Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-01-08
ottumwa Man Tells the Story in
His Own Way.
HE HUNTED IN KOSSUTH COUNTY
Was Not "Stuck-up" and Took Things
( as They came-BuIIer's Visit Was
Before the Railroads Had Been
Built Thru Northern Iowa.

forces In South Africa, until renewed
by Lord Roberts shortly after the de-
feat of the former at Modder river,
was ever in Iowa. The statement,
however, is true if the word of mod
est Ottumwa man is worth anything,
and ne opines that it is. The gentle
man referred to used to live in Huns
| boldt, Kossuth county, and recently,
being in reminiscent mood, when
the conversation turned on the Brit
ish, after discussing the situation so
| far as the Beers are concerned, told
the story this way:
He was big-bug Englishman.
Some kind of a sir. He didn't care no
more for money that he did for dirt.
He used to come to Humboldt most
every fall and hunt chickens and
ducks, and l used to drive him and
his crew over the northwest part of
| the state for about week or so and
back some new way to Humboldt.
When was it? Well, l guess the last
time he was here must have been
about rs or '76. 1t was some years
before the railroads, anyway, except
the one that had got to Algona.
He wasn't one of your stuck-up
Englishmen that can't find nothing
good enough for him-and eating and
| sleeping in country shanties was pref
ty tough them days. There wasn't a
| house from about seven miles above
Algona to the Minnesota line except
| the sod tavern, as they called it, and
even that wasn't no palace. Their
house well was right in the barnyard.
But Butler Chat was the Englshman' S
name) he wouldn't allow nobody to
kick or make fun of the places where
We put up.
He had an awful easy way with
him that made the women folks get
over their first scare right off. The
last time he was there we were up in
Kossuth county, and we thought we
would make the sod tavern for all
night. We got there at milking time,
and went to the barnyard, where the
man and his wife We're milking. Says
l: Can we stay here tonight? Wal
| guess so,' says he. Then he holler-
ed to his woman, and she gave him
such dressing down as | don't care
| to tell in the way she done it. She
said there want no -four in the house,
nor no meat, nor no tea, nor no coffee,
nor no sugar, nor no nothing, and then
for him to say we could stay.
| We'll just as soon as | got my
1 breath l went back to the wagon and
| showed Butler house off west, about
4 five miles, ! guess, and we drove over
there pretty fast. When we got up to
| the door three pigs run out, and pref
ty soon woman came from back
room, and my. but she was dirty. She
had been chinking up the cracks with
mud, and the house just did look
| dreadful.
Butler says: Can we stay here all
night
| "'Wall' she says, 4 guess yotfll
have to, for ther amt no other place
but we hain't got nothing to eat but
butter and some biscuit | can make
and We hain't got but these two rooms
and this one bed
$50 Butler, he began right off to
clean out the kitchen and he built a
fire, and the woman tidied herself up
as well as she could and made a big
batch of biscuit and showed Butler
how to twist hay and stuff the stove
while she slipped out to milk the COW
Her husband wasn't at home
Pretty soon she came running in
and says she: L guess you burnt the
biscuit by the smell outdoors And
sure enough, they was as black as
coal.
/ "'Well,' says he, you have got more
flour. Make some more, and l won't
burn them. But hold on he says, let
me count them biscuit before you fling
them away. All right And she
threw them out.
Say did you ever sit around and
/ uuo q nona1 oNnly NIyhn -
starving and then see your supper
turn into dead coal? 1t makes the
sap run out of my mouth now to thinl,
of it. Well, the next pan came out all
right and the next one, and the WON
an cooked a duck and couple OF
chickens that we brought, and we Just
eat awful, and that woman seemed
just as happy as If we was all her own
blood and kin.
when bedtime came we carried ir
a lot of hay and spread it on the floor
and with our blankets and big supper
and being tired we slept first rate. We
had took our boots off. We neve,
slept in cur boots---it sweat our feei
too much.
"The next morning when we came
to settle up, Butler asked how much
the bill was. She, said: Well. dun
no. 1t seems as if l ought to have
Isomething, but you put in the chick
ems and the duck and all these Other
chickens you are leaving me, and yor
|haint made no bother. and have tolt
me SO many things that's a-goin' on ii
the world But after some urging she
said mebbe shillin apiece would be
about right, and throw in the horses.
well, sir, you ought to have seer
that Englishman stare. He turned rec
in the face and spoke up kind of SHARP
Hike, and says; Woman, be you era
Izy?' Two shiliin' apiece-chickens
ducks-throw in the horses and he
pulled out his wallet. Here says he
here's Sc; that's afor the men; ant
here is another for the team; and here
is 80 cents for the biscuit burnt, ant
don't you never keep hunter for less
than dollar, for If he amt rich he,
THROWN away money, and you nigh
as we'll have some Of it as anybody
well, sir, that poor woman shool
just like as If she had a spell. Sh,
said she hadn't seen so much real mo
ney all summer and she hadn't seen
lsilver half-dollar since the first yea
of the war My stars, but we though
a lot of that Teller.
ln3f IL. ~