The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-03-17

ready supplied the Senator's son with q
tow-linen shirt. which garment ana q mud
dy face were his only adornments-and no
became one Of the primitive Ehlrk-"ais'
promoters.
The politfcian-tourIs related his adven-
lures on the river and the woman asked:
Wasn't your little son mighty scareaF
mo, madam" said the Senator bowling.
II am q ring-tail painter. and L Ieeo my
children on rattlesnakes' hearts. Irieo J"
painters grease. There are a heap OF peo-
pie that l would not wear crepe TOT II shey
was to die before their time. but yolr nus
band, I allow, marin, had q soui az Ds
as a Courthouse. When we war noatihs
hottom uppermost past Hardemann garden
we raised the veil like a whole team OK
bar dog on a wild cats trail. and the p.ack
~rascals on the shore. instead OF comm u
our assistance. only grinned up me neaL-
est saplin' as II a buck 'possum mac .Lset.
"Now, madam. 1 wish God Amights
y~earthauakes would sink Hardenans pian.
tation begging pardon for swearing;
madam, with my feet on your peautitul
kiyerlid here. Maybe you wouldn't IKE INC
to spit on this kiverlid you have spread on
the floor to keep 1t clean: I'll go to the doos
we don't mind putting anything o'e1 o"'
puncheon floors.
The river, marm." continued the oeha'oE,
IT find to be no respecter of persons, Tor l
was cast away with as little ceremony not
withstandtng I am the peoples repIesen.a-
tive. as a stray bar-dog would be. turned out
OF a New York church: and upon this prin.
ciple of democratic liberty and eQuhnty u
was that / told McNair. when l coliareo
him and backed him out Of a gathering at
q shooting match. where he was likely 10
spoil the ~prettiest kind of a fight.
IA Governor said l. us no more IN q
light than any other man. l slept with Mac
| once, Just to have IT to say to my frienos
that / had slept with the Governor.
Johnson Wright. an erstwhile State lssts-
| lator from Randolph County. was a most &C.
| centric citizen of that section of Missouri.
Although not a member OF any religious
| sect, he was somewhat of q fanatic on mat
| ters spiritual. For a time he was q preacher
| of a peculiar belief of his own. Being pas
| eionatcly fond of cards. particularly OF
l euchre, one Of his acQuaintances one Gay
remarked in his presence that 1t was not
| proper and consistent for a preacher to IN
1 dulge in cards. To this Wright
replied:
| in the Bible? 1t is foolish to assert that tho
game is sinful"
A. Wright became older he grew more co
centric and fanatical. A short time before
he died, in 1850. he voted at an election held
In Huntsville. His ballot read: Jesus
i Christ for the office Of Head Of the Church"
Someone suggested to him that the Naza-
rene had been elected to that office over
eighteen centuries agone. but Wright only
replied: well. it's time he was reelected"
Jacob Groom of Montgomery County was
a member Of the first Legislature OF Mis-
souri,. During the session.. he arose one day
to speak. Said he:
members Of this meetin'. You don't know
me, I 'spose. Well, It's no matter. / tell
you my name is Jacob Groom-iive a. .ne
Big Spring Post Office In Montgomery Coun-
ty. / air the Postmaster. and a jackson
Dimocrat of the upright principle. You see
am q big man-can eat a heapVcan eat
green persimmons without puckerin' my
mouth. Salt won't keep me. nor liquor In
jure me. I am a tearin' critter OF the cata-
mount kind, and a most decided porker IN
po!lyticks. In religion I am neutral. and
am decidedly masculine on the upright prin-
eiple.
gentlemen, fellow Jacksonians, and part.
ners OF the conficacious community in this
land Of concuseence and supernaciousness.
Jacksonians. I say. ~exaggerate yourselves
and support the insufficiousness of the or
acle of Jackson. Friends. the cause Of the
Il veto on the righteousness of the United
i States bank was the purlicuton of the Clay
party. and when Jackson has spyflcated the
confidence of the present Congress-. he will
rise to his supercilious majesty and crush
the growing power Of these illusfble States.
The gentleman. Jacksonians. was adequate
to the circumference of Jacksonianism. And
now I previse you to exaggerate yourselves,
and let them that you left behind see the
dom Of this 'semblv the first that has ever
met in this town of st. Charles. CThen the
capital of Missouri.)
"Just before we got to this, place." con-
tinued the Honorable Mister Groom. warm
ing up In his subject "a, we stayed ali night
at our friend. Pittman's. on the road and
enjoyed his hospeculities.
Now. gentlemen. l am no book larnt
man hOf thar 10 feyv MIN rCan hppt mo
swapping horses" continued this early
Missouri David Harum. cor guessing at the
weight Of a bar. I have come here because
was p% an honest st man. ana sS1id make Ike as
4 good whisky and apple brandy at my still
as any man.
Il want you all to commit the same like
feeling" concluded the hospitable Mr..
Groom, "and finish the whole Job on the
Jacksonian principle. and IL you don't do
as l prevtse. you will come short. and it
will be harder for you to get to this place
again than it would be for you to ride down
from the clouds on a thunderbolt through
a crabtree and not get scratched"
Mr.. Groom's oratorical effort was a "clas-
sic' Of the pioneer period, and he sat down
amid a storm Of applause. Doubtless he be-
longed to that type of men. one of whom.
Colonel Sam Van Bibber. q fellow countain,
styled, "High Observation-Disclosures
ahead-forty-wild -cats-tearing sort OF a fell
Ter"
Henry Clay Dean was a picturesque Mis-
souri, character. a native OF Scotland Coun-
ty. In him were combined the rarest at
tributes Of oratory, and had he utilized his
talents and death not cut short his career,
he doubtless would have become an orator
second to none among mis- fellows of that
golden age of oratory in the Middle West
the fittieS. The memory of Deans eloQuence
Is yet a tradition among the older inhabi-