Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-12-29
S & &z 2zE zo7 II RP5
BY w. II. CALDWELL


l.
! When he understood what i wanted
he produced red-dog dollar on the
bank of Elgin-next morning The
Thompson Detector Ca pamphlet pub
lished in the east giving the status Of
banks) came in by horse express and
the bank was busted-so was I.
This Street had brother, John
who was a fiery little cuss, ready to
fight at drop Of hat. He had store
on Main street. One day I happened IN
there while he and man named
Goldsberry were in high words about
something. Quick as a panther John
jerked open showcase, snatched a
small pen-knife, and was over the
counter and had cut and slashed Colds
berry most frightfully. can now
wildly see Goldsberry rushing out Of
the store and into the middle Of the
| street, holding up his right arm, that
appeared to have been slashed from
his throat to his hand, the blood squirt
ing and flowing like flood. | don't re-
member what became of the case -
Oh, those were perilous times, tell
you, but, after all, there was very little
real vicious and murderous episodes.
There was lots of scrapping, butsnone
Of it that now remember resulted In
murder or killing.
There were two cases of drowning
that now recall-one being Jack
Humphreys, who was the husband Of
my cousin. and who lived out about
three miles on the Eddyville road; the
other was Mr.. Lotspiech, think a
brother of A.. Lotspiech, who was
county treasurer when was auditor,
and both happened in the same way.
In those days there was much rafting
done on the Des Moines, especially IN
the spring, when the river was in flood
tide These men fell off and under the
log RATS that each was respectively
experimenting, and before they could
be rescued were drowned. These RATS
were made of the logs from trees
felled during winter months from the
heavily timbered bottoms of the river,
and foated down to Ottumwa and to
the saw mills run by the Hammonds at
the lower end of town, and by the
Myers boys at or about the head of the
rapids at the foot of Market street
In speaking of Mr. Graves as super
intending Mr. Manning's store,
called that an ark-like building, but
now I come to the real arks that were
built and f1oated mostly by old Thomas
Coffin (father.in-law of Major Hamil
TOM These were f1atboats upon which
a cabin was built that was stored with
corn, roots. ETC., Indigenous to that soil
and climate. and aoated down the
river-some getting as far down IS
New Orleans. This was regular
thing many years.
One spring the river was ploughed
from Keokuk to Des Moines by stern-
wheel steamer named Badger State. |
The boat attempted second trip, but
was snagged and sunk about the OLD
garrison. five miles below Ottumwa
The old garrison! l never knew why
it was thus named. It was tract of
hills and hollows UP and down, and
forming the bluff bank of the river
these bluffs perforated with caves in
natural rock. It was reputed to be the
hiding place of horse thieves and mad |!
fellows generally In and around this |
weird place was the great sugar camps
sugar, of which tons were
made every spring. Many, many times
we boys, tramped down there and
stayed some times all night till "su.ar- |
Ing off" (that is when the san had !
roilcd to the point of granulatins)
drinking sap and eating maple sugar
TIL we'd set so sick as to want to die,
ard after a sieee ct bowel gripping, wal
~, ~,
and 30 richt at 1t again.
The zap was boiled in great iron ket-
flee. over fire out doors, which re-
calls the tact that nearly everybody
owrrd and faHened 3 few hogs and lid
hutcrcring along about
Christmas. Ny father never failed in
IT, custcr,-he and Tchn Newman
n<rnl'y Killing together: and the
women made soft SOAP CT the offal. or
Cisca,doi ricces # rork and hicEory
weed ash 'rr hoilirr these in kettles
li'to thew did in making sugar. MY
was thus enga~ed one sea-
son, when her dress caught fire; she
ran screnninr and fronticcl'v clutch
in~ at her hair and eyes. the flames
rolling I'D and all over her. hap
cred to re there and ran and caught
her srd threw nv arms around her,
downward and tearing her
burning clothing nearly off her. which |
saved her life Had not been there
and acted promptly. boy as I was, |
she would never have lived to the ex-
IRENE age of SO, as she Is today. That !
primitive method Of procuring soap
was universal and extremely danger
Gus. Soft soap thus made was the only
kind of soap that we used for all pur- !
poses that required soap-washing
clothes. bathing and all toilet pur-
poses, that with bear grease chair oil. =
boots, linsey-woolsey breaches
and pea-jackets. made of domestic
cloth woven from the wool of sheep
raised there, trigged us lads out re-
splendently on Sundays.
We lived Just at the foot of the hill, |
on the corner Of Fourth street and
street. On that hillside there lived the
Turks and Murrays-George Punchard
Norris, brother of Jimmy Norris II
ma rried Poyey Murray. IN IN and on |