The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1900-08-18
ARP IN WIREGRASS.
BE Sees the Spot Where His Father
Taught School.
Bill jenkins, the Rebel-OId Man ARP
Had "a Hard Time with His Red
Headed SchOlar-An Inter-
esting Fight.


1t is good for man to travel and
study geography without book. ]
am down here in the wiregrass talk
ing to the people living along the line
from Cordele to Savannah. This is
new road to me. 1t is only ten years
old and is called the "SAM" road.
The seaboard has got it now. Sal
has bought Sam and is running him.
If railroads have sex the feminine is
ahead. Some mighty big things are
feminine. Ships are called she, but
that they say is because the rigging
costs more than the hull.
An old man showed me the spot at
Mt. Vernon where the old log school
house stood in which my father
taught school some so years ago. Fa-
Their used to tell us his varied expert
ence there. How some bad boys had
run three teachers off in succession
and broke up the schools and how re-
luctantly he undertook the work of
reforming them. He had about 60
scholars, boys and girls, and their
ages ranged from eight to 10
years. The oldest boy was six feet
tall, q .sapling with long arms and
legs, red head and freckled face.
He was the ringleader in running the
teachers off and father was cautioned
about him. The first day he made
them good kind, friendly talk, told
them he came to do them good, to
manners, and he wanted them to
obey the rules and help him to make
the school success. you CANT af-
ford" he said, "to grow up without
some education. No nice young man
would marry the girls, and no smart
girl would marry an uneducated boy.
Now, boys, when you come into school
after dinner 1 want you to come in
good order. Don't rush and crowd
the doorway like you did this morn
| ing. You ran over O little girl and
| threw her down and hurt her. Be
quiet and orderly and come in two
or three at time, and before you
take your. seat make little bow to
me. That's nice; that's good man.
| ners. | will like that and l want all
of you boys and girls to do that. Will
you do it? If you will please hold up
your hands," All hands went up
promptly except those of Bill jenkins
| the red-headed rebel. Next morning
he declined to make a bow, but looked
sour and defiant. When school
turned out that evening, father heard
him say: 'I'I be burned if I'll make
a bow to any Yankee" Next morn
ing two other big boys failed to bow
Bill jenkins had worked on them
That evening father told Bill to stay
in a little while, as he wished to see
him after school broke up. He stayed
and the door was shut. The Other
boys peeped through the cracks be
tween the logs to see and to heal
what was going on. Father talked
to Jenkins kindly and told him of thu
bad example he was setting, and 81
forth, and begged him to conform t.
the rules. "Now," said he, William
will you promise to make a bow t.
me tomorrow morning." mo, II
| be burned IL 90, Salu jenkins. Ina
settled it. The crisis that father hal
dreaded had come. He got between
jenkins and the door and said firm
": "Well, sir, you have got to do on
of three things. You have got to bow
or quit school, or take a whipping
Which will you do?" "rll be go
burned if I'll do airy one" said Bill
Fathers hickory was within his reacl
between two logs. He seized it AM
began on jenkins with stinginI
strokes and Jenkins made for hin
with his long arms, and used Gus
words abundant. They fought lik
| wild cats, turned over benches, broh
the water bucket and for ten minutes
/ the conflict ragged, for father wa
stout and mas IN the right ana KEEP