Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1921-11-11

Wherein the Reader Is introduced to
ofut's Store and His Clerk Abe, and
the Scholar Jack kelso and His
Cabin and His Daughter BIN, and
GETS q First Look at Lincoln.
They had a dinner of prairie chick
n and roast venison, favored with
wild grape jelly, and creamed potatoes
and cookies and %doughnuts and raisin
pie. 1t was a well-cooked dinner.
served on white linen, in a clean room,
and while they were eating, h SYM
pathetic landlady stood by the table,
eager to learn of their travels and to
make them feel at home. The good
food and their kindly welcome and
the beauty of the rolling, wooded
prairies softened the regret which had
been growing in their hearts, n
which only the children had dared
to express.
Perhaps we haven't made a mis-
take, after ALL" Sarah whispered when
the dinner was over. II like these
people and the p~rairies are beautiful
ut is the land of plenty at last"
said Samson, as they came out OF
doors. TT is even better than l
thought"
"As Douglas Jerrold said Of Austria
liza: Tickle it with a hoe and it
laughs with a harvest" said DR..
Allen, who still sat in the shaded
d~ooryard, smoking his pipe. Il have
an extra horse and saddle. Suppose
you leave the family with Mrs. Rut-
ledge and ride around with me a little
this afternoon. l can show you how
the land lies off to the west Of US.
and tomorrow we'll look at the other
side"
'Thank you'll want to look around
here a little" said Samson. whats
the name of this placer"
"New Salem. We call 1t a village.
It has a mill, a carding machine, a
tavern. a schoolhouse, five stores.
fourteen houses, two or three men Of
genius, and a noisy dam. It's a crude
but growing place and soon 1t will
have all the embellishments Of civil
lized life"
That evening many Of the inhabit-
ants of the little village came to the
tavern TO see the travellers and were
introduced by DIR. Allen. Most Of
them had come from Kentucky. al
though there were two Yankee fam
lilies who had moved on from Ohio.
''These are good folks" said the
Doctor. There are others who are
~Ar1l zhn-~ Won Cnnan
pretty rough customers at Clary's
Grove. not far from here. We have
TO take things as they are and do
our best TO make EN- better"
ANY Indians?" Sarah asked.
You see one now and then, but
they're peaceable. Most of 'em have
gone with the buffaloes-farther west.
Now and then a circuit rider gets
here and breaches TO us. You'll hear
tile reverend stephen Nuckles II you
settle in these parts. He a boiler
louder than n man In the state"
The tavern was the only house in
New Salem with stairs in it-stairs
:" steep. as Samson writes, that they
wrie first cousins 70 the ladder"
II 20 were four small rooms above
Two of these were separated
ry a partition Of cloth hanging from
the rafters. In each was a bed and
bedstead and smaller beds on the
floor. In case there were a number
of adult guests the bedstead was
screened with sheets hung upon
strings. In one of these rooms the
travellers had a night of refreshing
sleep.
After riding two days with the
Doctor, Samson bought the claim o.
one Isaac Gollaher to a half section
of land a little more than a mile from
the western end of the village He
chose a site for his house on the
edge of an open prairie.
Now Wen go over and see Abe
said DR.. Allen. after the deal wa:
made. Hes the best man with ar
ak and a saw in this part Of the
country. He clerks for Mr.. Offut
Abe Lincoln is one of the best fellow:
that ever lived-a rough diamond JUS
out of the great mine Of the West, tina
only needs to be cut and polished
Denton Offut's store was a SINAI
log structure about twenty by twenty
--h{ah e&oa1 naor tho hroU NJ fhE