The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1882-03-31

The savoy smell a ths new breed, just
beisg taken from ths oven, saused one OF
The number 10 ssh:
'CAnnot ws geta piece Of broad, q
something 10 eati We are very hungry
and 1t will 30 late before we get 70 anosh-
or stopping place"
mo, you can't, my little boy il sick, and
I amt got no hired girl, and We don't keep
tavern now"
The travellers looked At each other, but
wisely kept silent.
During temporary absence Of the wo-
man, one Of the number asked:
"Havnt you got something We can get
to drink to warm US up littlei"
Tho meek looking man hesitated, but
finally said that he had some cider but he
didn't know but it was frozen. He would
go and see.
He took large pitcher and soon came
back with II filled, saying 1t was pretty
strong as the outside was frozen, and this
was the "heart," and he thought it would
make any one drunk if they drank much
of it.
Just here the woman broke in with -
"They can't have that, was saving that
to make my mince pies with"
One of the travellers, however, had the
pitcher, and as they were all now deter
mined to leave none to make mince pies
with, there was queer feeling in their
heads as they went on their way. They
learned that under other circumstances
it would not be we'll to drink too much CT
der from barrel, the outside of which
was frozen.
Returning the same way couple Of
weeks later they found the hotel again
open, the little boy well, the hired girl on
hand, and the woman smiling, pleasant
and ready to get them an excellent dinner,
which was none the worse for being sea-
soned with sunary sharp seedlings, adj
ministered to various members of the fam
lily, as it served to furnish that really nee
essary item in q pioneers life, namely
something to laugh at
HOW HOMES WERE WON.
Perhaps no other State has witnessed a
display of more genuine pluck and perse-
verance, in its settlement, than has Wis
consin. True our prairies were fair to
look upon, our woods grandly magnificent,
but they yielded not themselves to the
dominion of man, without struggle
Coming here poor, as most of our pioneers
did, many of them without even team,
with family to provide for, for at least a
year before any return could be had from
the soil worth mentioning, with the land
to buy from the Government, it is very
evident that the pathway Of the early pi-
oneer was not orc Of ease.
The passage of the homestead law,
made matters much less difficult, but in
speaking of the settlement of Wisconsin,
we are speaking for the most part of the
times preceding the passage of this law.
In the history of the Chippewa Valley,
written in the year 1875, II. e. Randall has
this to say of the poor man. 1.-The United
States Government adopted the best meth
cd of surveying its land ever adopted by
any Government" perhaps the ''section"
or mile square, with all its subdivisions
being undoubtedly the most convenient
form in which public domain could be di
vided, and had the system first inaugu-
rated for its sale and settlement, been
experienced by pioneer settlement would
have been greatly mitigated, but on the
contrary, the policy adhered to until with
in the past fifteen years was fraught with
the grossest injustice and oppression. In
nearly all its provisions, most iniquitous
determinations were made in favor of the
wealthy speculator, and against the poor
hard working settler. Let me point to
few Of it's unjust provisions, which for
more than fifty years were on the statute
book Of this free and enlightened govern
ment.
Only once in lifetime could a man en-
ter a single forty, and then he must make
an affidavit that he had never before
availed himself of that privilege! Ora
cious boonl II he had the money and
wished to buy up whole counties, or o
whole state, there were no restrictions, oh
no! No limits or restrictions could be inn
posed upon the greed Of land sharks and
spectators, but the toiling plebeian who
could raise but fifty dollars TO secure an
adjoining forty must look ON and see 1t,
with all the improvements he had put on
it "gobbled up by some grasping shy
lock-" because the law said that no poor
man could twice be the recipient Of such
supreme condescension. Then, too, the
presumption law was utterly void Of any
benefit to the poor settler, no income could
be derived from his labor on the land, the
first year and many hard working pre-
empter having money due him, that he
thought he could command, when it
should be required to save his home, has
been frustrated by some sudden revulsion
in the financial world, that locked up all
the money, and saw all his hopes and toll
disappear, under the relentless grasp of
some land shark; and only once in life
time could man claim the benefit of this
franchisel Such, and many other equally
unjust provisions, remained on our stat
utes for half century, the out growth of
system of oppression, more terrible than
ever before existing among men. For
more than twenty years. the people of the
free states battled against these wicked
H..