Hyde and his
| brother-Anson's of $500 in money
and O 500 watch, his brothers. of $50
in money. But this he got out Of
how, don't know. I refer all con-
cerned as to particulars, to the records
of the court at Grundy Center, or to
| George himself This was the first
thrilling exploit OF the genius of the
gentle George. Won't the dear fell
| low make his NeWs spicy by telling
his readers all about it? o.
| His next feat was in publishing liz
bells on Mr.. l.. ID. Tracy, one of the
most prominent and highly respect
ed citizens of Grundy county--libels
so gross that Mr., Tracy sued him for
$4,000 damages. Here the genius of
the man did not leave him up tree.
Seeing he was in for it. he promptly
set that autograph OF his to an ack-
nowledgement of lbel-which was
as strongly drawn as J. b. Powers,
one of the ablest lawyers in Iowa,
! could make it-in which he acknowl-
| edged himself a common liar and
calumniator, and divers other delic-
ious things. If George would like to
see this page of his life's history, /
will procure a copy from the county
records and publish it.
| His next act of heroism was to
challenge this same L. ID. Tracy to
fight him aduel-throwing down the
glove i'm person at Mr.. Tracy's feet
He was duellist for only five min
utes ty the clock. for when Mr.. Ira
cy accepted the challenge, and nam
ed pudding sticks as the weapons, he
ingloriously fled the field.
| These are but three of the chapters
from brother Shaw's life In Iowa,
but they are enough for this time. 1
may say, and in saying mention an
other of Georges jokes, that l saw
the gentleman when was at Mime
apoiis. He came TO me on Sunday,
and asked me to bring his mother
and sister along with the excursion
to Eldora, in Central Iowa. Though
| this would manifestly be an intru-
sion upon the railroad, was mean
enough to consent to do it. The
j mother and sister were brought to
Z ldora, from which point, in buggy
hired by another one Of the editors of
the Register my partner, they were
sent out ten miles in the country to
the home of Mr.. Estabrook, Georges
brother-in-law,t though a very decent
man. The economy of this plan
was not short sighted. 1t held water
and was success-and didn't cost
George a cent, except the notices he
has since given me i'm hts NeUs, the
main one of which L have quoted
above. would not forget to men,
ton that, after had sent him short
note, asking him how he felt after
this latest and pettiest meanness of
his, he made his Netos say that "Mr.
Clarkson actually did pay his hotel
bill, although he tried to beg off,
Under the date of June 81, George,
kind soul that he was, wrote to me
this consoling assurance my re-
marks were purely facetious. / did
not suppose you would pay any at
tention to so ridiculous charge" /
like facetiousness. and hope George
does. And since he has made me
enjoy sample of his kind. coined
from the whole cloth, and false and
| foul I'm every particular and purpose.
\ trust that, while without being
facetious, have told the people of
| Minnesota some of his Iowa exploits
all of them true, and on record, he
will bear 1t with equal resignation
and grace-I would be pleased, If in
dropping George off of the chips on
which L have handled him, could
picture him as q thing of so much
altitude as q poltroon, and very much
regret that scholarly respect to die.
tionary and definition, compels me
to call him nothing better or prettier
than q puppy. ~.
In conclusion, permit me to affec-
tionately inform all the heroes of
this sketch, that newspaper notorie-
ty of this variety will be nothing af-
ter they get used to it. A perusal Of
the first four or five hundred news
papers In which saw the SANDER
that they set out to play the Wand
ering Jew on me, didn't increase my
piety very much. But since it has
got generally into the press, practice
has made me perfect in standing it
like q saint. The arrows, all plumed
with feathers Of fact, with which i
have endeavored to return the joke.
win no doubt t first be slightly un>
comfortable to the cowardly carcasses
in which they will strike and stay
For, as was remarked by the British
officer In India, who had tried it, "it
is royal sport to hunt the tiger, but
hell's to pay when the tiger turns
and begins to hunt you.