The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1916-04-06
6. I. GIBBS CELEBRATES
BOTH BIRTHDAY AFTER
LONG LIFE OF PIONEER
ING IN WESTERN STATES

Tuesday. April 18th, was the eight
eth birthday of Mr. Geo. T. Gibbs
1t was celebrated in the evening
with about twenty-five of his friends
at turkey dinner His two daugh-
tiers acted as hostesses and entertain
ed clarmingly.
Prof. Ray made few appropriate
remarks on behalf of himself and the
guests, concentrating MIR. Gibbs on
rounding out happy life of eighty
years young. MIR. Gibbs responded.
Interestingly referring to some of the
early days long ago.
1 Mrs Whitman read an original poem
paying a fine tritute to Mr. Gibbs.
The Misses Burton played duets on
tile piano and Miss Gibbs played some
solos So with music and reminis-
lenses and conversation the evening
proved very pleasant one, especial
iy to the host OF the evening who SAID
felt as good as he did twenty
l -ars ago and hoped to have his
guests With him again some twenty
years hence.
Mr.. Gibbs in the eighty years past
has lived life OF much pioneering.
He was born in Ohio in the log cabin
days As a young man he moved over
INTO Illinois, when most of that state
r-as then government land Before
tie war he moved on to Iowa where
4 lie broke virgin ground and built
lpioneer home. He built the third
house erected in College Springs.
Iowa
In 1860 Mr. Gibbs worked in the
tmter sections of the South, along
the Mississippi river Things were
beng made rather uncomfortable in
the fall OF 1860 for Yankees in the
South In the campaign of 1860 Mr..
;ibiss was in ouisana a little distance
west OF Natchez One night in the
hotel bunch Of people were sitting
around the fireplace talking politics
The company included several des-
rerate characters. well armed. 1T was
not the time or place for Lincoln
man to do much talking
Finally some one proposed that they
take a straw vote Mr.. Gibbs recalls
that he did some lively thinking just
how he was going to meet the issue.
He would not vote even in a straw
ballot for anybody but Lincoln. and
TO come out in that crowd for Lincoln
R-r.
him. The voting was done by each
person stating his preference. The
voting went around the room. rum
ming pretty even between Douglas
and Breckenridge When IL came
TO Mr.. Gibbs he merely remarked.
-well, between those two. my choice
would be breckenridge and he got
away with it.
people began getting out of the South
pretty lively. Those who had bust
ness and jobs hung on as long as it
seemed safe. In March a scheme was
started to pick up all the Northerners
in the lumber camps and ship them
to New Orleans to be impressed in
,he Confederate service. Mr.. Gibbs
got wind of IL. He and three associ-
ates got on boat forty miles below
Natchez in the middle of the night
iand came up to st. Louis. The boat
Twas stopped at vicksburg and at
Helna and searched. but all Northern
ers were safely hidden away. That
was the las, boat to come North
carrying Northerners through.
/ The boat had hard work getting
back TO the South where il beIonged.
having to run the blockade at Cairo.
II was turned into a Confederate
ram and later sunk by the Union
forces.
Mr.. Gibbs went hack horne and
enlisted in an Iowa regiment. He later,
took part in the campaign against
Nicksburg where he saw some very
severe service in the pioneer squad.
While in the vicinity of vicksburg
he saw the steamboat that brought
him safely North where il had been
sunk in the river. Just the stern show
ing the name psotruding from the
water. He says it looked like an old
friend.
I In 1868 after vickburg fell he was
mastered out, more dead than alive.
He returned to Iowa. and reeained
his health in a large measure. The
pioneer fever struck him again and
he moved out to the prairies of Da.
kota, then the land of the sod house.
In lAQA haa h...a,a..laa 4. f,