Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-03-07
~ live q good ways off," said the

anager, with a slight smile,
MUST be a good ways if YOU never
l ns 70 OF that! Been in the Newspapers.
.ne 1opham medder lot hast" said I'm.
IL ~, In the aggrieved tone of one
WI "no nesrs things that he holds in high
est esteem lightly spoken of.
Anythingg remarkable in the way of
looksr, asked the stranger.
"Iaint that. It's a. pootv a n;ooo
OF = as there is anywheres round.
but faint that. Of course 'ta;n,t the
lu's land that's ever been fit over, Meth
III even right here in this very town.
Inere's the lot where the Town-hall
SETS what was nigh enough for one
was toe far off for t'other; and Free
porn BAILEY ne was tearin' mad because
tney was willin' to give morefor Ezekiel
Adams's land than they was for his.
ana same way about the meetin' house
'-there most always is a quarrel about
a meehn'-house; seems to be material
!or folks to quarrel over gospil priv
lleges. The minister he took sides
winch amt never q safe thing for a
minister to do, if l do say it that amt a
perfesser-and he accused Deacon
Gerry OF bein' ~henpccked; and Seth APP
plebee he said the minister want sper-
itooaf, but, Ia! them was only whatyou
might call tritling ditfikilties compared
with the quarrel about the Topham
medder lot. Talk about your quick
sands and your volcanoes, now! WHY.
that inherent and ACKNOWLEDGMENT
lot O. land, fairly smilin' at you of a
summerS day, has done more mischief
than airy n of 'em. What? Well,
mebbo it amt swallcred up no cities;
but it's swallered up family affection
and ,p;ety. The old squire and 'Liph-
let was both perfessers once-and,
come to think ont, it's swallered up a
whole church and a minister, for the
church was all split up, and the minis
ter put down from preachin', along in
the fust of it, its swallered up a pile of
good, honest, hard-earned money-and
mebbe some that want quite so honest
two or three love affairs and a we'd
din day that was sot. It's built fences
ten feet high betwxt two pairs of
neighbors' back yards, and torn down
a monument in the buryin'-ground.
Don't you remember Hosea Pingree and
Laban Pritchard? They quarreled
about the medder lot. n Of 'em bein'
for 'Liph'let and t'other for the squire;
and when Hosea died and his folks sot
up a monument over him with Mark
the upright man on it, Laban he went
in the night and hove it down. He
wouldn't let it stand nohow. and folks
got so mad with him. finally, that he
had to leave town. All the medder lott
doin's, you see! And it's broke two or
three women's hearts. 1 don't know
about Mary Ann, though; she seems to
have c%onsid'able grit to. what folks used
to think she had. There is them that
says it's because she thinks she's a
goin' to git the medder lot at last, and
fetch Jason to the pint. Wonderful
cretur to hold on q woman is when
she's sot her heart on a.man, pertiker-
lerly if he amt half good enough for
her! And them's the kind they're
dretful apt to set their hearts on.
Seems as if the smarter and the
more of a woman one of 'em is the
wuss mistake she makes when it comes
to courtin' and marryin'. Jestthink of
the likely young fellers that wanted to
keep company with Mary Ann when
she was eighteen-for she was a hand
some girl, Mary Ann was, with her
cheeks as red as roses, and her black
hair jest as slick as satin; high-steppin',
and fond of company, and gay as a
lark. The squire was considered we'll
off then, and thought more Of than any
man round; and so twas material the
young men should come from far and
near a-countin' Mary Ann. And it did
beat everything to see her turn the cold
shoulder on 'em all for the sake of ia
son Hutchins, a narrer, contracted,
pigeon-breasted Teller that alwers looked
like q dried herrin', and hain't anv
more in'ards to him than q herrin'!
Stingy? The Hutchinses was all stin-
gy, and Jason's mother was a Pritch-
ard, and the Pritchards was closer than
the bark of a tree, SO Jason took it
double and twisted. They do say that
when he was a little boy he wouldn't
play with his marbles fer fear he should
wear 'em out, and when his father was
a-goin' to buy him a sled he cried and
said he wouldn't have it for fear some
body would want to borrer it.
ellis father sent him to the academy,
and then to college, but he didn't stay
there but a year. He made up his mind
that a college edication cost too much.
He tried doctorin' q spell, but he never
seemed to do much at it. He was
afraid to give folks medicine, because
he might not get his pay.
HE used to gosparkin' round among
the girls, kind Of promiscus at fust, but
after awhile he begun to go to the
squirrels Sunday evenin's. And then he
used to walk to meetin' along of Mary
Ann, and set sideways in the pew, and
cast sleeps eye at her where she sat up
in the singin' seats. He had a beauti-
full voice. He could drownd out the
whole choir; but he wouldn't sing in
the seats because he didn'twant to wear
out his voice without gettin' paid for it.
He didn't say so, you know; he was al
ways dretful close-mouthed any way;
burt everybody knew that was the rea-
SON..
.Byme-by he sort Of gave up goin'
to see the other girls-he never took
'em anywhere because it cost something
and settled down to courtin' Mary
Ann stiddy and p%unctooal.
'.Ihat was about the time that there
was talk of a railroad comm to Farm