Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/270

 .^

��^ 4

��258

��HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

��southern part of the count}-. He was a good friend to boys and young men ; he was enter- prishig, conscientious and a sound, lionest Clu'is- tian. His good deeds live after him. He often remarked to liis special friends that he was so ashamed one time during court in Mansfield, when he was Associate Judge. His son-in- law, the Sheriff, lighted candles at nild-(hiy, and went humming around like an old humblebee. He had been looking ■• upon the wine when it sparkled in the glass."

The military drill, in pioneer days, was the grand occasion, (leneral muster, or regimental drill, was for a long while held twice a year at Mansfield. At that time, the militia of the whole county came together ; old friends met, and new acquaintances were formed. They asseml)led in parade on the square, marched through the streets and then went down to the " meadow " to drill. If they had arms, they carried them, if not, they used canes or mullein stalks. If one of the fathers was sick, one of his boys took his place — by permission of the C-aptain — with gun. cartridge-box and scabbard, answer- ing to the name of his father when the roll was called. The men met at 10 o'clock, and were dismissed at 4, some of them walking to their homes, a distance of sixteen miles. Some- where between the years 1820 and 1822, a ver}' severe storm came up, and the Colonel rode down the lines shouting, •■ Dismissed ! Dis- missed ! " The Captains repeated the order, and the crowd ran for shelter. Some new buildings just roofed gave shelter to a great many, but there was not room for all in town, and many started home. Some I'ushed to the ••taverns " for something to drink after such a wetting, and then a few good fights ensued, as the natural result. Old pioneers rememl)er the funny fights these occasions afforded.

It was common among rude l)oys, who luul disagreements to settle, to fix the time for adjustment on the Fourth of July, the last day of school or next o:eneral muster.

��The nearest mails were at Mansfield and Mount Vernon. Postage was high, and not many letters were written. Later, the mail was carried to villages once a week by a boy on horseback, who tooted a horn as he rode in on a gallop. The sound of the horn was the gladdest music known to the hills and vallej'S. A man who took one newspaper was called a large-hearted, liberal man ; generall}- two or three men joined together and subscribed, and took turns reading it. Some people refused to take a newspaper, for fear of spoiling the chil- dren, and making them lazy. The mail-boy, who rode on the gallop and tooted the horn, was as attractive to imaginative little boys then, as the circus-rider is now, and more than one little man-child looked longingly forward to the time when he could ride, and toot, and carry the mail-bag, and enjoy the delectable freedom and honor of this enviable place.

Some old jokes among the pioneers were really' funny, and they still have the pith and point that they had when the old boys in tow shirts and deer-skin breeches laughed over them, sixty years ago. One was of a good- feeling young fellow, who, in singing schools, always sang the line, '• Cover m}' defenseless head," as '• Cover mj' deficient head."

Another was of a woman who prided herself on her systematic housewifely accomplish- ments ; she never did anything slovenly or carelessl}', and, one time when making mush, stirrisg it pompously, she stopped and squinted into the pot, and then, lifting out a little shoe, she said : '• Lawful suz ! who d a thought jNIaudy's shoe 'd got lost in the mush ! But. then, I might 'a knowed 'twan't lost, for I never Jose anything !''

And one. too, of an old man whose child was drowned in the creek, and the body not re- covered. The neighbors sought in vain for it man}' days. One morning, the old man, with his great red, meat}' nose, his fishing-tackle over his shoulder, his trousers harnessed on by

��^

�� �