Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1884-02-28
The New Teacher.

I'VE had about AS onery and tTifln' a
crop of kids in Calsveras county thirty
years ago as you could gather in with d
fine-tOoth cono and brass band in
kittensome they Was moderately active
aud abnUrma,ly prOtuberant. That Wa.
thePrevailing style of Calaveras kikS,
when Mr.. George w. Mulqueen came
there and wanted to engage the school
at the old camp, where L hung up in the
days when the country was new and
the murmer Of the six-shooter was in the
land.
George w. Mulqueen was a slender
young party from The effete east, with
conscientious scruples and hectic flush.
Both of these was agin him for d pro
moter of school discipline and square
root. He bad heap of information and
sorrOwful eyes.
80 fur as | was concerned | didn t
feel like swearing around George or
using any language that would sound ir-
reYelant i'll ladies boodore; but as for
the kide of the school, they didn't care u
blamed cent. They just hollered and
whOOped like parcel of Sioux.
They didn't seem to respect literary
attaiuments or expensive knowledge.
They just simply seemed to respect the
genius that come to that country to win
their love with a long handle shovel and
blood shot tone of voice. That's what
seemed to catch the Calaveras kids in
the early days.
George had weak lungs, and they kept
to work at him till they drove him into
mountain fever, and finally into a me-
tallic sarcophagus.
Along about the holidays the sun
went down on George w. Mulqueen's
life just AS the eternal sunlight lit up
The dewy eyes. You will pardon my
manner. Nye, but it seemed to me just rs
if George had climbed up to the top of
Mount Calvary, or wherever it was, with
that whole school Oh his back, and had
To give up at last.
"It seemed kind of tough on me, and l
couldn't help blamin' it onto the school
some, for there was half dozen big
snuozers thar didn't go to school to learn,
but just went to raise Ned and turn up
Jack.
well, they killed him anyhow, and
that settled it.
"The school run kind of wild till Feb
oowary, and then husky young tender
foot, with fist like mules foot in full
bloom, made an application for the place,
and allowed he thought he could main
tnip niu u
chance. Well, they asst him when he
wanted to take his place as tutor, and
he rekoned he could begin to tute about
Monday morning.
Sunday afternoon he went up to the
school house to look over the ground
and 10 arrange plan for an active and
lively campaign agin the hostile hood
lums of Cslaveras.
MONDAY he sailed in about a. M. with
his gripsack and begun the discharge Of
his juties.
lie brought in bunch of mountain
willers, and after driving a big railroad
spike into the door casing over the latch,
he said the senate and house would sit
with closed doors during the morning
session. Several large, white eyed holy
terrors gaZed at him in kind of dumb,
iuquiring tone of voice; but he didn
say much. He seemed considerably re
serS ed as to the plan of the campaign.
The new teacher then unlocked his alli-
gator skin grip and took out Bible and
new self-c cking weapon that had an
automatic diDgus for throwing out the
empty shells. 1t was one of the bull dog
varieties and had the laugh of a joyous
child.
"He read a short passage from the
scriptures, and then pulled off his coat
and hung it on nail. Then he made a
few eXtemporaHeous remarks, after
which he salivated the palm of his right
hand, took the self cooking youngster
in his left, and proceeded to wear out
the gads over the various protuberances
of his pupils.
People passing by thought they must
be beating carpets in the school house.
He pointed the gun at his charge with
his left and manipulated the CAD with
his right duke. One large, overgrown
Missourian tried to crawl out of the
winder, but after he had looked down
the barrel of the shooter a moment, he
changed his mind. He seemed to realize
that it would be violation of the rules
of the school, so he came back and sat
down.
After he wore out the foliage, Bill,
he pulled the spike out of the door, and
put on his coat and went away. He
never was seen there again, He didn' t
ask for aHy salary, but just walked off
quietly, and that summer we accident
ally heard that he was George w. Mul
queens brother"