Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1904-07-09

s1oped so suddenly on both sides that
all the gardens ran down hill. Seen
from the schoolhouse, it looked like
huge wave of earth riding against
the northern horizon. The school
house, standing at the base of another
ridge, was divided from the village by
deep ravine, through which ran
small stream called Rock creek.
The schoolhouse was the only meet
ing place. Its log stack and white clay
chimney represented church, town hall
and theater-if SO goddess place as a
theater had been allowed-in New
Salem. 1t was headquarters on mus
ter days, and the arena Of those wordy
wars which the pioneers called de-
bates. Eager to hear any strange, new
thing, the whole town fiocked across
Rock creek as soon as candles began
to bloom like primroses at dusk in
boot-shaped sconces on the schoolhouse
walls. 1t might be that the cousin Of
Shickshack's girl had not as much to
say as he had given out that he had.
But New Salem would hear him and
JuuSCs AhlhtCA Ma oy hd1li . PoPAio poi
ticularly the smaller ones-were lined
up on front benches. which their own
long use had worn to the smoothness
of glass. The stranger had advertised
through their schoolmaster that he
would give the prize of book to any
boy or girl who could. at the close of
the lecture, stand up and spell cor
rectly the word Ompompanoosuck!
Unusual war had ragged on the play
ground at both recesses and noon con-
corning the spelling of this word.
Camps divided to play Indian or horse
thief met to wrangle over combina-
lions of letters. Some sly ones who
thought they were going to get the
prize retired to puzzle alone. Minter
Grayham, who thought modest
amount of spelling, the Testament, the
English Reader and the Rule of Three
in arithmetic to advanced scholars,
was in honor obliged to look as igno-
rant as he felt in this great matter.
Some women saw with CONSERVATION
that the boys from Clary's grove were
gathered on the back seats, couple of
dozen young Williams, whose leader,
Redmond Clary, was the most desper-
ate rider in the Sangamon country.
The gravest charge brought against
these uncurbed youths was their deter
mination to govern the community.
In them the life of the frontier found
its widest expression. When one of
them had a colt to break he sum-
moned the others, and they forced it
into the Sangamon river. One sat on
it's back, another hung to its tail and
the rest chung about and hampered 1t
in every way. The untamed thing,
obliged to swim for its life carrying
weight, finally came out of the water
subdued beast. They were ready to
deal in like manner with anything
that antagonized them. Each man had
brought an egg carefully bestowed on
his person, and at concerted signal
he expected to throw it at the lecturer,
! for the mere sport of seeing an unin-
teresting foreigner smeared from head
to foot, But he caught their fancy.
Don Pedro Lorimer, smiling on the
plain men and women of New Salem,
told them he was travelling through
the states to urge everywhere the
annexation of Cuba. He described the
tropical luxuriance of Cuba. and its
relative position to the continent; and
some of his hearers learned Tor the
first time that there was such a place.
He told how planters were made to
suffer in estate by unjust tyranny of
dominating European power. Some
like himself had even been driven into
exile, with only remnant of their once
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