The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1883-05-31
AN UNIQUE SCHOOL.
Teaching the Young idea How Not to
Shoot

II eS, Salu the ScnCOlnaSter at Rus
tiers Gulch, as he rolled fresh corn
husk cigaro, 1.-The history of this school
would no doubt prove interesting from
a newspaper point of view. Its most
startling incidents, however, seem COM
monplace and tame to frontiersman
This school was started five years ago,
and l am the fourth teacher. I have
been here two years. About six years
ago Mr.. Robinson, great sheep man
from the lower country, located in the
gulch, and established a ranch here
Many of his herders had families, and,
being man of influence and wealth, he
had no difficulty in establishing public
school and he built this house. The
teacher hung his hat up on the floor in
one corner and shelved his books in an
other. The pupils brought sheep-skins
to sit upon, and every night rolled them
up with their books and piled the lot up
in the two unoccupied corners. Well,
after Mr.. Robinson, the wealthy sheep
man l spoke of, had completed his
school house he looked about for a
teacher, and finally secured the services
of an old fellow-an ex-stage driver,
who could barely read and write. This
country was full of Indians then, and
the teacher and larger pupils went arm
ed. He took his meals at Robinson's
house, but slept here on the mud floor.
He had a weakness for post whisky, and
got drunk on the slightest provocation.
One Sunday, while he was lying there
before the school-room fire in drunken
stupor, wandering Apache happened
in and carried away the schoolmaster' 8
scalp as an educational trophy. This
catastrophe caused the school to close,
and it remained without teacher about
six months.
One day very pretty and lady-like
young woman rode up to Robinson's
ranch and asked for that gentleman.
He invited her in and she made known
her business. She was school teacher
and anxious to take charge of the Rust
ler's Gulch School. She gave her name
rs Miss Emma Graham and entered up
On her duties the next day after her en-
gagement Miss Graham was about 18
years of age Robinson had q son .
year older. There were Indians in the
country still, and it fell to young Jack
Robinsons lot to escort the pretty
schoolmarm to and from the school
house. He rather liked it, and being a
good-looking fellow and trifie more
polished than ranchmen's sons usually
are Miss Graham rather liked it also.
They became friends, and this friend
ship developed into a very tender and
romantic passion. One night Jack Rob-
inson was missing. The schoolmarm
disappeared also. They were both seen
afterwards in Chihuahua. Mex, living
together as man and wife. Jack was
running saloon and the sometime
schoolmarm was dealing monte.
at was more than year when the
school was again opened. This time
the teacher was woman from the
States. The board assembled and be-
gan the examination with great So
lemnity. They asked the most nonsens-
ical questions with the greatest possible
gravity, and received the most prepos-
ferrous answers.
Connected with the examination in
mathematics is a story which eventual
" leaked out and gave the whole thing
away. One of the board, Mr.. Smith,
had large flock of sheep and they
were afflicted with the scab. He was
preparing to dip and had purchased
many gallons of a patent compound for
the purpose. This liquid was to be prop
erly diluted with water. Smith had
constructed big dipping vat, but he
did not know how much water it held.
and he was anxious to learn its exact
capacity so that he would know how
much of the patent dip to put in. He
gave the dimensions of the vat, and the
applicant for the school after a deal Of
figuring, told him how many cubic gal
Ions it would hold. Smith jotted down
this answer and turned the would-be
teacher over to Jones. Now Jones was
building new house. and was going to
finish it off in the most approved man.
ner. with doors. windows, Il shingle
roof and plank floors and ceilings. He
was about TO order the lumber for this
house from Ell Paso, but he didn't know
exactly how much to order. He gave
the dimensions. and the schoolmarm
consulted her little figures and told him
exactly how many feet of plank and
boards and how many bundles of shin
giles it would take to build a house of
the dimensions given. Well satisfied
with his shrewdness, Jones dotted down
the answers and passed the applicant to
Brown. Brown is the cattle-king of the
county and had just stalked off ground
fer big corral. He had employed an
Irishman who had been a NAVY on the
railroad to dig the ditch for the pickets,
st so much per cubic yard of earth ex-
cavated. He wanted to find out exact
ly how much his bill would be and he
asked Miss Green. She told him. This
closed the examination. The trustees