Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1889-10-23
Coin to Skule.

| OhiiulSh plSoSHt. n lOW VI IHc Olu
people were distrustful of the results,
and one old woman came very near
sticking her snuff-stick into my eye as
she fourished it around and said:
81 never did snuggle to this skule
bizness, nohow. 1 can't read nor
write, but if thar is any woman in
this county who is better woman
than me let her step out kin shute
a gun, handle hoe or ak, make the
best soft soap, cure bile, cook a
chicken, or skin a bar, and I'd like
to know what else human female ar
expected to do"
This speech Aoored the meeting for
a few minutes, but at length grizzly
old mountaineer replied:
"But we've got to hev eddecashun,
Sallie. 1t takes eddecashun to keep
postoffice and store. If the postmas-
ter didn't hev eddecashun how'd he
know when letter cum for you?-
How'd the storekeeper fgger up?"
ooh, a sprinklin' might be eddecat-
ed" she graciously admitted-"them
'as amt of no earthly good for other
work, but this eddcatin' everybody is
dangerous, Sam'l; and l do believe it's
agin the Lords wishes. Eddecashun
makes rascals. Look at Long Davis.
If he hadn't bin eddecated would he
hev set fire to that saw mill Look
at Morgan's gal, Jenny. If she had
not bin eddecated would she hev run
off with that ar chap from Kentuc-
ky"
"Thar's a heap O. sense in what the
ole woman says" added one of the
men, "but | 60 in for eddecashun mo-
or less. We've got to hev it or we
can't do bizness. If I'd had eddie
cashun when | cut them ar seven
cords of wood for bod Havens at six
ty cents a cord wouldn't hev bin full
ed into takin' gallon O lasses and
half a pound of tea and wipin' out
my claims. Consarn his ole picture,
but I'll kill mewl for him if he don't
even up"
"What dye think, stranger ?" ask
ed one of the wouen of me.
Education won't hurt your child
rem any, ma'am."
won't it make 'em lazy nor sas-
sy?"
Il don't think so"
"Won't they try to boss the old
folks, and want broadcloth and silk?"
"They shouldn't"
"Well, | dunno-I dunno. Seems
to NEE like flying in the face of Prov
idence, but mebbe it will cum out all
right. | wash my hands of it, nobody
must blame me. You all remember
that | was again it,"
After supper, the man who had
been responsible for all the excitement
asked me to take walk with him.
When we were half a mile from the
hamlet he filled his pipe, sat down,
smoked for five minutes without a
word, and then quietly asked
"Hev you ever bin to skule ?"
"Yes."
Hurt ye any ?"
"No."
"Do ye good ?'
Eyes"
"Will it hurt any of us?"
"No. It's the best move you ever
made"
Honest Injun9'
"Yes, keep that school going if you
have to live on roots. No man has a
chance in this world unless he has ed
ucatiOn."
"Jist as | told 'em, but they would
not listen. Will ye cum up to the
skule house to.morrer ?"
YES"
"And ye won't go back on yer opin-
ion ?"
mo"
"Put it thar" he said as he reach
ed out his big rough hand. 81 kind
er felt | was right all the time. but
they was all agin me-"
Next forenoon | went over to the
school house. 1t was a little room in
the rear of building which answer
ed for blacksmith, wagon and coop
er shop. Everybody else also went,
and when we all got in there was no
room for anybody to sit down. The
teacher was young woman who had
never attended anything higher than
a district school, and the outfit con-
sisted of a blackboard, one spelling
book, one old geography and third
reader. The teacher was frightened
half to death by the sudden attack,
but my friend of the night before
sought to ealm her fears by saying:
Don't you go for to faint away nor
jump through the winder and make
for the woods, for we is on your side.
This ere gent is all the way from
Michigan, and not only snuggles to
eddecashun, but he's actually been to
skule bisself. He's gon to say right