The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1879-09-12
Not entered. etc. No rights reserpeGl
SKETCHES
PIONEER LIFE ON the AI4LEGHENIES.
SEVENTH rArER.
With books. or work. or healthful play
Let your FIRST years be past
That you may give. for every day.
Smrlln .rnnl .. In.t =

some good account at last
In series of sketches Of pioneer life il il hut fair
that we should touch that most essential insti-
tution-Lamcly. the public school. The facilities
for attaining an education in early days were insf
as primitive in style was every other phase OF
pioneer life, but let il be ever so rude the school
house is an able auxiliary i'm n frontier settlcrncnt
lhe schoolhouse OF pioneer days was built Of logs
in common with the dwellings of that time hut If
had ono dissimilar feature-fo vii n "a,
Hp through the clap-bosrd roof and instead Of a
good heating stove. glowing full with the ''dusky
diamonds, huge template iron quadrupcd. il
We may use the term. reigncd master of thermal
matters during cold winters day. A continuous
deSk and bench for the pupils extended along each
slde OF the room, while the teachers desk ard
bench occupied the end opposite the door. The
o,hcI cld OF the room on each side OF the door
nlled with wood. cut and piled up ready for the
ire The teacher Of one of those primitive inst[tu
tions was oftentirnes a. 1,Ie ana 5,i,,i bcd - ~
surroundings, vet in those DAYS we might not un-
frequently happen professor of the three RS
who was thorough in what he professed. He com
monty had a hardy, rOllicking set of youths to
rough-hcw into educational shape and il was not
an uncommon thing Tor the ,Ieuocr9 +iC -, -
government TO sUperccGc the monarchcaI within
the precincts of the log empire Those were the
place OF honor lying dormant on a couple of nails
against tho wall above the masters head and voc
to the delinquent who had To- he ..borsci; tbrrrsb
the school with the said birch tickling the patches
on the neither and tighter portion of his pantaIoouS
Many lucLlcss urchin too affcr he ba si'c1t M,
told pains and good deal of time I'm reaching the
back of some distant studious schoomatc with a
long crooked. pin-barbCd stick was compelled like
Miltons great arch hend. view Ibis labor lost
glratIng IN the meantime under thc,dcNtrous hand
OF the irato pedagogue like the Windmill of n
weather-cock on a windy day. Again. when some
careless blockhead. with open mouth ana wraDt
expression was danrlinr his feet and pcrforatiT5o
with pin unlucky fly which he had caught in
corner of q ncighboring window pane, that hon
ored and awC-inspirin@ birch would make music in
the air a it whistled to the lively dance of the
yelling abCccdarian.
Many were the ingenious methods Of discipIine
which emanated from the fertile brain of the back
woods magiStcr- There stands hcrculean strip
ling I'm the midst of the noor with huge stirk If
wood in his hvawny grasp at arms length. The
powerful lever begins 10 weigh down the iron mus
cleS and the sineV-y arm beneath which felI mans,
a furp< gyi Cd
endurance. One OF the most dminutivc members
of the B G class has taken il ON himself to keen
surveillance over the huge delinquent, AMI every
tie rest the dminiltivc urchin cries ont In mining
tones, Teacher. he's lettin' it down Up goes
the arm again. and the irowning mcnaces in pan
tomimc Of the muscular stripping avail nothing for
the diminutive has great faith in his teacher.
At last the3maStcr rclaXes and with "a welcome
feeling Of relief. such that experienced by cul-
prlt who having been tied up 10y the thumbs has
been lowered to his feet. the qucIlcd mutinccr
sumcs his scat again for a time A. the master
turns hiT back the released shakes his fist.
makes grotcsquc faces and manages to throw his
neighbor's slate with rattling crash to the floor
But yondcr stands young imp Of mischief with
his tail up like = snipc in q swamp and his face
full moon i'm "A Dutch almanac We will recon
nOitre little closer to what he is doing. Now
we comprehend the situation. One chubby finger
is placed the heel polished head Of a large nail
which stands out prominently FROM the noor-that
is thesaid fingerpresscS the nail head portion Of
the time. for one eye follows every movement of
the busy teacher. and when the nagistcrial eye is
upon him he has hjschngcr on the nail: between
times the finger is of and the saciai muscles doing
duty in -rotesqUC coutortions for the cdicatou OF
the admirng Juveniles. After the small cannois-
in CobbS' SpeIIcr has held down the nail for
about ten minutes and kept the school in ferment
for the same length Of time, the appeased master
rcIcnts and justice being atatcd the urchin takes
his scat to harSs the ''hig hoy> in his immediate
vicinity. There should DE two teachers in every
district schooluug 10 teach and the other To keep
Ordcr-for in schools the keeping Of order alb
serbs most of the teachers time. and consequently
the tcachin. part main object of tho institution,
fails in the background. good many scholars
come to study. but many more drop in from day TO
tart the studious portion and render iutiie the ei
forts of parents and teachers 10 maintain good
school so the unruly portion should be organized
into an AWKWARD squad and drilled unmcrcifully
in the useful studies
Another interesting method of punishment
the practice of causing deluo to kncel ON the
sharp cdEe of thrcc-corncred stick prepared ex-
prc~sIy for the purpose This an excellent plan
10 secure pcnancc If not repentance for the kneel
tortured shins from the three-edged torment.
But youdcr stands another example "f back
woods discipline long gauut stripping. standing
leg like n gander in early siringtidc, while
his paroNysmal efforts TO keep his center OF gravity
within his base are somewhat Iudicrous 10 behold.
4 kind and attentive SchoOlmatc has dcNtrOusly
thrown q moose of cord over the upraised "clod-
breaker OF the unwilling syInuast, and with
canuy pull the puIlcr lays the long one along the
floor amid the debris of water bucket. tin-cup and
sec what has evoked the tremendous racket, and
stepping to the site of the catastrophe. he lit
orally sets the rccumbenJ delinquent up
again. A the master turns his back again the
youth shakes his fist wickedy at the small boy,
We will now relate an incident which occurred in
one Of those primitive schools Illustrative Of the
genius and discipline OF the Institution.
All quiet in the school room and the Fourth
Reader occupied the floor, the other readers mean
time preparing their respective IcsS'ns- Vnc tan
fellow man in stature but very child in literary
attainments-vas sitting. as was his won't on "a
bench amongst the small scholars keeIlng ms
eyes steadiustly fixed on the pages OF an B {
book which pages were as unintclli- Bile TO hima
was tho handwriting on the wall I" I-lslilIzeI oI
old. This youth could never get iariIcr INTO the
region df letters than "a recognition OF few of the
larger characters which cnneIil-hed tle lISt liee
of mis- primer. and all the efforts OF the teacher,
backed up by the Taicry OF the G. tire school could
not force hln over ti-t as > "i-d-l- T. Is NtII!
wrong to dcridc a scholar on account of his back
wardncss i'm studies. for that same scholar might
far surp@ss the dcrlder IN some other pursuit more
congeuiai to his nature. For instance au Isaac
Newton OF a Benjamin Franklin might have turn
eli out To be very indifferent soldier Nut y" VIII
huG very few soldiers who co'rd have competed
I with either in scholarship
But 10 resume our narrative TN ihi' p'litiul
morning our incipicut hHfrd'ftr was bent down
with his head between his knees. yaiuly cuICayOT-
ing 10 master another letter the whole Sch9ol IN
tN. meantime - tuiet could pC desired. wHcuI IL
popped into the crooked Uranium OF sharp scholar
near 10y 10 try the fumes "i sulphur on tic doi
brains Of the a>SIluOuS Ounce W NAiic the master
attention was wholly a-"Ti'cd IN tile
ol some word aain 10 Nchu,,'u e1A,t, on an
tinOplc sharp scholar silly struck luclicr and
applied the nasal organ pt the dili-eut abccc-
daTian Inc t3ftareah lGuS' s,lulItil- ut Hla no
tril= threw him back over the hcucH us though
thirteen inch she'll had knocked him heels over
lineup" Sprin@ing from the floor. De doited his
coat in twinkliuE. pouring forth in the meantime
I q most furious torrent of invcctiyc. anl demanded
with energetic gesuculatIon amt shaking oi hstS
VINO put that match to my nose The master
. our iratc Ounce hIo"d WAS up, anu nc "uN"l.eu
+ On the lump o. learning viii: such a mcnacinE
aspect to cause the retreat OF that worthy
with precipitation. The innocent pcrpetratoT of
the sulphurcus hy-play was sitting calmly and
# scrcucly involved in the delights of The Double
Rule of Three" while not smile ruiil"d thc dig
nified repoSe of his placid features Nothing could
he done Tor nothing could bc Just then found out.
our bcligercnt abccedariIn eluctautly resumed
his scat without battle. and all vcRt on as usual
+ ''in the even tenor Of its way
/ This same young man, however, acted the manly
part at last. and died in the harness defending his
country. like the brave soldier that he was ltlS
shows that mans a man for a that destitute
/ though he bc of literary embellishments.
In some our early log colleges the professor of
. the Three RS addicted to the practice OF
, tightening up the ligameuts of his brains with a
little of the volatile spirit Of Old Rye. In other
words he occasionally got a little "top-hcayX. and
came rolling into the regions of learning like a
. i0g-hank amongst the cod-hshcrs Of Newfoundland
. Cn one occasion be1O@-ccd pcdasoguc entered the
/ schoOlToom in the morning without any definite
idea Of what he ought to do Just then and there
. Totterinu around the room to gather his wits. he
backed against a bench and lay quietly over in q
" vcXations. One of the most luminous tntellects
OF the school thereupou usurpcs the teachers chair
and attempted 10 WELD the organization through d
half days literary examining. but he might as well
. have attempted the conduct of the great Bona
parties army the Alps. The classes would not
4 hang together somehow. but tended 20 rldiato IN
all directions-eyeTy single scholar constituting
! him OF herself coadlutor in the management OF
affairs. The noisy administration finally culmnu-
. luninary of the birch. who instantly Stroye u
seize the "heIm of state once more and restore
taste liberty had rendered every scholar master
Of his own actions the time being. and it would
have required man in the full use Of all his fac
ulttcS TO reduce them again 10 fulctu'te ana rea
. son but seizinZ hi> rod, the now Thoroughly
. aroused master began TO lay right and left
This was very UuWlSc policy under the cirCufu
stances only goJdcd the rebellion into icrcel
activity. for. seiziux fence rail the larger scholars
managed to get the struggling and furious teacher