White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1923-04-22
BABBLING BROOKS
IN THE DESERT

Back al FL Dorado, Kas., my old
town-also William Allen Whites
there was a family from the lime
stone districts of Arkansas bearing
the surname of Tolbert. Persons
living in the limestone country make
lots IF work for fellows ike Doc
Rand. AS high as three of the Toll
bert children had their arms IT.
splints at one time. One fell off OF
a little mule and the mule stepped
on the child's wrist and it went
snap. Said Mrs. Tolbert:
All our chillens has had their
arms broked 'cept John an he's mad
his'n broked twict."
| have no recollection of Bill AlleE
White. for left there at 9 and he
was three years my junior, 1t seems.
according 20 a recent biography. but
I remember his father quite well
His father was Doc White, town fat
man, town josner and town druggist.
His name was Allen White and he
a tathCo 1ot DCNaucO hC ~
drug store. When a circus came to
town the clown got off a local gag
about somebody being as fat as Doc
White and IL took like fire. All But
Ter county talked about it. Doc wore
n gray chin beard and was as jelly
and good-natured as Fred CLARK.
While | cannot recall William Allen
I remember that Doc White was not
childless and my memory tells ne
that his child Or children We're
younger than myself. The chances
are | have plunked William Allen
with ehewed-up paper wads many a
time and have forgotten about l..
But I'll never forget the day ma
the men from Augusta and Douglas
came up to move the county seat
away from Ell Dorado. They had
been heralded ahead as coming with
guns and we kids thought they would
march by the old stone schoolhouse,
at the southwest corner OF town,
afoot like we had seen pictures OF
men going to battle. Instead of that
they came up the old Santa Fe trail
that Is, on a road turning into the
old trail at the edge Of town-vith
teams and wagons. There were some
few horseback and all hands had
guns. Our teacher was a man named
Snyder and ne was from Augusta
The county seat fight had made him
tho goat of the community. Our
town furniture man. John Mussel-
man, particularly had antagonized
him. That day after the long pro
~cession had driven into town we saw
a lone woman vending her way
across the prairie to the schoolhouse.
She wore a sunbonnet and apron,
one or the other red. As she came
Clyde, her son, and Gene, her daugh-
ter, kept pleading with the teacher
to let them go, as their mother was
coming after them. Snyder refused
Marching up to thu open door the
excited woman slapped her hand
against the casing and screamed:
clyde and Gene Musselman, come
Ihome."
They started to go but Snyder
made them sit down. The woman
was crossing the prairie toward
home. Then Snyder told the chill
dren that II they would say please
they could GO. They said 1t nicely
and away they went.
But in a few days Snyder was al
lowed to go without saying please"
The feeling against him grew so hot
that he had to resign and move back
to Augusta and the Clyde and Gene
Musselman episode had q lot to do
| with 1t
Many years afterward I met a
young man and wife from FL Dorado
at Medford. Ore, and was telling
them this story. Just as I finished
this "CIyde and Gene Musselman