Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-06-05
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"A City Chaps Experience at q B8ckWOOdS'
Spelling-School.
We were sitting about the fire in the
hotel, when the story teller, referring
to a yarn published in current paper
as to the rough usage of a man who
spelled down. a Western country
school, said:
'That reminds me of story" At
this, of course, every one urged him to
tell his tale, and he said:
1t was away back in the early seven
ties. was then travelling for Boston
school-book concern, and one night
brought up in a fourishing little town
In Eastern Tennessee. had never been
there before. but 1 soon made friends
with the landlord of the hotel, and when
1 asked him as to possible means of
amusement for the evening, he said:
'Well, stranger, 1 can't say as there's
much going on, but you might go to the
spellin'-school.'
1t seemed that there was spelling
match to be decided in the town, and 1,
full of foolish confidence in my own
ability, attended and submitted to the
process choosing sides" It never oc-
CURED to me that there could possibly
be any feeling either between sides or
between individuals as to the result
The building in which the contest oc-
Cured was tumble-down frame and
log structure, the lines of which outside
suggested an imminent danger of COL
lapse, and within which great fire in
the stack chimney at the end cast the
only light upon the bare benches, save
that which was given from the two
candles burning upon the desk of the
school-master, which was mounted upon
low and rough rostrum.
When I reached the building it was
reasonably well filled. Great strapping
youths in jeans, or homespun Offset
girls-many of them very pretty-in
homespun or calico. The only man in
the building, myself excepted, who
wore white shirt and ''store clothes"
was the lanky schoolmaster. six feet
and couple of inches tall at least, and
graceful as ten-months' old calf.
Mind, never knew how serious q
matter spelling down" is, and when
they asked me to go in simply went
in. sure that there could be no danger
that any of the rustic crowd could spell
me down. The work began and boys
and girls, right and left, sat
down on words of three syllables.
Soon there were only twenty
"a ei1O oAAS AAdA AOEty COuNSC8ubSS
then only fifteen; then only ten; at last
only five. The words grew harder and
harder. / saw obvious signs of discon.
tent. The girls did not like to be spelled
down or the boys to have the girls de-
feated. The words grew still harder.
One, two, three of the five spoilers fell
by the wayside and at last only two of
us stood-the prettiest girl IN all the
house and 1. At last the schoolmaster
called out to me ''hippopotamus." 1t
was as easy as falling from log until 1
felt hot breath at my ear and q voice
Kissed; spell it with one p mister
Mess you wanter get licked. That
thsr's my girl; spell her down If you
dare"
spelled it with one '.p' and sat
down.-Detroit Free Press
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