The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1892-01-30
THE OLD SETTLER.
He Was Not Sure About the Story
Of William Tell.
hut He Did Know of Some Wonderful
Shots Made by Potiphar Jump,
who Won His Bride with
His Gun.


His Gun.
"Gran'pop, what do you s'pose my
teacher says?" said little Peleg as he
came home from school one day, in
great excitement.
Shouldn't wonder but what she says
th't she wunt 'scuse y ont O school no
more on them suddent 'tacks o tooth
ache th't ketches y soon ez the slatin'
begins to git good, -" replied the Old Set
tier, looking over his spcctacles
This reply of his grandfather's was
somewhat embarrassing to Peleg, for
he and Bill Summons had stopped at the
pond on the way home from school and
had tried the ice by throwing heavy
stones on it, and found it safe and
sound for skating Moreover, Peleg
had begun to feel apprehensive
that he was going to have the
toothache and the earache by next
morning, the way he felt and had
made up his mind to tell his grand
mother that he was afraid he would
have to stay out of school and sit by
the stove with cotton and laudanum in
his ear and tooth until he felt better,
course of treatment which the
Old Setter had noticed on previous oc-
casions as usually resulting in great
relief, if not absolute cure, about an
hour after school went in" The Old
Settlers unexpected reply to his gues-
ton was such a homethrust, therefore,
that Peleg regretfully bade adieu to his
toothache and earache sympt oms until
some more propitious occasion might
offer for their reappearance.
"An' just harll to wat say, sonny!"
said the Old Settler, before Peleg re-
covered sufficiently to say anything
himself. THE mex time that tooth O
your'n gets to achin' you're gointer
mog right along o. me to the doctors,
m hen gointer yanlz it out!"
This rather darkened Peleg's future
in regard to the symptoms he was
afraid would reappear but suddenly
recollecting that there wasn't anything
they could 'yank out" in case of ear
ache, he grew easy in bis mind again,
and, smiling at his grandfather, said:
Now, granpop, that wasn't what
the teacher said! What do you spose
it was?"
"Sumpin' bout nat'ral hist'ry, l
'spect" growled the Old Settler. "If
it were, Peleg, jist tell me wat she
said bout it, N I'll onsay it fer v m
set y right"
"Twasn't about natural history,
gran'pop" said Peleg. 'It was about
history, though, and something you
and everybody else has always be.
lieved."
,, Not if it's hist'ry, b'gosh," ex.
claimed the Old Settler. "Gimme facts,
sonny, N I'll take EN- in, but don asst
me to swaller hist'ryn'
"Well, it's all about William Tell and
the apple, gran'pop," said Peleg.
l The Old Settler looked at Peleg for q
time with puzzled expression on his
face and then said:
Il remember family by the name
O. Pell th't usety live on McGoniglc
run, in the sugar swamp deestric, but
b'gosh! they never had no ap
pies! They couldn't raise wild goose
berries on that clearin' o. their'n, lei
alone apples, N all the s'ile wild
gooseberries wants is the top of stur
wall"
"IIe never lived in the sugar swamp
district, gran'pop," said Peleg "Ht
thought he did, but my teacher says he
never lived anywheres."
Kind O. boarded round, hay, like
deestric' school marm?"
"No," said Peleg. He's a myth, til,
teacher says You know what mytl
is, gran'pop? You remember telling
me about your killing a bear that hat
two heads and only one eye?"
"Y-e-e-s, sonny, seems to me ! do,
v said the Old Settler. "Yes.' Twere jis
n ut the foot o. SquawlSe hill N me n
/ Lippy Conkr;ght-"
a That was the one" said Peleg, in
terrupting his grandfather. "Well,
,, was telling Bill Simmons about it yes
u terday, and Bill said he'd bet cook,
Ii that the bear was myth"
: "He did, hay?" said the Old Settler
= with a sneer. "Wull, if one o. then
o myths stands five foot high, with
{ head on each shoulder an one bii
e glarin' eye stuck right betwiXt 'em
then that bar were myth, m a DUR
i good spec ment o. one at that!'
y "Well, asked the teacher what
u myth was, gran'pop," said Peleg, IAN
- she said it was something that WASH
-. so"
n The Old Settler sat gazing over hi
a spectacles at Peleg for some time with
! out a word. Peleg became uneasy, and a
last started in to lead the conversatio
is back to the original subject.
IS THE way l always heard it," he SAID
d civilian Tell lived in Switzerland
and"
G "Eddication is good thing" rC
is marked the Old Settler, quietly, shu
N ting Peleg off, Its good thing, nj
is we pay considerable taxes hirin' schoo
lr marms to give the young idee pints i
IS spellin' n writin', m fggerin', N jos
w gerfy, m so on N so forth, ct cetterJ
,e But wen it comes to glvin' the youn
idee p'ints th't makes its poor OF graz
er 'paps out to be p'warcators o. the trut
ly m shyers outen the way o. facts I
to fggers in nat'ral hist'ry, then it strike
Id me pooty hard th't eddicaton is bitir
n off moren it kin chaw, n it'll hea
o. from me, bgosh, at the mex tow
a. meetinw