The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1900-08-24
ARP IN WlREGRAbS.
he Sees the Spot Where His Father
Taught School.
ELL Jenkins, the Rcbei-Old Nsn Arp
Had Hard Time with His Red
Headed SchOlar--An Inter-
esting Fight.

ing to the people living along the line
from Cordele to Savannah. This is q
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-
ther 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 IS
years. The oldest boy was six feet
tall, 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
teach them books and morals, and
manners, and he wanted them to
obey the rules and help him to make
the school success. You can't 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 l want you to come in
good order. Don't rush and crowd
the doorway like you did this morn
ing. You ran over little girl and
threw her down and hurt her. Be
quiet and orderly and come in two
or three at a time, and before you
take your seat make a little bow to
me. That's nice; that's good man.
ners. l will like that and / 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 bow but looked |
sour and defiant. When school |
turned out that evening, father heard
him say: ''I'll be burned if I'll make
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 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 hear
what was going on. Father talked
to jenkins kindly and told him of the
bad example he was setting, and so
forth, and begged him to conform to
the rules. "Now," said he, civilian,
will you promise to make a bow to
me tomorrow morning?" NO. I'll
be burned if I do" said Jenkins. That
settled it. The crisis that father had {
dreaded had come. He got between
Jenkins and the door and said firm
ly: swell, sir, you have got to do one {
Of three things. You have got to bow, J
Or quit school, or take a whipping.
Which will you do?" "Tu be gol q
burned if I'll do airy one" said Bill. '
hickory was within his reach
two logs. He seized it and t
began on jenkins with singing
strokes and jenkins made for him i
with his long arms, and used cuss
words abundant. They fought like !
| 4
he water bucket and for ten minutes t
he conflict ragged. for father was
tout and was in the right and kept Q
he hickory going and Tended off the h
trokes of Bits long arms. After d
while they clinched and father got s.
lin down between two puncheon Q
eats and pummeled him good. He Il
Iollered enough and to let him up, 4
nd after they got their breath ia o
her said: "Now. jenkins, what will is
GU do?' He blubbered out: "I'm v
wine home and stay there. I'll be p'
ol burned if I'm gwine to school to al
GU any more" well, why didn't CO
on say that at first and save the NJ
said father. All this time be
here were a hundred eyes peeping "
through the cracks between the logs. al
ut not word was said. Jenkins nl
ever came back and the crisis was hi
YER. From that time on for two h'
ears there was good orderly ra
,hool and my fathers reputation la
as made. The Yankee had whipped m
i'll Jenkins and that settled him in to
he favor of his patrons. In
1 wish everybody could visit the lit ma