Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-09-11
MR.. BARGE,R' s INSECTS.

habitants mysterious though per-
fectly honest living. Mysterious be-
cause no man who had not tried it
ever could understand how any one
IN that place ever grubbed together
enough TO keep soul within the body.
With such preearious means OF food
getting Oscar Barger grew up to man
hood. but though he CLAIMED all his
early days he was not OF the clammers,
and. though he fished he was not ofthe
fishers. IA = s7 81
When he was n, though he had
never been to school lin his life, Oscar
sstonished the school committee at
Peck's Patent by walking in one day
when they had met to decide upon the
teacher for the winters school. !"
"Areyol going to examine the teach.
ers?'s be asked H~
"That's what brought us together y
"And will the one that has passed
the examination get the placer
elf he is - respectable character he
WILL" said the minister. -
"ThenI am a candidate said Os-
car, us he SHE'D his big felt hat in the
corner.
"Where were you eddicated Mr..
Barger?" was the first question put to
him. %E,Et
wherever T had the luck to got g.
spare half-hour and the fortune to get
q book" y.
':No, but what school have you been
to?' r. .A
''My own. I have been my own
teacher and scholar"
stNever been to school?'
HNever, except as taught myself "
The school committee whispered
among themselves for while, and then
the chairman, q man of Importance
who had been three times to the ''le G.
islater," said: "Mr. Barger, it's the
custom to hire only dedicated teach
ers, If you want u job Of work l call
late ! can give you one over to my
place" q
s.But you don't know whether 7 am
educated or, not. You haven't tried
ME. Examine me-"
Every well, since you insist upon it,
Said the minister, opening q book.
tWhat is the square root Of 76,942?"
Quick as flash Mr.. Barger gave the
correct answer. The committee was
astonished. .>--.
"You haven't got this arithmetic
hidden close by you, haveyou?" asked
the chairman. ..,H~ ...5t..
Oscar stepped out in the middle Of
the room, right in front Of the COM
mittee. >'~
If you think Pm cheating make up
sum yourselves and ask NE to do it. -
Then they took a turn at Geography,
and before many minutes the commit
tee found that Mr.. Barser was telling
them things they never knew
about the geography OF their own
country, and presenting the picture Of
the world beyond the confines of their
own town with such vividness as to
cause for the first time something like
concrete conception of the fact that
there did exist land with millions OF
acres without rock and hill, OF thou
sands Of miles OF mountain ranges 81
900 to Is, 900 feet high, of rivers that
would bear bigger ships than ever came
up Mianrs river 2, 900 miles inland.
Had Erasmus himself suddenly APP
peared among them with all his learn
ing the Pecls's Landing school COM
mlttee could not have been more f'l'
dazed. :.
Mr.. Barger taught the Peck's Land
ing school for three winters with great
success. At the end OF that time ne
had $500, a fair supply OF books, and
wife, He had married one OF his
scholars, a Drlght g1ri, VINO i & ,tl Up
on him as q prodigy Of learning
For some years Mr.. Barger support
ed his family by teaching and by conf co n
pounding and vending a medicinal pill
which his knowledge of botany had
enabled him to make with such sue
cess that its virtues we're known Tar
and near, He called it Gall of the
Ground. But It was only when y u his az
rapidly growing family needed money
that Mr. Bargger turned q his Att lltsoil
ologist, ana @ utterly absorbed !. was
family we're almo starvs-ii .
One day the oldest child q girl,
whom especial y loved, said to him:
Father, we are not old nough to
earn ANYTHING vet, end mot her works
So hard that shetis sick most Of the
Now Now ] ' think tha a y man Who \ knows