Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-02-22

called meeting and made arrange
ment to have grand debate, to which
all of the town girls had been INVITED
but none Of the young fellows were
to take part. When the night came, 6
lot of the South went down town anG
escorted such girls as would go with
them to the Lyceum. The boys of the
South had got word some way tina,
there would be trouble that night. Sc
they kept a look out, Or rather set a
guard at The door.
About the time for closing the de.
bate, the guard came in and said:
"a big four horse sled and about a
half dozen big fellows with it is at the
door. The meeting was declared ad-
journed and each fellow made for his
girl. just then a big, stout fellow
came in and said:
Ladies, we have team and sleigh
out at the door, and all of you are re-
quested to take seats in it,
| Several of the members of the Lyce-
um started to put the fellows out. just
then big buxum young lady, who was
not afraid of the ''old boy" himself,
said:
.'Girls, am the gal that rides the
pony;'
And out she walked and jumped
aboard, and all the rest followed like a
flock of sheep. All of this time the
South was trying to get chance to
cut the harness or to hit somebody.
But wasn't they mad! The sleigh with
all the girls went flying over the snow
and a more disconsolate set of fellows
1 never saw. They in their wrath
swore vengeance against every body and
everything
The next day one of the boys of No.
mo. 1 was the room of honor, stud
ents that were up in their studies and
were gentlemen in their daily conduct
were assigned to No by the name of
big Swift, for there was big swift and
a little Swift, composed some verses.
The first one have repeated; all of the
others have forgotten except one, of
which only line or two do remem-
ber. In these verses he brings in all
of the different characters, and what
they did. When describing the team
he says:
"The horses all lean and lank,
And nanght but skin and bone.''
Those verses were sent to Hartford
and printed in sheets. In a fewd ays,a
we town boys came up to the school
room, we met two or three small boys
running about with their hands full of
these sheets, crying:
"'Eres yer account of the big fight;
'Eres all erbout the gal that rides on
the pony"
AS we took one or two pieces we
heard singing in No 1. When we went
in. there were about fifteen or twenty
of No. l students singing these verses
to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. l can
see each and every one of those boys
in my mind now at this date, and call i
all of their names, and a fine lot they
were, too. Some of them have held and
do hold high places in the world. One is
a missionary in Bombay; one is writ
er of story books, you all have heard
and read Ike Marvel's bachelors
Reverics." have lost track of all but
one and he was the most affectionate, |
kindest and gentlest boy. His bones
now lie somewhere in the bottom of the |
Atlantic Ocean. He was On the ship
Home" which sank in mid-ocean |
with all on board-some three hundred. |
Part of the timber of that ship was
taken from my fathers farm. Up in /
the mountain pastures were quite a
number of great spreading white oak
trees with wide spreading roots as
large as good sized tree. Men came |
and bought the trees as they stood of
father. These trees were dug up by
the roots and limbs, and cut to the right
length for knees of the ship. and blast
ed out. It took great deal of hard
work to get the timbers for one of
those big ships at that early day, before
they knew how to make steel ships as
they do at the present time.
What wonderful changes have taken
place since the day was born. Some
for the better and some, must say.
think not for the better. Yet the !
world moves right on nor stops for any |
man. T. p. r.
Industrial Progress.