Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-07-18

men following 1t to lift 1t over Obstruc.
tons with their hand spikes, while
other men went away down the river
and out in it making all kinds Of
noises and splashing to scare the fish
back up stream and keep them from
running away from the monster thing
that was after them.
AT the command of the captain the
inside team slowed and the outside
team turned across the river to the
side it first started from, swinging the
huge serpent like thing into semi
circle and both ends were pulled on
shore to capture the fish inside. A man
would stand with his back to the fish
while another man would lay the end
Of q stick on pile and ask him whose
it was. He would name the owner and
so on until all the catch was distrib
uted.
Plenty Of -eachers.
Along with the emigrants were
many young men highly educated In
eastern schools. They became the
school teachers, many school houses
were built Of logs with clab board
roofs, but the teachers were scientific
men and the books were Of the best
McGuffeys and Sanders readers, Davies
and Rays arithmetic, McChells' geo
graphy, Clark's and Smiths grammar,
all standard books. The foundations
were laid for the court houses and
jails in Wapello county. Ashland uni
versity had two hundred students,
Birmingham and Salem had academies.
Howe's school at Mt. Pleasant started
with the admission Of the state into
the union, is in operation today. Col
leges went up at Oskaloosa, Mt. Yer
non, Grinnell, Humboldt, Mt. Pleasant,
Burlington and Pella. Large quantities
of money were sent from the east to
build and endow these institutions.
Not only did Iowa emigrants excel as
teachers but as statesmen as well for
many years men sent to represent
the state at Washington led both the
house and the senate and shaped TO
great extent the legislation Of the
country
Every Iowan can speak with pride
the names Of William B. Allison, James
Wilson and John H. Grear, on the field
as well as the forum they played well
their part. Generals Corse, Curtis and
Lariman were Napoleons in battle.
Iowans did not rely all together on the
twelve regular schools in the long
winter nights in every school house
once week was held spelling school
the words pronounced from Noah Web
ster's spelling book, and also a copy
of Noah Websters unabridged die
tionary lay on the desk for reference.
Singing schools where vocal music was
taught and practiced offered an even
ing of each week in the school house.
Writing schools where the fine curves
of the Spencerian system were taught
by an expert and debating socities
were organized and carried on by men,
They would have constitution and
bylaws and Jeffersons manual Of par
| limentary rules would govern their de-
alterations. All sorts Of questions, re-
ligious, political and philosophical
would be discussed and speeches often
made at those meetings would rank
with those preserved in the congress
sional record. They were great read.
ers and the Weekly New York Tribune,
edited by the man who told them to go
west made its way to nearly every
household. The cherished human lib
erty and though bordering for three
hundred miles on a slave state, not
withstanding the Dred-Scott decision,
Judge fanny and the fugitive slave
law, no slave was ever returned to his
master by the people of Iowa.
Easily Acquainted.
Everybody came from somewhere
as nobody was born and raised here,
and the first question you would ask
a man was where he was from, that
was a sufficient introduction when he
would tell you and you would tell him
where you were from. Confidence was
established between you and you were
in no way afraid of each other. When
the days work was done they would
gather at the store or landing port and
exchange stories.
At Ashland there was man by the
name of McNulty. He was from the
lumber camps Of Maine. He would
tell about his hair breath escapes in
shooting rapids on single saw logs,
and frightening bears with butcher
knives and killing them. His auditors
didn't take any stock in his stories,
thinking he was making them for d.
version. This was along in the begin
ming Of the civil war, and one day
stranger appeared at the postoflice and
deposited letter and departed with
out speaking to any one or making him
self known in any way. 1t excited sus-
picion and e man was put on his trail.
. Thomas Foster, Thomas Ping and