Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-12-03

.
an ou- children growed up together on
the prairie an we sorter caIc'lated on
some on 'em marryin' each other when
they got old enough an our wives
thought it would be pretty good plan
for my Dan1 Webster to marry Bran
wells Betsy, bein' as they was the old
est of our children and nearly the same
age. Lee see" and he paused, and
taking off his hat ran his hand around
over the back of his head as if feeling
for some fact that had got lost on the
shelves of memory.
1--WE come here in the fall of 81" he
said musingly, IAN the Camps an the
Bakers come out in 81, cause know it
was the year of the panic, an three
years later / married Sary Camp, an
the next fall Jud married Lucy Baker.
That must a-been in go. Yes, Irecollect
now it was the year Lincoln run for
president, an belonged to a wide
awake comp'ny an went prancin' aroun'
with tin lamp on pole, an one night
/ remember there was a speech over to
the village an we had the biggest time
you ever heerd of. Say, are you old
enough to remember the wide-awakes? %
I acknowledged dim and misty recol-
lection of those days.
Them was the tines" he asserted,
Shaping his hand on his knee and with a
grimace carefully caressing that mem
Der Immediately after this display of
enthusiasm. ''Them was the times
that politics was politics, tell you,
young Teller" But 1 did not want
to be told, and suggested that he was
going to tell me about Betsy Bram-
well.
Eyes, 1 was jest iggerin' it up" he
said, coming back to his story. "Dan1
Webster was born in the fall of '62,
cause that was the year when listed
an the doctor throwed me out an said
I wouldn't live year. Betsy was born
the next spring, an remember as well
az if t was yesterday, the mornin' when
Jud Bramwell come over before break
fast an said: See here, ST, I've got a
wife for that boy of yourn over to my
house. an that was the way it all
come to be planned that Dan1 Webster
was to marry Betsy some time. Wy
that was 80 years ago." he exclaimed, as
if vexing problem had just been
solved.
THAT was ling time ago." ven
tured.
"Yes," he assentcd, "time flies, an it
only seems few days ago that my boy
an Jud BramweIl's girl was running
about barefooted. Catch either of 'em
doin' any such trick now. Betsy was
one o. the slickest girls / ever see. /
used to say that she got the color of
her eyes from the blue Johnny-jump-
ups, that growed everywhere in them
days, and that her hair was the color of
ripe wheat straw.
"Afore we knowed it them two was
growed up to be man and woman, an
they didn't seem to hitch at NIL.
s'pose il was the contrariness that is in
all human natur', but we felt pretty bad
about it, an I wrastIed with DanI
Webster and Jud an Mis- Bramwell
talked to Betsy, but we might as well
a-saved our breath, for they was all the
more obstropolous. Two more hippo
canarious young ones 1 never set my
eyes on--fer n spell, that is"
My friend stopped to think over these
failings of these young people while
mentally attacked the photography of
the two new words with which he had
enriched my vocabulary.
at used to be good place to hunt
duck in the ponds over yon way" re-
sumed the story teller, presently, "an'
a lot of young fellcrs used to come down
from town in the fall to waste gum
powder an have a good time for few
days.
zone o. these was a big Teller that
looked as if he might be doin' better
than tramp around with a gun an u
dog, for he looked as if he could do a
big days work if he wanted o. The
hunters used to come to our house an
to BramwelI's an stay day OF two an
n week. They was free
handed with their money, an kind
o. liked some o. 'em, but when it come
to be whispered around the settlement
that this big feller-his name was
Browning. Hugh, the boys called him
was a-castin' sleeps eyes over lords
Betsy Bramwell, see at once that there
was more danger than ever of our
plans miscarryin'.
"I went over to Jud's an looked at
the lay O. the land one day, when young
was there. and see that he
was clean took up with Betsy. thought
she knowed it, too, but she wds purity
sly about it, an didn't let on very
much.
81 spoke to Jud about it, an he an his
wife an me an my wife got together
an tried to fix up a plan to stop mat
tiers from goin' any further.
1--WE didn't see our way very plain,
but trusted TO Providence for some
thing to turn up, an sure enough,
did, for Hugh browning got
shot one day, an hurt so bad that he
couldn't be took back to the city for |
weeks. Our house was the nearest |
one where the accident happened, an |
they brought him there, an there he |
laid. helpless rs a babe, for weeks.
Betsy was Almost distracted. an |
Hugh asked Tor her as soon rs he come |
to, an as we all thought he was done for |
&c thought 'twant no difference any |
way. and so we had Betsy come over. |
Betsy an Hugh's sister took to each |
other right away an got to be great |
friends. We finally see how things was
liable to go, and that he was more'n IL |
able to get well, an so Jud kept Betsy |
away as much as he could an be decent !
about it, an she begun to pine to a shad- |
der. We talked il over during the time |
hat Hugh laid there, an concluded /
that it would be the best thing all /
around to break up the match afore it /
vas made. Betsy was only coun- /