The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-05-07
OLD INDIANAPOLIS BOYS
Recollections Of One Of Them Who
Flourished in the Days of Long Ago.
Standing In Awe Before the Old Marion En-
gins House on the Circle-Superstitions
of the Period-Some of the Pastimes

tDOURn uo Is W6tl 8lOuk Al years, il IA
hair is grayer and his brow more wrinkled
han he would wish. yet. he says. while he
read the pages that told of the familiar
scenes OF boyhood in q Western town, pic
turing the inner ard outer lives of boys
who lived, and played. and worked in q
time when boys were not small and cheap
limitations of men, his mind went back to
the days of his own childhood, when lndi-
annapolis was in it's youth and long before
the rude alarm Of war had reused it to
sturdy manhood.
In those days the locust trees lined our
streets. and blossominG in the springtime.
made broad avenues of shade in the sum-
mer. The sidewalks were grass. bordered
with golden heads of dandelion showing
amid the green; there were bnt few brick
pavements, and the wide streets were made
for boys to play in. and not for the use of
rushing electric cars and the restless. ever
moving. pushing. crowding business Of to-
day.
The sky, so our boy says, was much
bluer than now. and If there were clouds at
ell they were only rolled across its surface
like great tleeces of white wool. hat the
DO1 mlSub lIo nav OA tuciA O0Sho VII "A
green grass, and watch them slowly sweep
along, changing ever into fantastic shapes
of living things. Time itself was not then
IS it is now, when darkness follows hard
upon the light of day. and brings the even
ing swiftly upon US. with the work OF busy
hands half done. Then. he says. the DAYS
were long and full of leisure. From the
early breakfast until the dinner at noon q
boy might live through such delightful
hours OF genuine play that q weeks time
now would not be long enough for it. and
ns for the afternoon. it was as long as the
morning, with an extension of
time added to II. That this
was so must certainly have been
q kind dlspensation of Providence for the
benefit of the boys. else how could they
ever had the time to play townball. spin
tops and fly kites; or how could they have
gone swimming i'm White river down past
:he old grave yard, where the ford was.
and where the water was as clear as crytaI
and the pebbled bottom as distinctly seen
as was the white sand beneath the syca-
more trees or either shorei Had this not
been 80, how could the more adventurous
spirits have crossed the bridge at North
street and gone up the towpath of the ca
nal until they came to the deep and dark
waters of broad cut" and then gone fur
ther on TO the long aqueduct over Fall
creek, where they could swim in safety. or
60 own to the white sandbar beneath and
let the falling water sprinkle themf | have
asked our boy to tell something of the days
that are so full of pleasant memoriesto all
the old boys with young hearts, and
though many of the things he remembers
are as a tale that Is told, or q dream In the
night, he tells them here that the old boys.
as they read Of them, may remeber also.
The boundaries of our boys world were
too limited in his childhood to tell much of
the town. except the central part of il; and
you must know that distances then were
much longer than now Why, It must have
been q mile from the markethouse to the
Governors Circle. and nearly as far from
lxShe<te's corner. where the big Scott and
Gresham pole was raised, to the corner of
Washington and Pennsylvania streets.
where MT. Featherstone had his auction
store. He cannot tell whether it be true
or not, but his earliest recollection of
location attaches itself to q story told of q
man being stabbed at the corner of Della
ware and Market streets, where after ard
the Fourth Presby terrain Church was built,
and where, ct that time, was o one-story
house fronting on Market street. 1t must
have had doors painted green, as that fact
always associates itself with the house.
Next to this house was one built of brick
one story high where MI. John
Thorpe lived for many years.. and
then came some frame houses
that extended to the alley. where.
in later years. q number of Irish families
lived and became a nuisance by day and q
terror by night to our fathers. but whose
frequent fights were q Joy to the souls of
the boys. Across the alley. towards the
present postoffioe. was a carpenter shop.
kept by Mr.. Hall. and where the postoffice
now stands was the blacksmith shOp and
Foltz's wagon shop. Old Roberts Chapel,
with it's town clock. stood opposite. on the
northeast corner Of Pennsylvania and Mar
ket streets, and the church bell used to RIM
out the fire alarm that could be heard
throughout the entire town. 1t was this
bell that caused our boy to have
many unhappy moments. though he
was not born when it was placed there.
and therefore should not have been held
accountable for the manner of its hanging.
But there was O big man with q club foot,
whose name is forgotten, who always car
ried a heavy cane In his hand and q grudge
In his heart against our boys father be-
cause he said the bell was not hung right.
What our boys father had to do with IL he
does not know. but he does not forget the
thrill of terror that went through him
when the nan with O grievance caught
o meat block III the markethouse and told
him his troubles, with breathings of
slaughter and threats of vengeance. 1t
was In this markethouse that the boys
used to hunt for money, which they vainly
hoped the market men had dropped. but
which they never found.
Across the street from the markethouse
was the courthouse yard, where In summer
the weeds and grass grew IN profusion,
and became dust-ladena and thirsty for rain.
On Saturdays. if you went over to the
county library in the courthouse. you
would notice that the g~rssshOppers were as
plentiful as the numerous yellow-winged
butterflies that hoated on the summer
breeze; and when you had climbed the old
stairway and gained entrance to the libra
ry you would rave found genial Colonel
Taylor. the librarian. who was ever ready
to give to q boy a volume OF Plutarch's
Lives ss q story of wild adventure.
The market was held early in the morn
ing. and every body that wanted fresh
marketing had to be there shortly after
daylight. To the north of the market
house there was quite q large space. where
once there came an animal show and stayed
for q day and a night. That was before
our boy was big enough to go to q "men-
q gery." as IL was called by the older boys,
who were much excited over the wonder
and glory of the sight.
On the southwest corner of Market and
Pennsylvania ~streets. In early days. Rev.
1t seems. went TO Nebraska Territory as q
missionary. At any rate. our boy has q
faint recollection of q great covered wagon
starting from in front Of Mr.. Wilkens's
house. on Market street, in the midst of q
driving rainstorm, and of there being q
number of people to bid farewell TO the
travellers who iourneyed In this primitive
manner to that fsr-away land.
The Governors Circle was a fine play.
ground for the boys. though it was long be-
fore our boy could venture SO far away
old board fence and go mp to the open door
of the Marion engine house. which was To-
Gated on the Dorth side OF the Circle. Here,
with his companions, he would look
with awe at that mighty engine.
but would seldom venture inside