The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-10-22
The Old Pioneer.
[ouad's oddsI

a bent back and scant gray locks, and
he is entitled to the unbounded respect
of all citizens.
Many little privileges are accorded
the cold pioneer" He can open the
cheesebox in grocery and help him.
sell, hook apples, reach over for peanuts,
have the head of the table when the
fireman give a banquet, and if he crawls
under the canvas on circus day none OF
the circus-men strike at him with neck
yoke.
And if the cold pioneer" says that it's
going to be hard winter, soft winter,
a cool summer or rainy fall, il would
be like entering a den of lions for one
to rise up and dispute him. He predicts
political events, prophesies revolutions,
remembers all about how the Free Ma
sons killed John Morgan, and confident
ly expects column notice in the local
4aapers when he drops of.
met one of the old fellows the other
dav on the cars. He assured me that
riding on the cars was far more pleasant
than making journey on horseback,
and he said that the country had i'm
proved some since he used to carry the
mail between New York and Chicago.
/ was looking right at him, but he never
blushed as he said that he used to make
the round trip on horseback in five
days. 1 was wondering how ne could
have done it when he went on to say
that New York contained only eleven
houses, and Chicago only four, at the
time he acted as mail-carrier. / re-
marked that the mails must have been
light in those early days, when he repli-
ed:
Light why bless you, m7 son, new
er had less than fourteen full mail-bags,
and sometimes as high as twenty~
! expected to see him struck dead in
his seat, but greatly to my surprise, he
continued to live right on, the same as
if he had never told lie.
ever have any fights with the In
ians IN those early days?" ! finally in
quired.
"Injun fights! Well, should say ]
had a few-hal hal ha! wish you could
go home with me TO old Chemung conn
ty. I've got seven dry goods boxes fill-
ed with Indian top-knots-seyen boxes
left; and I've heen making horse blan.
kets and door-mats ont of my pile for
over forty yearsp
as it possible"
ayes, it is. I don't say this to brag,
but ycu asked me plain question and
/ answered it. supposed killed H.
S73 Indians during my early life, though
I won't say that these are the exact fig
ures. It might have been 1854, or on
ly 11,S72-I am getting old and can't re-
member dates very we'll"
ever see George Washington" ]
asked.
''See George WashIngtonp he echoed
.-"why, he boarded in my family over
four yearsl"
"He didi"
"Yes, he did"
"When was that?"
"Let's seei Well, don't remember
just when it was, only I know it was
quite while ago. Yes, George board
ed with me, and I've got bill of forty
dollars somewhere against him now. He
was little hard up for cash when he
left u.s."
"Did you ever see William PENN" l
asked after while:
"BiIl Pennl hal hal why, / wish / had
as many dollars as the number of times
Bill and I have slid down hill together!
His father lived in part of our house
for eight years, and Bill and were like
brothers. / could lick him, and he
knew it, but we never even had cross
word between US. Poor Bill When /
read about his being blown up on a
steamboat said to myselfthat I'd rath-
er have lost brother"
waited good while and then in-
quired:
"Were you in the Revolutionary
WARP"
"The Revolutionary warl why, you
must take me for boyw he replied.
"Why, I was the first man to jinel
There was a week when the Patriots
didn't have any army but me, and there
was so much fighting and marching that
I almost got discouraged"
"Then you must have met General
Lafayette?"
General Lafayette! Why, on the
morning of the battle of Bunker Hill
Washington, Lafayette. Bill Penn and
myself wore playing four-handed game
of euchre in an old barn just outside OF
Boston. Lafayette was killed just as he
was dealing the cards!'
II thought he went back to France
and died
"No, SIR
"But history says So"
az don't care plum for history young
man! Didn't his blood scatter all ovel
me, and weren't his last words address
ed to mel guess know as much al
any history"
| "What were his last words?
LAST words? Well, sir, he didn'
have time to say much. A cannon bal
struck him in the body, and all he saiC
was Don't give up the shipl' Poo
Laifl He was little conceited, bu
when he borrowed dollar Of you it wa
certain 20 come back"
"You never saw Christopher Celum
bus, did you?" finally asked, deter
mined to wind him up.
He was staggered for moment, bu
then recovered and answered:
christopher Co-lum-busl Well, nc
/ never did. My brother used to talk
good deal about Chris, but l neve
happened to see him. They say h
didn't amount to much, after all-use
to get tight on election day, kept fighi