Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1876-01-13
GEN. GRANTS SCHOOL DAYS.
"Reminiscences of the Old Log School ouse
In ClermOnt County, Ohio.

Cincinnati Post)
| Away up in a small hollow, jus
this side of Amelia. in Clermon
county, there stood few years age
an old country house, weather-beaten
tmble-down and disused, which The
old inhabitants pointed out as the
place where U. S. Grant received hi:
education. The building has since
been torn down.
Nobody thought when Grant was
boy said an old citizen of Clermont
county who attended this school al
the same time the President did, that
he would ever amount to much The
most promising boy in the school at
thef time was one named Henry Wat
tey.'' He was at the head of the class
in mathematics, geography, spelling
and all the other studies, and every
body prophesied great things Of him,
but he IS now running forty acre
farm up in Warren county,
How did Grant average in his
studies ?
only middling. He would never
be called dull, but he was never bril-
liant. He used to spend great deal
of his time in reading the life of Ma
poleon, which interfered considerably
with his school duties, until the teach
er destroyed that book by putting it
into the stove?
WAS he punctual in his attend.
ance?'
very, he never stayed away from
school unless compelled 10 by circum
stances. He was never late either,
but was among the first to reach the
school house in the morning.
WAS he noisy boy?'
No, sir. Although courteous to
everybody, he was not loud
like the other boys, but he spoke in
a low and quiet tone of voice, with
unusual dignity for one of his years.
'We also called him Hiram at
school, continued the old stager.
Nobody ever thought of calling him
Ulysses, and after the capture of
Vicksburg, when we had not heard
from him for years, a great many Of
US did not know or even imagine that
it was the boy who used to 60 to the
old log school house in the hollow
WAS Grant a playful boy?'
Not by any means. You never
could get him to take part in any
game or sport except a SNOWFALL
fight. In that he delighted. But as
far as bull pen or ball playing was
concerned, he would never take any
part, but would sit on fence or a
stump and look on
During his school days did he
ever exhibit signs Of the persevering
spirit for which he has since become
Il can remember but one occasion,
and that was when the schoolmastcr
logged him to make him give up
iackknife, with which he had been
cutting the side Of his desk. The
schoolmaster demanded the knife, but
Grant refused to give it up. The
teacher tried to take it away, but
could not do it. He then sent out in
to the woods and got a long black
hickory switch, with which he belab-
ored the future President to make him
surrender the knife. But Grant per-
sistently declined, and at last the ped
agogue was forced to stop from sheer
exhaustion. This incident was forci-
bly, recalled to mind when he made
the famous remark: 4 will fight it
out on this line if it takes all summer,
and by many other similar incidents
in his future career
4 saw Grant when he was here at
the Burnett house in 1872 continued
our interviewer, and he was the first
to recognize me and give me a cordial
hand shake. He even came through
a large crowd of dignitaries to shake
hands with an old schoolmate.'