Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-11-06
CORRESPOND
ORv-sBURG, Miss. ,
Oct. 2Sth 1890.

country, and I have thought a great
deal about the blessed privileges the
citizens of Wisconsin enjoy, her COM
mon schools. I look over Wood County
back for thirtytWo years, where [ see
myself teaching the first school on
Yellow River and western Wood
County, north of Dexterville. I now
| look back over that then wild forest,
with here and there the smoke from
the wigwam of Chippewa Indian and
occasionally lumber camp; my
memory pictures the "deer lick" the
"runaways," where | have watched for
game; / live over those days when it
took good hard days work to rive and
shave one thousand shingles and pack
the same for market; when 1t took two
days to dig and make hundred grubs
and another day to haul them to town
and get three dollars for them, pay fifty
cents for dinner and feed and $3.50 for
the team. We did not have much time
to study the tariff, we had to hustle and
the only pleasant thing can see in the
situation looking from a democratic
standpoint, it was good old democratic
rule, and whiskey was cheap. [ view
that landscape as it is now, where the
old "deer lick" used to be is now the
trail leading to it made Of steel, and the
game that comes is the iron giant, and
the thought that awakens in the watcher
is that of admiration for civilization.
[ see cities raising their steeples and
sending forth volumes of smoke from
her chimneys and multitudes of people
enjoying prosperity where stood the
wigwams and tepees of old; the run
ways have been closed by seven rail
fences. Young men and young women
are growing up all over that wild past
and cultivated present, under the
instruction of the public school. | am
in a state where the people of Wood
County, at least some of them are deep
y interested as the history is written in
blood. 1t was in this state where the
Alban Pinery Rangers first received the
seyerest results Of army life at the
Battle of Pittsburg Landing; where our
gallant Col. Alban, one brave Captain
Compton and many others fell out of
the ranks that Sunday morning never
again to attend roll call with the mortal
army.
With these thoughts passing in my
mind | cannot forget the camp life, the
sickness and death that followed, was
even more terrible than the battle; can
we ever forget that kind hearted and
noble Governor Harvey who came and
visited us and filled the despondent
camps with encouragement, yet that
same night lost his life in the Tennessee
River. When | think of all these
things the sacrifice those years of war
occasioned. 1t brings me to only one
condescension, that condescension was
formulated in the little school house,
the public school where the love and
obedience to our national government
is taught. For eight years [ have been
studying Southern sentiment and char
issues from their standpoint, | have
just been to jackson, the capital of this
state, where the constitutional conven-
vention has been in session nearly
three months it is costing the state an
enormous sum of money and the main
object was to formulate some law by
which they could disfranchise one class
of her citizens. They have succeeded
they claim they will disfranch1se eight
thousand whites and fifty thousand
blacks, even democrat are not satisfied
with their own work.
Nature has made this beautiful
state so far as topography timber and
soil is concerned, splendidly watered
with rivers and springs, all the elements
are here for making millions of pros
porous homes. She has over one
hundred miles of sea coast, vet this
state does not have city of any impor-
tant commercial value She has
important railroads traversing her
great length and breadth with the
Mississippi River, furnishing transpor-
tation for her whole western border.
What is the matter with Mississippi? {?
Cotton is king, democracy reigns
supreme; the free discussion of all
points interesting the people are not
| freely discussed where discussed it is
by biased opinion, that trains the
minds of the young only in one channel
like the paroclal school. l am proud of
this part of Mississippi. l came here
eight years ago, it was wild unbroken
| forest with here and there d squatter.
l think squatter sovereignty must have
reigned supreme here! No school
houses dotting the public thoroughfares
although rode one hundred miles from
! the county seat where the first legisla-
ture of this state convened therefore
one of the oldest counties in the state,
to the gulf, and not one little school
house did l see, yet l saw many kind
hearted hospitable people who could
not tell me on what section they lived.
said | was proud Of this particular
spot for these reasons: | made an