The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-10
USUAL STORY OF BROTHERS
THE BRIGHT BOY REMAINED on
THE FARM TOO LONG.
His Brother, Who Came 90 the City,
Soon Developed Force and Be
came n WelI-known Lawyer.

was a flag station known as Waysvine
Through the advent of an electric road
rural mail service and fire il no longer eN-
lists. but a decade or two ago there
a smith, 2 small grain elevator some cat
tie and pigpens. blacksmith shop district
school and a half dozen dwellings. Where
the wagon road crossed the tracks stood a
long two-story frame building. having
many small paned windows. a plain gable
at each end and with the ridge OF the roof
sagging in the middle. This was the sta
ton. post Office and general store. that was
made up of a small stock of dry goods.
staple groceries and miscellaneous supplies,
such kegs of different sized nails.
few trace chains, horse collar or two and
at the rear a galvanized iron tank OF coal
oil. barrels of coarse salt and the red
painted running gear of farm wagon.
The clerk had a telegraph instrument be-
hind the counter with a wire running TO
his house, hundred yards distant over
the jagged necks of bottles for insulators.
and attached to sapling poles. He and his
brother practiced biography. hoping some
day Waysville would become a telegraph
station.
On the second floor was a large room,
indifferently plastered with only a brown
coat of mortar and barren of furnishings
save a number of rough benches. Ii was
here the band practiced, and the dances
and farmers institutes were held. And the
shows, when some ventriloquist. phrenolo-
gist or sleight-of-hand man came along.
On these occasions Mr.. Rawlins, the post
master. station agent and storekeeper, with
the help of his clerk would go out in the
ciI I'd brin in lof of
for the purpose and place frequent braces
through the store to prevent the floor above
from breaking under the weight of the as
semblage.
About a mile up on the wagon road from
Waysville was a $50 acre farm of Joshua
Mcclure, and the comfortable house set
back from the road with it's foreground of
a well-kept lawn, evergreen trees and flow
er beds-bordered with whitewashed bowl
ders. The house OF two stories had bed
room downstairs 'in case of sickness" and
the proverbially dark. unused parlor. SMELL
ing Of stale air and the dye stuffs in the
carpets, contained a set of haircloth furni-
ture and a marble top center table. On the
front wall were white bas-relief prohles in
oval frames of George Washington and
Abraham Lincoln. and on the side wall two
ment of foundry, picturing a portable
sawmill and traction engine in full opera
ton in the woods and the other represent
ing the late Governor James ID Williams at
a log rolling near Danville, Ind. On the
table were a stack of books, each one care
fully piled diagonalIy across the other. in
Guiding the Bible. Bunyan's Pilgrims
Progress" Foxs Book of Martyrs
Young's Might Thoughts" social hymn
and tune book. THE Acts of the Legisla-
ture of 1876" and Gums Domestic Physi-
cian."
On the shelf under the table was a
stereoscope. one Of the brass wires OF
which, that held the pictures. being lost.
was replaced by a hairpin. Beside il were
it's accompanying double-viewed pictures
Niagara Falls" "Glens Of the CatskIls.'
and lot Of fancy colored ones, including
the Angels Whisper"-an old man. in a
ragged red coat. short purple pants and
blue socks, sitting beside green latticed
window. his eyes turned heavenward, and
playing a fife. Another was the Babe
of the Woods" a highly colored picture
of two children dressed in pink and blue.
lying on very green background OF grass
and ferns, with a scarlet-breasted robin
i
picture were the following lines:
mo burial these pretty ones
From any one receives
Till robin-redbreast painfully
Did cover them with leaves"
JOSHUA MCLURE's FAMILY.
Joshua McClure's family consisted Of his
wife and two boys, Henry and James, who
were as near the same age as possible with
out being twins. They looked and dressed
alike, and were always together.
At school James was invariably at the
I head of his class, while his brother main
tanned an average. The teacher often said
I his father ought to give James a college
/ education, but the latter remained silently
Indifferent With their time out Of school
/ the boys put in doing light farm work.
/ frequently bridling a couple OF old plow
/ horses and riding bareback to Waysville,
/ where they listened 10 a lot OF pessimistic
/ agriculturists. who smoked smooth yellow
cigars that. when the ends were bitten OF.
/ cracked like stepping on a coclroach. Mr..
Rawlins, the store proprietor. often said:
THE Mcclure boys wuz so quiet like and
wuzn't always hghtin' and scufiin' and
clog dancin' like most Of the boys that
hung around the platform"
Each year as Joshua Mcclure harvested
and sold his crops. paid his hands taxes.
insurance and other incidentals connected
with the business OF farming he usually
had about 81. 400 in cash with which TO buy
clothing, tea, coffee and sugar for the fam
lily. This took but the small part and
after setting aside 500 for ltigations the
balance he used for acquiring more land
or loaning out at interest. lie had his an
nual lawsuit as regularly as the circus
| came around. and II somebody didn't sue
him he sued somebody. AS IL was always
/ over trivial matters and with men equally
aggressive they spent many times tho
amount involved I'm needless litigations.
| Very early in his career he had a
suit on a technicality which ever after
/ wards. in spite OF the advice OF his attor-
| ney, had encouraged him 10 law every
point Of difference For instance. IL old
man Mcclure rented the use OF a pasture
OF one OF the neighbors. his own grass be-