Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1902-06-11
THE GEOGRAPHY
MATCH in TALL
HOLT DISTRICT
Copyright, 1901, by Freeman E. Miller.

Q Copyright, 1901, by Freeman L. Miller.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
IN 1lHILE was visiting my old
| wv Indiana friend Bill Dodge, on
Es;sszE upper Council creek, last win
lsnssgJ ter lie related little episode
that will illustrate the cosmopolitan
character of the population in Okla
homa better than whole table of
statistics. Twill tell the story in his
own language rs nearly as 1 can. Aft
er we had finished supper Bill started
up:
"Did We ever hear whit happened
down at the Tail-holt schoolhouse last
December? Wull, it's the funniest
story ever wuz, strangelike, en-. nuthin'
like it ever wuz er could "a been nney-
whayre else than in Oklahomy, reck.
on"
L had not heard about it, and Bill
accordingly continues:
aye see, the purfesser at Tail-holt
last winter wuz jimdandy. Reckon
he. himself didn't even know tibet he
knowed half ez much ez he did-not by
the dickshunairy name, aneyhow. But
he wuz sensible, en- he had idees; en-
when man with idees gifts into q
schoolhouse with boys en- girls tibet
ain't asleep he makes things git up en-
hum fer keeps. We hadn't had aney-
thing new in the deestrict sence the
openin', en- several of us leadin' pat
terms aXed him to give us somepin new
en- livelylike fer the winter-somepin
good fer ole folks ez well ez Children.
He kind of thort awhile en- chawed his
musstash, en- arter awhile, studdyin'-
like, he says:
"We'll have jogafy match
"'No,' says I. tibet is too ole en- wore
out. We had jogafy matches in ole
1ndianny when wuz jlst leetle kid
"'But,' says he, this air a new kind
of jogafy match. know 1t air plum
new cause I've jist made 1t all up
myself says he. 1t couldn't be did
aneywhayre else than in OklahoMy,
either says he.
"'Let US have it to onctv says l.,
speakin' fer the crowd. En- the pur-
fesser en- all on us patterns agreed.
"Wull, he announced the mex day
nfore books wuz let out that thayre
would be.a ginyouine, original jogafy
match. strictly pertaipin' to Oklahomy,
at the schoolhouse the mex Friday
evenin' at airiy lamplightin', en- all the
scholars en- patterns en- frien's wuz to
come. He said it wuz to be new
tangled sort of jogafy match, sich ez
could be got up nowhayre else in the
wide world than in Oklahomy, en-, says
he, everybody better come en- see the
fun en- git akwainted en- larn somepin
| too.
Friday night the ole sod schoolhouse
wuz jam pack full Of folks, en- good
many on 'em had to stan up aroun' the
aiges. But it wuz a purity warm night
-Oklahomy has good many purity
warm nights in December, ye know
en- they got along fust rate, en- arter
he'd let 'em talk awhile, along about Z
o'clock the purfesser called the meetin'
to order en- tolt 'em the kind Of a
match he had thort out en- his great
purposs in devisin' it. He said hesno
ticed tibet good many people in Okla
horny didn't know they're neighbors, al
though they wuz alvin right clost up
ag'in 'em, en~thet thayrefore some on
'em wuzn't ez contented en- happy ez
they'd ort to be liv!n' in sich gelori-
GUS country en- with SIGH delightful
climate. The purfesser could handle
the lingo nice en- straight, tell ye, en-
I never heerd better speech In my
life. He's shore got the gift Of CAB IN
great shape. He said tibet many 9
time when he wuz a-rovin' en- a-roamin
aroun' in strange parts en- among
strange people he allus forgot oil about
bein' lonesome when he run up ag'in
some Teller tibet wuz from Eelinoi. The
purfesser wuz from Eelinoi, en- he allus
felt like he wuz at home when he could
shake hans with Sucker. En- he says
this here match air not only to teach
the children whayre the diff'runt states
en- territories en- foreign countries air
but 1t air to teach We all eggsackly
whayre one another come from, 80 ye
kin hunt yer nelghbors up en- git SO
ciable en- frien'ly. I find tibet in this
here school deestrict,' says he, 'thayre
air men en- women from almost every
state in the Union err out of it, SIGH as
territories, en- many on 'em from for.
eign countries, en- we can larn whole
lot about them various places ez well
ez git akwainted with each other by
this here perceedin'.' says he.
| rfa tho vyrfaccar bod P,o% man
toned the matter to me KEEP gittln
Uneasy en- Uneasy all the time fer feal
some Teller wouldn't want to play II
the game. have seen fellers afort
now who seriously objected to Stain
whayre they wuz from err even whayrt
they fust saw the light of day, but
fin'ly made 1t up to myself tibet no sfct
fellers lived in the Tail-holt deestrict
en- concluded to let things perceed.
couldn't see aney real danger ahead
en- thort tibet the purfesser had all the
resks to run anyway.
"The purfesser explained how the
match wuz to be conducted. He sale
tibet about the easles' way he knoweG
wuz to choose up everybody In the
house tibet 'ud take part, jist ez ef they
wuz a-goin' to choose up en- spell dowr
in the ole fashioned way, en- then the
fellers dom the choosln' up 'ud keeI
tally on the diffrunt p'ints made en- an
nounce the result. AFTER this wuZ done
onct 1t 'ud be tried ag'in. but in n diff
runt way, with two others a-choosin
up. This 'ud not only afford instruc
ton en- amusement, but in time 'ud lei
ever one know whayre ever one else
wuz from, en- hep 'em to get akwaint
ed.
"The plan of this jogafy match wuz
about ez follers: He had Arranged al
the states In the Union en- all the terri
tories out Of the Union in alphabetical