Oakes weekly Republican. (Oakes, Dickey County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1898, 1889-12-27

though they warred and preyed upon
one another with entire lawlessness, they,
combined us unit to- protect any one
among them from the processes of the
law. Aside from the criminalRssthe pop
ulation consisted almost entirely, if not
quite so. of the poverty stricken, for
dire poverty and desperate crime then,
as very often i'll history, went hand in
hand.
Tho children, who were coaxed ono by
one into the mission schoolroom, were
crowd of little savages. Their ignor-
ance was something amazing. 1t was
not very uncommon to find among them
boys and girls of or years old who
did not know their full names, but who
stoutly declared that "Sally" or "Bill'
was the only name they had, and once
or twice children were found who actu-
ally did not know whether they had ever
had fathers and mothers. Some had no
homes. God only knows how they kept
alive, for they slept in holes and corners,
and fed like vagrant cats and dogs on
whatever they could beg, find or steal.
impossible? Certainly it is, but it is
CAuc, ,iCNtllIclCSS.
Among the widest and shycst of all
who came i'll was a boy who was the
originator of at least one famous joke,
though without intention. The teacher
asked him his name and he said it was
George. Being asked what his last name
was he said that was his last name
"But you must have another name,"
urged the teacher. "Is it George Smith,
or George johnson, or George What"
Nope" he said, shortly. "'Taint
George What, nor George Nothin', it's
George. liain't got no oder name"
But the joke came when the teacher,
wishing to know whether hc had learned
anything at all, asked him, ''Do you
know who made you:"
At the same instant a boy behind him
stuck a pin into George. Such tricks
were very common among the little saw
ages, but it did not hurt any the less be-
cause twas not unusual. George jumped
from his seat and shouted at the top of
his voice ''Goddemitey."
"Well, that's right" said the teacher,
who had not noticed the trick. but
don't shout So" The story was told
afterwards, with enlargements. until it
became a "chestnut" many years ago.
1t was a long time-some months-be-
fore the teachers could learn nuch about
the boy, for he was dis,rustful to the
last degree. He kicked the Rev. Mr.
Van Meter OH the shins very violently,
and twisted himself away like an eel
when that gentleman, according to his
habit. laid his hand atfectionately on tile
boys shoulder George thought he was
going to be beaten, and took his usual
precaution of eluding the preliminary
hold. He had, it seemed. never known
what it was to have anybody take hold
of him in kindness, and was no more to
he handled than young bird or IL suuir-
rel. There was hardly anything, in fact,
that he did know. as the good mission
people reclzoned knowledge. He knew
how to swear fluently, as his acci.
dentally correct answer as to his
Maker indicated, but he did not
know, and it was :. long time be.
fore he could be made to understand
that swearing was wrong. In fact, he
did not know what wrong was. SO fan
as his experience If life went, every.
body did precisely what seemed at the
moment desirable to do, unless pre-
vented by superior physical force, or by
bodily fear. Stealing was to him per
fectly legitimate mode of acquiring any.
thing, that he might happen to want
and the only reason why it should be
done secretly was that too much osten.
tation about the act was apt to provoke
interference on the part Of the owner
who might and probably would want
the article himself. Lying was simply
the easiest way of concealing anything
that he did not care to reveal, and tho
only inkling he had Of the Objectionable
character Of the act was that anybody
to whom he told lie would beat him
savagely if he did not lie cleverlJ
enough to escape detection. AS to the
Sabbath, the first knowledge he had Of
the difference between one day and an
other came from his noticing that once
in a while these people who had whole
clothes OH and who spoke gently came
into the neiyhborhood and opened the
little mission room and tried to get the
I children to go into it.
George was among those who were
coaxed in with much difficulty, but after
going once he went regularly. The room
was clean and pleasant, and as the au
tum1 days came OH there was IL stove
put in and a fire made it warm. Tha
was a novelty to him-beins allowed t.
sit undisturbed in a warm room. TIL.
story the good teacher obtained from
him after winning his confidence wal
appalling by its very absence of desail
but it was only one of many like stories
and she could do very little to alleviate
the misery that was all around her.
George lived with a woman whom HI
had been taught to call Aunt Sally
Whether she was his aunt, who hi
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