The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-08-16

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of Illinois lifted out Of the ocean, as it were IA
great cornucopia fall of the good things torl
men, coming here when its future was all TOT,
be made and its great development accomf
phshed.
As the lady who has spoken has said, We al
should be neighbors and we should cherish OLD
memories. My father was known all over thiI,,
country as Deacon Prltchard He came herd
in 1885 on foot and stopped while near wher!
Rockford is and awhile near where DXoH
stands. He came from New York. and he SCI
loved these broad, rich prarics that he never
went back. lie looked upon the magnificent
country and loved it, and bought all the landE
in sight OF him. We came in "a wagon tXcdI
up as IA sleigh to be used as either as required
and came through in 1886 lie took Us, moth ,
er and sOns-I was only years old The,
neighbors said we had started for the Rocky.
mountains. People in those days thought all y.
who went west went to the Rocky mountains +
and that Illinois reached to their base. laugh
teri Why-good lands-wc didn't 20 half
way This is a large country.
In early days we were all neighb0rs, though
we lived twenty, thirty and forty miles apart n
We settled on Rock river and were sick-cv,n
cry one of us-with the internal ague laugh. /,
ter Once in while one or two escaped from
it, but the settlers had 1t everywhere. We d.,
shook so as to jar the stove pipe down QaughF
" l..
Oaughter) The country-in the swais OF
'soughs-was filled with tall grass, as tall as Al.
man on horseback. According to Olney's gel
ography this tall grass grew everywhere, butt;
this was not so. In those days tins vast.
country abounded with game. have seen 21f
deer in drove, like sheep. Not a live buffalo
was then here, but their bones, skulls andt'
joints, everywhere; but even these relics havel,
disappeared and we ought to have preservedt
some of them Z
thank God have seen so many old settlers
here. We have met to honor old days, and
there is no heartier shake of the hand than the
old settler gives you. He does not shake the T.
whole hand but the arm also. CA volce-El- II
der Bachelder-The pump handle shakeO Yes, -
the pump handle. Appause) n
The reason Of our having the ague here was, :,
chiefly from the water we drank We had lOgS
houses-never had sod houscs--tho floors werc
puncheons, that is, logs split in the middle and +
the flat side up, hewn smooth with axes, as -,
best we might Bedsteads were two upright o.
posts, with poles across to the wall, bed cords
or bass wood bark bottoms 3 legged stools for
chars, and tables made in the rudest manner v
Saw mills afterwards made things better We''
always had enough to Cat-thnrc never was a ''
famine in the land. We thought rice and com
mon moasscs great luXumcs, they were SPLEEN q
did. lLaughtcr) Now we can hardly gulp I!
down golden sirup made of wooden rags, they +
say. Iaughter)
We had corn cake, and | learned how to { i
cook. was the only girl my mother had. =
Smiles among the LADIES'
The water we drank was river water or ~
slough water which seeped through the mud Ia
rom them into our little wells, mere holes dug y
On the bank. The water in summer was COW
cred with green scum, and the mosquitoes :!
we're in swarms about us--therc were 50 many I :!
If them and so few of us! | have never seen 4 l
he mosquitoes so plenty since 1914 as now Il
We drank this filthy water-it was filled with
we had to strain it, That's why -,
We had ague We couldn't stand drinking
such water months now We had no stone lie
hen to wall wells. | have had to haul stone :"
IS miles AS we began to get stone, we got II
wells and good water and the aguc left us, and -
low we are as hearty people as are on Gods u
Earth e;
| would mention counting times IN old days, Ct
We old fellows, when boye, didn't have Caash .,
OPP buggies, as you young fellows have. | -
went to see my girl and had only "A buck board u
o give her a ride upon! Uaughter) You ft
ret your girl on 4 buck board and you're all /
light if she sticks to you! Great merrlment) .,
Now, young man, If you want to try your "
girl, get her to ride on a buck board Shouts
Of laughter) In those days, the houses were
all one room and to do your counting you had r
20 do it before all before all of 'em. laugh
err After giving an anecdote of misdrect >,
I'd love letter, resulting IN match IN his sec =
ion and the fruits children as thick as ducks u
IN pond" he closed. Il
PRESIDENT SHAVER,
delivered his address, as follows, in substance: v
came to this state in 1S30-t0 TaZewell II
county, which embraced what is now La Sale d
county 1t included all the country north OF II
Sangamon to Wisconsin u
The river had no ferries or bridges. To cross Il
you put your saddle liz Il canoe and swan your C
horse across. There were then only 10 or 90 e
families in all this region. A great degree of S
,ocIability then prevailed, and the latch string |;
was always out, even If there was but one II
,oom in the house. | travelled much in those v
laws but never went to a house then but could s.
stop They would make room and double q
beds on the floor for the stranger There were !;
40 tramps then. You could 90 away and leave a
your cabin, and when you returned find every II
hing as you left it. But now, 60 toa splendid
four story house and the chances are, if
you will be denied admission. q
| have hauled wheat to Chicago, and sold it I
'or so cents bushel, and camped out on the b
way, There were only four stopping places on o
The way. We went in groups of or teams a
20 as to help one another out when we stuck in h
.loughs. a
| was here before the Black Hawk war in Il
1882 and have lived here ever since, was 1907 Il
10 wears old when | came here. Everything
has changed greatly in As years and there is no o
telling what the next As years may do for US v
no one can foretell. $
The choir sang "Ha! Ha! We've stemmed
the stream" after which the people betOok +
themselves to their lunch baskets, and passed u
a couple of hours in eating chatting and gen. Q
era social greetings u
AFTERNOON
AT 2 O'Clock p. NJ. the choir sang with splen- i
did effect my Country, It's Of Thee" andthis S