Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1885-11-20

dren--a second child. girl, having
been born TO them reached homo in
advance Of those who brought her
wounded husband. They had heard
the most terrible rumcrs, and were tor
turcd by the most horrible fears, but
were in ignorance Of what had actually
occurred until men came bearing the
bleeding body with its unconscious faco
and laid 1T at their feet. To those who
can not image the agony of these low
ing hearts no description which tho
writer could give would convey any
meaning whatever. Erastus lived until
morning. He was unconscious during
the whole tine, and died without
word or look OF recognition of those
about him, while wife and mother and
children poured forth their anguish in
tears and sobs as they watched the
pulsing of tho heart grow fainter and
fainter and felt the hands which they
claspcd become colder and colder, as tho
death-damp gathered upon the brow of
him they loved.
When he was buried these two lone
and widowed women, the one in the
prime of life, the other bowed aid
broken and gray with years and sorrow,
but moro with sorrow than with years,
returned to their desolate home to clasp
two fatherless children to their breasts,
and weep and moan, living in daily
fear of other attempts at eviction and
other tragedies until such time as death
shall come to them, or until the whole
people shall waken from their slumbers,
throw off the fatal spell which binds
them. and demand that justice be done,
and reparation made so far rs may be.
Walking down one of the principal
streets of Chicago one day recently
met Ensign, the husband of Jennie Par
sons. He''was not as well dressed as
had less of self confidence and manly
independence than formerly. In truth,
| think he intended to pass without
speaking, but / stopped him and held
out my hand.
''How do you do" said; land how
is Jennie and the babies?"
"They are well, or rs well as could
be expected under the circumstances,
was the reply.
feared that all was not exactly
right with them. hut could not well APP
pear 10 be inquisitive l have high
respect for Ensign and his wife, and had
no intention of permitting them to drop
from my list of friends, and said:
a am coming out to spend an even
ing with you before long if you will al-
low me. suppose you are still living
in the same cottage on c. street?'
NO." he replied, "they forecloscd
and took that from us more than q year
ago; after we had more than half pa
for it, too. You see, | was thrown out
of my place by the failure of the COM
pany | was at work for, and could not
keep up the payments on the house and
lot, and so lost all we had saved since
coming here. together with what little
we had when we came"
'And where are you living now?"
asked.
He hesitated little and then said:
"After we lost our place got another
job at one OF the mills, but was sick
with the fever for time, and when
got up again could get no steady en-
ploymeni, and we were forced to rent
some rather poor rooms on - street,
fronting on the railroad track. Well,
the railroad company claimed the
ground that this building and others
S ood on and wanted possession, so they
ordered us put out without ceremony.
i came home from long tramp after
work one day and found Jennie and the
children on sidewalk with what few
household goods we had lett, crying
their ey rs out with fear and anxiety"
"Ant then what?" l asked, seeing
that he hesitated again.
.Well, | was out of money, and rent
had to be paid in advance, and as we
had moth ng to pay with, and could not
borrow, we moved into an old building
with another family down by the river,
unit l can find work and rent better
place. We don't call it living; it isn't
living; its only Just camping; but what
can fellow do? assure you there are
hundreds of other families in the city
who are equally bad off,
Tie story "Driven from Sea TO Sea"
is tinished-no not finished. John
Parsons and Erastus Hemmingway are
dead. One sleeps with his crippled
child upon the mountain side; one les
buried in the valley, side by side with
his neighbors, who fell like him, the
victims of the rapacious greed OF cor
porate conspirators on that fatal nom
ing of May, 1880; but Martha Parsons
and Lucy Hemingway still live. and
living still contend with q corporation
for the shelter above their heads aud
the heads of orphaned children. With
them battle others whose homes and
farms are in jeopardy from the same
source.
Occasionally some settler, driven
L. l., L. H.,
long-continued suffering, by wrongs oft
repeated, takes vengeance upon the
immediate author of his woes; and
some man, some tool of the corpora
ton s.nt to hold possession of the land
from which the settler has been cvicted,
is found dead upon the spot where the
wrong was done. Even as you read
these lines and wonder if such tn ngs
are poss BILE, hon st settlers, not alone
in California, but in any of dozen diff
ferent States, it may be, are being driven
from their homes, their altars over
thrown, their household gods destroyed.
their lives sacrificed, their wives widowed
and their children made orphans.
No, the story is not yet finished; but
so far rs told it is a true story. All of
the main incidents have taken place
substantially as related. They are part
OF the history of our county; have oc-
CURED TO our own citizens, beneath the
shadow of our own dag.
Had it been other than a true story
it m ght have ended with brighter
picture; with the brightest and best of
all piclures-the picture OF loving and
honored old couple enjoying the last
yaara of thar. wall cpant livas op,idct