Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-03-25

. grown to be an awful extravaganza
: was then altogether not INDUCED, ant
: I believe that heartfelt sympathy witt
: the family of the deceased was more
: genuine. No elaborate caskets, nor fu
: neral corteges was then the custom
: nowadays it costs more to die than t
; live. 1t Is my earnest desire, when my
time comes, TO be laid away in the ole
: style. I want no display. I want no eX
travagance either In funeral pomp OF
in black costumes. There will be little
enough left for my family that, right
now. while in my right mind, will
shall be used for their benefit, and
not frittered away in oblations, relig
Iious or secular. to senseless, useless
dead lump Of clay. If there Is any merit
in me, | want my family and friends
to use it while 1 am living. for it is an
asset that dies in the Wondering dust
with which this body will assimilate.
Remember me for my virtues; let my
foibles crumble in the grave. Trained
nurses-an undoubted growth from the
germ planted in the army hospitals -
were not known in the early days, and
yet no one suffered from negligence.
neighborly sympathy and help in time
of distress being freely offered-a
scene of this character being indel!i-
bly, impressed upon my memory at the
time of the drowning of Mr.. Lot.
speich. AS the body lay in the dingy
little office of Lawyer Bromfield, can
see women and. men coming from all
directions with jugs full of boiling
water that were placed all about the
body. while men were rubbing and
chatting the limbs of the dead man and
doctors were there assisting and giving
advice: but all to no purpose, the spirit
had flown. l never heard Of anyone
who was there putting in bill to the
family for remuneration of service.
The advent of railroads in Ottumwa
brought with them the first faint Of
aristocracy-I mean the kind that was
naughty and avaricious. Everybody up
to that time was poor, though there
was caste in society-none to hurt,
however. The first bubble of pure cod
fish aristocracy that comes to mind
was when the Browne family came in.
I do not remember what business the
head of the family followed, but can
readily recall the fact that he Haunted
the first real silk pocket handkerchief
I ever saw used by man. He had
three sons and two daughters-the
eldest of the boys was named John,
the second Hampton, or some such
name that we c,lt short and called him
Ham. The name of the other boy I've
forgotten. The eldest girl was named
Mary Think she married in Ottumwa,
tFcxgh the family removed to Des
Moines.' They lived on Second, between
Wapello and Marion. Judge by the
Mat you sent me. In that neighbour
hood. also. lived Osborn. blacksmith.
who had son named Martin. At the
time of the great food in 1851 the
water flowing all over the bottoms
(part of which the plat shows as Cen
trail sdditionI pushed out all sorts of
''varmints'' that rcamed about the
streets. One evening l had been down
to my Uncle Paris's (Hho was then
living as refugee on the corner Of
Second and, Wapello-the place after
ward occupied by the milliner, Mrs.
and her sister, the dress
maker. Mrs. Platt). for pitcher OF
milk On returning and passing by the |
huge log pile that John Newman, then
living or the corner of Wapello and
Fourth. dire city south of my fathers
resjdente always had on hand. saw,
in the dark. creature crawling toward
me that was unlike anything human ,
or animal that I had ever seen. Not Il
mona mt did I hesitate. but threw with
all my might that pitcher of milk that
struck the creature squarely in the
head. SHILLING the milk all over him. I
didn't await result. but ran bowling
home. My father and 1.-The latter con-
sid arahly in the rear of the former and
trembling like an aspen leaf went over
to Investigate. found Mart stretched /
out full length and apparently dead: |
but he came to. finally, very sore. and !
cramred My aim had been accurate. |
The pitcher struck him suuarely be- !
tween the eyes and cut a cash that left
p scar that 7 doubt not abides with
him vet: which also reminds me that
Mart's father owned mule: my Ia
her always owned horses. One Sunday |
Ne TT ardyI started TO ride to camp
meeting being held in the vicinity OF |
I wore tine first real tailor !
made coat (made by the little Jew i
tailor that | have already spoken OF |
Of verv hne browI Oroadcloth. bought |
If pr Warden when he was in the dry |
COOS business. On tie way. in the red
bet sunshine and very dusty roads, we
snapped carriers taking my |
horse and I his mule. Think we had
logged along perhaps quarter Of a
mile When ! came to light there in the
middle Of the road sitting partly in
toe saddle. the null, stripped clean
standing stiff-iesged, his long ea:s
pointed forward, starring at me with
yes that we're but2in2 with mmle
,u-h. That stuunGrel of doubtful al.
:c<try. AID no hol;c OF progeny. hal
acthallr butked or backed clean
hrcunh Tl.c saddle gi;ths.. My new
:oat was badly used up, as was also
ny feelings. We never attended that
amp meeting. Old Judge Osborne was
If another family. but he, too had
son, Stephen. who learned the harness
making business with Ed Murphy.
hinl. There was also the Judges
laughter, Lucinda. who married, but
-aDnot recall who. Steve was roll
licking, happygo-lucky boy, who some
'ears afterward showed up in all the
oil ci, oct nf