Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-02-28

enthusiast wild introduced the growth
Of peach tresi in that country-he
lived on the south sids Of the river.
Although BEST with msgivings on ali
hands be persisted in srying and ulti-
mately SUCCEEDED inproducing the
finest, most luscious PEACHES that ever
was shown in Ottupwa. Think he
lived over in the neignorhood Of VIM.
Grips, the .Jones's az Seth Ogg,s:
which switches me K to Soap creek
and the watermelontthat grew there.
In that country 1t W! useless extrava-
gance to run an alan clock, for every
morning at o'clQs old Buck wal
lace (about ten mis- distant) would
rouse the inhabita5s even in Ottum-
wa with his megaYpne voice calling
"S-b-o-y-s-b.o-y" tlhis hogs and cat
tie, that he rousesBlp at that time to
feed. This is not iIextravagant state
ment. as any of 3 old timers will
verify it, Then Ire was Zach Skin
ner. the fiddler@ ways wore coon
skin cap with E,nirrel tail dangling
about his should,s, and his brother,
Tom, who was d. fer in the 36th regi-
ment martial bs Il. Zach played the
fiddle for most ; the country dances,
doing the calm Tor cotillions himself,
like "swing ths one you love best"
"alamand left you don't get left"
"suashay all."5Nd so on. Con Lewis
named his fastFotting horse Soap
Creek"-don't Flow why. That Soap
Creek region VS. wild, dense under
brush covered, country that was not
much cultivate when we left Of
tumwa. It produced large, luscious
watermelons, tfmble squirrels, musk
rats, gophers I'D occasional wild cats,
deer, wild turssys, and most all kinds
of wild game hickory, walnut and
hazel nuts. we gathered bushels and
bushels of eEh kind and shot and trap
ped loads 4 game, and had wheel
barrow loas of fun coon hunting
sometimes being overcome with the
aroma of doriferous skunks. 1t was
the sports1en's paradise-and nearly
everybody eould shoot q gun-a rife
being lookd upon as the gentleman's
true spor weapon-the fellow who
would potshot with q shot gun being
tabood utetly.
The melton Of Roemer reminds me
of the family Of his brother, the cabi-
net maker-one Of whose daughters,
MISS 6eEAd, LIEU MA AAN6oAASs
That waia kind, benevolent German
family. e made set Of frames for
a coupl of pictures for US, In 1859,
that arr perfect condition yet. They
then III near the old court house on
Market Feet, but afterward moved up
on CotH street, on nook OF ground
in that id gulch that had precipitous
walls al around it. On top Of that hill
was the palatial residence Of job
Devin. lawyer; back Of that was tn
old graveyard. In there somewhe1
lived old man Mulholland, and Aui
sallie Mulholland was favorite wit
everybody. My wife bought yeas
from Mrs. Roemer that had to go fo{
so that have a lively recollection 9
the formation OF that old gulch, and
reminds me of remark by Yanket
Mccoy, the builder. A lot of us were
sitting in Joe Wages back yard Mo
Coy eapied uncle Dan collars labor.
iously climbing the hill upon which his
residence was situated, and IN that
fetching, drawing voice exclaimed
Dang ef it don't look like a fellow
would break his back toting q pound
of galeratus up to old Dams" The
occasion happened while we were wait
ing for the close Of the funeral serv-
ices Of Henry Miller (Wagg's son-in I'm.
law who dropped dead on the street
at the time Of the great fire in the row
of brick business houses In which was
located the Dan Eaton furniture store
and others that do not now recall
think, though, that the Jordan boys oc-
cupied one of them with a dry goods
store. Miller was a member OF the
volunteer fire company, and while
handling hose suddenly expired. Dan
Eaton had brother, Alonzo, who was
an efficient dancing master and con-
Quoted series Of dancing assemblies
once a week for several winters, on
the first floor of, the Dixon building
on Second, the upper story having
been, was then, or afterward oc
cupied by the Courier. The caterer
at these dancing parties was-Rousch.
afterward, think. lieutenant in Cap
tain Cloutman's company E, goth Iowa
infantry. of which my brother Bob was
the orderly sergeant.