The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1883-07-12
General Training.

1t was general training day f
don't know what that means. ash o.., you
ma. John knew; and he WASN'T Isuq-
Not he. Nobody heard the d,T,, ueal
me that morning any palmer than ba
dld. don't know that Il so ,,,,
sweeter to any boys ears. Yet -
WASH t rushing alone the streets - y
windsor with the rest of the bows ss,. y
TO JON the procession. Instead he ~.
out IN the back lot, away up ii H.
northwest corner, hoeing POTATOES M. s4e
all his might. A nice little match s' y
potatoes; none better LOOKING h all ~ y
town of Windsor. Idoubti il fbara N, NC 80
any that received such care. Eyerv I'M
OF them belonged to John, and # W. r.a
about all that he did own in the wo,l 81
unless except an old arithmetic S Mil,
one OF the covers gone entirely. and Az
other hanging by half its back. bnt
every problem in that arithmetic Tobn
could do! And there were some bsr5 I
ones "iu
He hoed away. The band was nIar
ing, and he tried to make his hoe Keen
time to the music, while he whistled X
loud and clear. T.
10 Parsons leaned over the rail fence
and looked at him
said he.
"Well," said John, 81 didn'tsavi Il
SO far as know, but j can, if you want
me to-"
"Well, now, if you amt one Of 'ehl
Why not?'
"Why not what?"
"Why not amt you going to general
training, when every man and boy ii tliis
town is on hand?n F
"Got other business. Every man and
boy can do all the work that there is To
to do at general training without me.
and my potatoes are spelling to be hoed'
and this is the only day I've got.'
Why can't you hoe 'em tomorrow
Just as well?n FL
Because tomorrow I've got to 90
and help Governor Wolcott hoe bis.
there's acres of them, and it win take
me all the rest of the season; before I'd
have another chance at mine theyid
spoil, sure; no, sir, I've looked at the
sum on all sides, and worked it up
every way could think Of. and the only
answer l got was that / must stay at
home and hoe. I'm training, though,
Don't you hear my hoe keep time to the
music?''
"How many potatoes do you expect
to get out of that patchpn
10 said the word patch in very
contemptuous way. The fact was, he
might as well have told his friend John
just what he thought, that that potato
patch was a very small affair."
dunno" said John, cheerily. sJust
as many as [ can coax into growing for
me-" a m
land what are you going to do with
them when you get them?n
"Sell every blessed one; father has
promised me seed enough to plant again,
next season, so / sha mt have to lay by
any" a
"Well, what do you want to sell
them for. What are you after, any
how?"
John stopped his busy hoe and
leaned on it for about one minute, while
he said in slow and very impressive
voice:
There's good many things / would
like to get, and there are two or three
things that mean to get if i can with
these potatoes; but there's one thing
that I'm after with all the strength there
is in my hoe, and that I'm bound TO hare;
and that's one of the new biographies
with pictures of the rivers, and towns,
and everything'' r. ~
{ " Hor' said 10; and the way he took
his arms off the fence, and stood up to
put force into the word, gave you to I'M
derstand that he had very small opin-
ion of Biographies, and thought that
John Fitch was simpleton.
He went to general training, and had
a good time, / presume; but whether
he did or not, no one will ever know;
for so far as can learn, nobody ever
heard of him again, though / suppose
his mother and a few friends knew all
about him. $3.50 M
And John kept at his hoeing; and
then when that was finished he went
home and did the sschores.n
Hard work, was itP OF course ii was
hard; but then wait q bit. To-Gay
there is not a well-inforrned boy in the
country who doesn't know more or less
about John Fitch. Among other things
they know, that a few years later, when
he had earned his geography, and
studied it, and studied several other
things, one day he went gliding up the
Delaware River on a steamboat of his
own planning, the first one that was
ever used in the world! I'm inclined
to think that he hoed his patch Of po-
tatoes to some purpose.
The truth was, he had o general
training every day in the year, and
trained bis mind to think and to plan
PGnsA . -. -...nn.-.. 90 ain