The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1888-12-21
OLD TIME TRAININGS.
slLL ARP's DESCRIPTION OF AN
OLD FASHIONED MUSTER"

THE Colonel with His Cocknsts Hat and
Dazzling Epaulets-Ievlewing the MI
ntia-Kettls Drum and squcaky rife.
Fist and skull Fight.
Bill Arr, thus discusses old times In Georgia
and the old fashioned training day scenes,
An old fashioned muster was equal TO a
modern "Maidi Grasp The governor was
the ecnmando~-in-chief, but as he could not
be personally present the militia were 70.
viewed by proxy Every county had an aide
ie-canAp with the rank OF colonel. lie held
his rank and title as long as the governor
held his Office and no was expected 70 holler
for him and talk for him and boom him, and,
Il necessary, he must fight for him ON n suit
able occasion. II the governor failed of re-
election, these colonels had 10 retire too, and
q new set were appointed, but the old set
never lost their title, and so the state in
course of time got pretty fun of eolonels.
On muster day the colonel wore cockade
hat and red plume and epaulets and a
long brass sword and big brass spurs, and
horse pistols IN the holsters OF his saddle, and
be and his personal staff rode mp and down
the lines reviewing the militia, who were
drawn up in a double crooked straight line
in great big field that was fun OF gullies
and broom sage. Some wore coats and some
didn't; some wore shoes and some didn't; but
none wore boards, Tor in those DAYS none
wore boards but gamblers, Some were
armed with shotgans and soma with rifles or
maskets, but most OF them carried sticks and
cornstalks and umbrellas and they stood up
or squatted down at pleasure, and about half
the time were hollering for water.
THE coToNEI. AND HIS STAFF.
The colonel and his staff rode up and down
the lines on fine horses that danced and
pranced like there were tacks under the sad
dies. The roll of each company was called
and every man answered TO his name whether
he was there or not. Then the colonel took
central position and faced the long audience
and waved his glittering sword and ex.
claimed; Attention, battalionl Shoulder
arms, right face, marchia Then the kettle
drum ratified and the flfe sqneaked and some
guns went Of half cooked, and the militia
gave three cheers for the colonel and were
iisbanded until the next muster. Old man
Brooks was the chief musician in my day,
and would not have exchanged this office
with the king of England. He always played
brooks March, for the militia 60 locomote
I by. They never marched or kept step by the
music, but they got along somehow by walk
ing and trotting and pacing and fox trotting
| by turns
Old father Brooks played his part well in
the drama or farce, or whatever il was He
magnifled his office. lie loved music. He
said his fife was his life and his fiddle
was his riddle, On his last bed he sent for
/ my father to come and see him. Old and
wrinkled and cadayerous, he motioned 90 be
/ propped up In his bed, and then, with an in
veraed chair behind his pillow, he pointed to
his fiddle that lay upon the shelf near by,
and il was handed 20 him. Hngging it 70 his
old bosom he smiled amid his tears and whis
pefed: Il wish that | could play You one
more tune That night the old man died,
with his left hand closed hard and rigid
around the neck of his violin
After the muster was over then came the
horse racing on quarter nags and horse swap
ping and OF course some pugilistic exercises
in front Of the groceries.
FISTS, SKULLS AND FINGERS.
Jim Bowles was the center OF a crowd
| from his beat, and stripped TO the waist he
praneed around and popped his fist in the
| palm OF his hand, aud jumped up and
| cracked his heels together three times before
they struck the ground and gave a wild In
| ian whoop and exclaimed: "l'm the best maa
/ ia Pinkneyville district" About that time
big Jim Robinson jumped up in the center
Of another crowd and yelled. SIN the best
| man IN Ben Smiths deestrict, = and Nick Raw
Inns screamed like a panther from another
crowd, and gritted his teeth aud shook his
hair and yelled: "Gentlemen, my Betsy Jane
| SAYS I'm the best man in Rockbridge dees-
triet, and reckon she ought for to know
IL was just like gamecocks growing in the
J barnyarSi, and, like the cocks two OF them
soon got together and went to fighting, and
everybody stood around and shouted, "Hands
or gentlemen; stand back, gentlemen.
Hands or; let 'em fight fair and square
And they fought hard and fought long, and
when one Of them got to be the bottom dog
| in the fight and hollered enough the show
vas over. unless the victor dared to crow
again, and had to tackle another rooster.
have known Nick Rawlins 10 whip three
brag men in one evening, and Nick was nc
bad man either. Everybody liked Nick. He
had fit and fout and fought until he had los;
finger and a snip out OF his nose and q
piece of his left ear, but he was never mad
Nick told me not along ago that he never die
love to fight, but when he courted Betsy
Jane she lowed that when she married 8
man he had to be man all over. inside anC
oat, and 50 he got to lighting on her account
But these old times are gone-gone never
to return. Even the preachers who used t
take of their coats in the pulpit have con
formed to more polite customs. Their sing
song sermons are heard no more-nor tn,
nasal attachments that were something be
tween a shuttle and snort O.d Father
Dannelly and his wooden leg are dead and 81
is old Barny Pace, who said to the ROM
girl who went out to hear him just for tn
, fun of the thing: III that town gal with tn
green bonnet on her head and the devilA
martingales around her neck and his stir
rups in her ears, don't quit her gigglin,'
viii pint her out to the congregation" w
have more manners now, though our moral
/ may be at a discount.-Bill Arp in Atlantl
Constitution.