The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-07-12
Rural Happenings.

the darkness of the sky was reflected on the
faces Of many of our Juveniles and we have
no doubt there were plenty ofo others than rainy
tears shed. Disappointment Is hard to be
borne by the little folks at any time, and es-
pecially when they had made great prepara-
tions for an extra good time" But by nine
O'Clock odd Sol" peeped out and the SKY ne
ran 10 clear and then followed commotion
among the young folks. Tears were followed
by smiles and once more hopes of gala day
animated their hearts. Holiday attlres were
donned by many while some were intent only
on fun, caring nothing for toilet display, ana
soon the Young merry makers were on the pic
mic ground known as Rodgers Park, Two
bands having been engaged, there were two
rrusic stands. The Seneca brass band' oc-
cupied one, while from the other, WIlhs's
string band was to furnisha !" concord Of sweet
sounds" 10 which the dancers were to beat
time. on the platform near by. Later in the
forenoon than he'd been notwithstanding to
the weather-a procession OF citizens, with
Hon. e. w. Armstrong as president and T. H..
Graves as marshal, marched to the park, and
exercises at once commenced. BY being late
in arriving, we lost the first part OF the pro-
gramme, but were in time to hear the "Declar-
alton" read by Mr.. NJ. Armstrong. "Read,'
did we say? Well, part Of it. We had con
sidered ourselves fortunate in finding seat In
such close proximity to the speakers stand,
that for once in our lives we should be able
to hear whatever might be said.-We had not
Calculated" upon hearing any but appointed
speakers, but alas! for human calculations.
Some LddteS not far from us, had evidently
heard that old declaration" before, and what
did they care whether any one else had, or
not? Mr.. \. was proceeding to read the time
= honored document much better than we ever
heard il, and we were all attention. ale has
refused his assent" II deciare It's too bad !.
lust as Won had finished u, tOo'-"llc has
made Judges dependent, y guess t'> %hNI
don't care, they won't know who "d"c It,
We gave up the effort to hear any more dec
laration" and took to studying faces, and OBJ
serving some little "asidcs." There were car
riages standing around in shady spots, and in
greatly to enjoy his Havana" 1--WE suppose
that's the proper name,) while the young lady
at his side endured with heroic forttude the
pleasure of inhallng the smoke, as the light
breeze gently waited it across her face. We
wondered if her heroism would endure through
coming years. Just then the band struck up
and drowned the voices at our elbow, for a
time, ana scattered our thoughts. With the
last flourish of trumpets, Mr.. p. Hill, orator OF
the day,-formerly one of our pastors, took the
stand. We could catch enough Of the Grafton,
between fragments of gossip, to understand its
drift 1t occurred to us that had Ben Hill Of
Georgia, been present, a collision Of hills
would have been the order of exercises. Long
tables of refreshment for the inner man had
been spread by the Red Ribbon ladies, and we
are assured that not less than,,fve hundred peo-
pie were served. After doing justice TO the
vlands-which none know better how to pre-
pare than Seneca ladles-they re.assembled
around the stand to hear the "toasts," or as Dir.
Armstrong amended, sentiments" The first
was The day we celebrate" responded to by
A. Vaughey, Esq, in an extremely patriotic
manner Owing to the limited time, several
speeches were omitted, and but one more sen
timent was proposed. "The village IN which
we live" to which Mrs. Chipperfeld responded
eloquently The remainder of the day was
spent in dancing at the grove, races of many
kinds in the vicinity of the canal bridge, and
the glorious fourth" died out with dance in
Jackson's hall, under the auspices of the X. r.
club. Pecuniarily, the day wasa success to the
club, they having cleared $l6l.
We have to record a sad conference.-the
accident to Mr.. Matthew Welsh on the even
ing Of the Sd inst. While driving down the
Main street, Mr. WIS horses took fright and
were running upon the sand bank opposite the
new brick block. In endeavoring to stop them
he was thrown to one side and caught his foot
in the wheel. The result was, severing of the
main artery Of the leg, and though having the
best medical attendance, Mr. Welsh died early
on Monday morning. The large family left to
mourn his loss have the sympathy of the en-
tire community.
On Monday forenoon, a little girl in Mr..
COOKS school, on the North side, sustained a
shock by lightning She is uninjured, except
ing bruised arm, which the shock left.
UNA.
MENDOZA, July 8, 1S79.-The friends of L.
3. Croker think his chances are all o. X. for
the next Presidency
We have the largest soap factory in the coun-
txl oro II &c hx, IN A.
may be tasted for miles and miles around
Mr.. Forrstall swings the heavy cane again.
The 4th of July slipped by here unnotiecd.
We are away above any thing of that kind here.
We honor nothing but the dead, and that with
more policy than principle Political blather-
sixties always lead and hollow on such occas-
ions.