The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-10-09

were far more agreeable to the mother than
the daughter. She afterwards married a very
clever gentlt man.
While abiding to the general privations of
the early settler there was one embarrassment
which weighed heavily upon his energies, and
Is meaSurably unknown &c the present genera.
ton. Poor as he usually was he had brought
from his old home means sufficient to enter a
tract OF government land. AS the law then
stood he could not enter less than a quarter
Sc ton. The price of the public land was 81
pay $50 or one fourth down, One-f0urth in two
years and the balance in two equal annual In.
staimentS with interest; altogether $50. A
failure to pay any one OF the instalments
caused forfeiture, not only of the land, but
the amount paid. It's safe to say that not
mentS as they Tell due. Their lure placed
them at the mercy of the government, aud
made them mere tenants at sufferance. The
government, however did not d clare the for
feiture, and ia March, 1922, congress passed
an act suspending the forfeiture until
home FOR another year, but that was all. The
instruments were all due and he had no
more money at the expiration of the year than
when the act was passed. 1t only postponed
the ey.l day. In the month Of March follow
ing IL looked as If something would b. done
for the relief of the settler. bill was intro
holder of any l. gal certificate OF purchase
might file REIMBURSEMENT In writing. on or
before september 20. ISL, in the land office,
the original price of the land, the balance
should De paid In eight equal annual install
ments; At he had paid one-nalf OF the original
six equal annual instruments; IL
tnree-fourths part of the original
price, the balance could be paid in four equal
annual instruments, and If the whole sum
should be paid by the 3Oth of September, 1872.
deduction OF S71a per cent. should be made;
but such discount should not pply TO the pay
ments which had already been made. This
bill passed March II, 1921.
My friends, If this enactment had been faith
ftrIIx iadn hoxr of ted sinh.
stantIaI relief to the settler; but the time for
the application was short. Many lived remote
iron the land office, and never heard OF the
relief proposed until IL was too late to avail
themselves of its provisions: Above all, the
time mad nearly expired before the land Off
GERS OF tue district received their instructions
rom the proper departm. MT The conse-
quence was, very few received any benent
Another bill was introduced in congress, and
after great opposition was flnally passed on
the third day of March, 1873, extending the
pr senteb e i@ General James n noble
and Waller Taylor were our United States
senators at that time and Jonathan Jennings
the sole representative of Indiana. Tay lOr
never lived an hour in the state after his cleo
ton, but returned to Virginia, his native state,
and remained there until his term of Office ex-
pired. Noble and Jennings worked like
beavers 10 procure the passage of the relief
measure TO which have just referred. They
saved hundreds of families from utter ruin.
Mobiles reception at home after the passage of
the last bill was perfect ovation. Men came
long distances to thank him for his services in
their behalf. Noble died in Washington. hav-
ing served in the senate of the United States
10 years, and Jennings, for many years one of
the most popular men In the state, was buried
near Charlestown without even "a headstone
to designate his resting p ace.
With ali these trials and diScouragements 1
have seen Indiana rise from population
scarcely equal TO that OF present county town
to 2,OOOOOU people, embracing within its limits
1000 miles of railroad and about as many miles
OF Geographic facilities, prosperous cities and
four mo urpf ahnrQhaC nm
farms with stately mansions, and school
houses in every neighborhood, and common
school fund larger than that OF any other ST te
in the Union-all this in one lifetime. Our
advance surpasses the imagination.
II looks more lil1e magic than reality. Who
are the meu that contributed to this wonder
full success? 1 would gladly refer you in detail
from my own personal recollection to many
Of those who participated in the events re-
sultiDg in the extraordinary changes and
adopted the measures necessary to Derfect
them, but time will only permit, In this adj
dress, TO glance at some OF the more import
ant. You, of this association, should fill up
the vacancies. IT you do not teel free to enter
more fully INTO some of these matters, you can
at least give Us many of the religious, moral
and social events of vour early DAYS They
gave shape to our present institutions and Will
ne highly interesting to your sue essors; nor
will these Diet tils be any the less interesting
because they originated from heterogeneous
papula ion-drifted from many lands, mostly,
il Is true, from the southern states, but a few
from Pennsylvania and some from the noun
t4ins of New England, and each embued with
the peculiar views derived from the customs
of their native homes.
In this crowd o old settlers who is there that
can not give us description of an early
corn husking, when the corn heap,
men on earh side selected, and the
party who first finished their pc ton of the
heap carried their capita n In triumph on their
shoulders into the rank of the opposition, in
rldicule Of the latter's hardness. WHAT ven
cradle mother Is here who can not detail The
particulars of a sewing match or quilting, in
81 fhaU nQrfiQinQfRd when.
after their days work was finished, their hus-
bands and neighboring young men joined
them at the hou e, spent the evening, ald
in PLAYING "Sister Phoebe" or, IL a violin could
he had, IN dancing an old fashioned "reel?"
There are but few Of this association who
could not tell us something about the old
regiinenIaI musters in Indiana, at which most
OF the voters of the county attended, and after
passing through the various military evolu.
gSns sh
distinguished commanders, and often
the afternoon was occupied Win
muster iaiS at which was PRESENT recoliect
the colonel OF the regiment was noted for a
squeaking voice. When the corps was ready
to receive him, he rode up in front of his reg
iment, the only man in the field dressed in
unif0i m, and In his squeaking voice, called
out Attention! battalion" A boy some 30
the commanders vote =, "Children, come out
of the branch, or you Will get snake bit Or
course 10 raised huge laugh, ana never
heard of that regiment being called out again.
Many of you could descr be the early strug
giles OF the church To maintain itself In the
rude state OF society which surround q II.
There were Lewis Dewea e and Judge HOl.
man, of the Baptist church, Mr.. Bare aud Mr..
Bush, of the Presbyterian church. jeremiah
Hubbard and Charles Osborn, OF the Quaker
Ray, john Z. Durbin, James Armstrong and
many others OF the Methodist church. who
,..I .ln