Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-12-13
NUMBER %.

as he was expected In town that day.
Accordingly. when that gentleman
came in sight the party with one ac-
cord began to vociferate, What did
you pay for him, Charley? Who killed
him? Til bet he has been dead q
| weekr and other remarks derogatory
to Mr.. Gunter's prowess as a Nimrod.
| which that gentleman took in good
part He had killed a really fine
buck. and was returning to the city
with large bag of game; so he was
right in not permitting our chanting to
disturb him.
Ga our arrival, the Judge opened
court, the grand jury was charged.
and the usual business was proceeded
with. Reynolds county being nearly
as large as the State of Rhode Island.
and covered with primitive forest, with
limited means of communication
being no grown-up railroad in it
its citizens assemble themselves to-
gether at court time quite as much for
social as business purposes. They are
genuine Americans, there being very
few persons of foreign birth among
them. They are hospitable and have
all the independence of the mountain
eer-a community of the kind famil-
lar to our grandfathers before the
food of Immigration set to our shores.
In the throngs about the courthouse
noticed several recently elected coun
ty officials filling their bonds. which
they seemed to have little difficulty in
doing. thought this remarkable, in
Vic of IF not uf,,
with defaulting officials, but at the last
election men were selected on account
of fitness, and not merely because they
were good fellows.
Reynolds county furnishes a good
field for the investor of good judgment,
which has been and is now being util-
lied. 1t has vast forests of oak and
pine. 1t has vast quantities of iron
ore, and the Dobbins lead mine on
Tom Sauk presents as fine prospect
of disseminated ore as shown at Bonne
Terre when first capital sought it out.
There are, also, large bodies of fine
farming land in the county. The hard
times has caused many of it's farmers
to rely more upon themselves and less
upon the outside world. They, in
many instances, raise and manufacture
almost everything they eat and wear.
If their example was to be followed in
other parts of our country, We would
be more prosperous.
While there. as means of amusement
were not plentiful, one of the Attor-
neys went coon-hunting with the boys,
and killed one Of the largest coons /
ever saw. 1t weighed twenty-four
pounds. SO the Attorney said. The
party claimed that it took the dog ov-
er an hour to kill that coon. They
did him dirt; they doubled-teamed on
him, or his tail would never have been
the trophy of that hunting party.
At the conclusion of court our fine
weather disappeared, and we came the
sixteen miles to the railway station
through the rain. All the cheerful
ness of the trip out was gone. The
ex-Judge endeavored to sing little,
but it was like the chirp of the belated
grasshopper in October. We patient
ly endured our wetting until we got
to the station, where we found no fire.
In bright weather the journey would
be pleasant enough, but it is dismal
and dreary when one has to make it
in the rain, and it always rains at some
time while court is in session over there.