National Republican., 1883-03-07
pouND,s pltLpARArroN.

Tho EARLY Life OF n wisconsin Ex-Con-
bers.o
Gov. Pound, of Wisconsin, is going over to
New York to-day to look after the interests
of the railway he is actively engaged in
building across his state from Oconto to Sc.
Paul. Pound is full of his country, and loves
to talk about the days Of 1913, when he first
went there. He was born in western Penn
sylvania, and had only the winter education
that farmers sons get; but when he
arrived in Wisconsin he was sort of
oracle in tho district school, taught by
well meaning but incompetent young
woman, and after the boys and girls had been
telling for few weeks how the teacher de-
ferred to young Pound in matters Of arith-
metic, pronunciation, &C., the grave men Who
managed the school affairs decided to let the
Young woman go and let Pound teach tho
school. So he went on teaching school
every winter, and finding that he did
not know 30 much of books and the
necessary things they teach as he wanted
to, he went to an academy in New York,
and for four years his time was divided into
sections commensurate with the seasons. In
the winter he taught school, in the spring he
went to the academy, in harvest time he
worked in tho field, and again he took a turn
at the academy before beginning to teach
school in the winter.
Once, he said, he was looking out for
chance to make some money in the harvest
field, when man, who knew him, engaged him
to do cradling, and suggested that young Pound
should rake and bind after him. The owner
of the ripe standing grain was decidedly
doubtful of Pounds ability TO do anything
lhe was New York farmer named Hen
dershott), but he took the Graders
word for it, and when, at the end Of the day
he found that tho slender school teacher had
bound three bundles to tho others one and
come out fresh and ready TO help "set up"
the shocks at tho close of the day, he insisted
on paying him two days wages and told him
to go to the house and rest. Then he amazed
the women folks with fancy handwriting till
bed time, and so the harvest days wore away.
Gov. Pound spoke of his farmsat Chippewa
Falls, and said he loved the land better than
anything else. The conversation turned from
this to the question of floods and drouths,
and, fixing his shel framed eyeglasses, the
governor pulled the following verses out of
his pocketbooS and, remarkng that they
were the production of some poetic fancy
that ran wide of sense, ho read
THE FOREST RoBDERs
The cities on our rivers banks,
The towns aud Villages,
For wondruus Gifts Of God give thanks,
And proSpT at their ease.
From north 10 south the rivers how
And flow from east 10 west,
And wealth that makes tho city grow
Each bears upon his breast
On lands that lnmhermen lay bare,
Stripped Of their forest trees,
The snow inlls thiCRly everywhere,
And drifts before tie breeze.
Then shines the SUM- then falls the rain.
The SHOWS begin to melt.
And som the forest robbers gain
Through all the land is felt.
The rising river spreads dismay
Along It's crooked course
Aud sweeps the fruit Of toll away
With It's rcsstless force.
Through town the turbid waters ruL
Through cities streets they flow,
While far away still shines the sun
And swiftly melts the snow,
In towns and cities mon despair,
And own the ChaStenng rod,
And while thoy work and weep, declare
1twas the act of God,
But such disasters are not In
The great creators plnu
They spring from human greed and sing
From selfish acts of man
When wealth is vanishing like dew,
Aud toll and lite are lost.
Shall we supnOrt the axlnen's crew
At such fearful cost
piece of nonsense ; why, the fact is tho streams
in Wisconsin are less variable in volume and
less given to floods or drouths than when
first went to the state, and the lumbermen
have been working all the time"