The Oskaloosa herald., 1909-09-09

the early day of the town and country,
and | am in the mood, this rainy af
ternoon, to speak in passing way OF
my memory, and there they are.
| wonder how many of the Herald
family remember John Shoemake, who
was a. merchant in town from 1854 on.
The store was over on the corner now
occupied by the Gibbs corner, and
John Shoemake got into my memory
box because he liked boys-and l was
a boy once, and SO knew him. There
was small pork packing house
about where Johnson's foundry is
and Shoemake was one of the owners.
us boys" used to gather about there,
help to "whoop up" the hogs, after
they had been shot and stuck" Then
''us boys" wanted something to eat.
He made 1t sure thing" for every
boy helping around to have spare ribs
to roast over an open fire; and to car
ry away an armfull. In those days
the boys had appetites like unto
young wolves, and he made it thus
possible for dozen or more of us to
be greasy-faced young wretches- and
having full stomacns, quite happy. And
he made it possible for all who wanted
to go to that packing house, and get
spare ribs and back bones, and pigs
heads twice week free. Along
about 1857 most everybody was poor
and some dreadfully poor: not through
any bad habits, but Just the result OF
starting out in a new land with scant
means, and but little money at large
to set the wheels going generally.
Then the money was of the wild cat
order, and you never knew over night
what you had of value in your pocket.
OF course that did not trouble me; if
had a pocket in my blue denim pants
they were not trousers, but plain
pants, me-made-wearing two pairs
for winter, if the blue jeans could
not be had. Boiled or roasted bones
of this sort are not to be "sneeZed at"
not at all today when they have be-
come luxuries through the operation
of the Capt. Kids in charge of the
national meat supply. So John Shoe
make blessed many people by his kind
ness, and Heaven mas had him these
many years. He was a democrat of
the early Tennessee sort, who knew
mo variableness or shadow of turn
ing. The Wings were changing into
BLACK Republicans and the slavery
question was under keen discussion.
And discussion in that day was not
the anemic, academic affair that the
present claims as a mark of advanced
political civilization. In that day a
spade was spade, and not IAN awk-
ward instrument used by gardeners to
aerate the earth for the production of
vegetables. The west side of the
square, and most of the north side
were known as the BLACK Republi-
can" sides, while the Democrats held
part of the north, about all of the
east and south sides. The Herald was
on the west side, a sort of temple of
liberty as it were-and occasionally
my friend Shoemake would wander ov-
er to wake the snakes in a political
way. And he could do it! | used to
stand in awe of the flow of rounded
out sentences that this Tennesseean
hurled at the Republicans. Was he
profane? No, his words only sug-
gested damnation in poetic verse.
One day | heard MIN demand, in the
name of the law, that certain Black
Republicans should forthwith" report
to him as posse committee, to as
sist in arresting some damn niggers"
that the Republicans had stolen from
poor Missourians. And Shoemake
would have fed these self-same mig
gers, yet the early milk of his poll
tics had been of Tennessee Democracy
and he remained true to the last. He
should have had middle letter in his
name; it should have been j., for
Jackson. He was strong with the
people, and one man, who was keen in
Republican politics said that, Shoe
make could sit on a fence on the east
side, cough twice, and shake down
seven townships, for anything that he
said was good" he was a fair man
that | know. One day, while roofing
with the other rooters, among the
other rooters, one of the other root
ers called me a damned Dutchman!"
had come from good old Pennsylvan-
la, and did not take kindly to being
damned, for | had been regularly Dap
tized as a Lutheran. So | doubled up
my fists-which had not known Pears
or any other soap, save that known as
soft, and jolted that cusser OF the
Keystone lad right on the nose from
the under side, and brought "blud".
Then two other boys joined in, and the
way out to run was difficult, and
backed up against the wall of the
packing house. While looking tor a
way out tried to entertain the two
as best | could from Pennsylvania
Dutch:nan's standpoint. Just then
Shoemake appeared. and collared the
whole bunch of us. In voice that
fairly Numbered he wanted to know
the particulars of the row. told my
story. He ASKED, what did you do
tnen?" | said, Look at that fellows
nose.-did it with this,' Turning to
the other two he Numbered, How did
you get into this?' ''He was getting
licked" they said, pointing at the