xt7tdz031403_13 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/xt7tdz031403/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/xt7tdz031403/data/65m2.dao.xml unknown 0.23 Cubic Feet 1 box archival material 65m2 English University of Kentucky Property rights reside with the University of Kentucky.  The University of Kentucky holds the copyright for materials created in the course of business by University of Kentucky employees. Copyright for all other materials has not been assigned to the University of Kentucky.  For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact Special Collections.  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. J.J. Glenn papers The Beechers, or Kentucky Before the War text The Beechers, or Kentucky Before the War 2024 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/xt7tdz031403/data/65m2/Box_1/Folder_13_14/Multipage94.pdf undated section false xt7tdz031403_13 xt7tdz031403 _; waF"7ER<

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Rural Ken uskgr Peforc} t} 5 War.
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J. J. C—LEY‘IC.

 

 Affectionately Dedisa ed
t:

Seal Glenn,
*7

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%is Vathfir ‘The Author.

 

 lY

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VII

XIII
XIV

xv

YVI

VVlI
YVIII

YIY

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YXI

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YYIII
YYIV

XXV

”LNTLWTS.
When the Star FEll.
“eesh "reek Sett fincnt.
Old Leg Szhocl—hoase.
Fural Ishcol.
The Yewspayer Fe
“r:.Ellty th'
Vrs.Simpson and
The Country
drab; Meg.
RmhMmtk.
Prof.@re”n as a Wi$ower.
Miss Nartin Secures Position
The Pad ”0; in
Dan Else's Circus.
Jan Qoblin VaJk-slides.
Kiss Mandy has a Deau.

Drc.Riley's Missionary Work.

is; Undergoes a Susaessful Cp&ration.

”rgzy Neg Eestoreé tc Bight Mind.

Judgs Whitthorn Hears the Glad Vews.

.‘

Juuye Whitthorn as? David Fletcher

Mandy Simpson's Engagement.

.La

Dan and Sam Visit une ity.

Drcf.Green and Miss Mandy fiarry.

A Death and a Wefiéing.

Arrive.

 

 C‘H A P T E R 1.
WHEN THE STARS FELL.

"John Henry Boblin,for goodness' sake wake up,get up,get out
and see what on earth is the matteri"

Such was the excited language used by Mrs.Malinda Boblin on
the early morning of November the 13th,185$ as she punched her hus-
band in the short ribs which half way aroused the man from his peace—
ful slumbers. The punch caused a sudden cessation in the loud and ster
torous snoring which was always a sure indication that the head of the
household was a way off in dreamland.

"What in the devil and Tom Walker do you mean Malinda ? How do
you expect me to sleep when you punch me that way?” Then Mr.Boblin
turned over in the bed and was soon again snoring as loudly as before.

"Hush up; Wake up!" excalnned Mrs.Boblin as she gave the man
another punch-this time in the stomach. "There's something wrong some—
where. Listen to the noise and confusion that is going an outside."

By this time Mr.Boblin was fully aroused. The horses were
neighing,the cows were lowing,the degs were barking and the man well
knew that there was semething out of the ordinary taking place. Pear
seized the man,who half clad rushed to the door. He cast a glance up

into the heavens when he saw such a sight as had never before,nor has

ever since been witnessed by the inhabitants of this world. The whole

heavens above were in commotion. One look satisfied Mr.Boblin that the
end of time Was not only apprcacing,but that it had already approached-
He rushed back into the house and shouted at the t0p of his voice:

”Good God,Malinda;wake up the children and get them dressed as

 

 SCOn as possible. Get into your best dress for the day of Judgment has
come and if we are not already prepared,it may not be too late to do
some praying."

"What is the matter John Henry and what's wrong anyway? Are you
crazy?" demanded the good wife.

“Everythig's the matter,everyhting's wrong. I'm not crazy.Ev-
ery star in the heavens has lost its hold and the whole business is
30ming down like hail towards the earth and it wont be ten minutes be-\‘

fore the stars will be falling right on top of the house."

when Mr.Boblin seized the dinner horn,plnced it to his lips

and began to send out blasts therefrom that were as long,loud and striw
dent as the ones we may expect to hear when Gabriel at the last day
cal% to wake the sleeping dead. While these blasts frfmghr.hoblin's
horn did not have any perceptible effect on those whd\silently sleep—
ing in the nearby cemetery,they did have the effect to arouse every
living sleeper in the Beech Creek Settlement.

At this juncture-old Mose,who was the preperty of Mr.Boblin and
the most ungodly liar in the settlement—was heard making his way
across the wood's pasture toward the home,yelling and screaming as if
pursued by all the demons of the infernal regions. The negro had been

Ipossum hunting,had captured a fine specimen of the marsupial tribe and
was on his way heme with his prize. He stopped under a beech tree to
rest and in a short time fell asleep,

While dreaming of the "possum- and sweet 'taters" that he woufl
have for his dinner the next day he heard the sound of the Boblin horn,
awoke with a start,looked into the heavens and when he saw what was
taking place in the above,he forgot all about his catch and started
in a run to his home,yelling at every jump:

”0h,mar's John Henry. Oh,good Lawd have mercy on dis pore n1—

ger. Oh mar's John;0h,good Lawd.‘

 

 When he saw Mr.Boblin standing on the porch he raised another
yell that was even louder than the ones he had emitted while on his
race to get back to his heme. "De end of time is here an' we aint pre—
pared for de oomin' of de Lawd. What's we gwine to do mar's John?"

"What do you suppOse it is Mose,do you think it is the day
of judgment?" inquired Mr.Boblin but little less excited than was the
old negro.

“Yes mar's John Henry. It is de las' of dis ole worlfl” whined
the negro.

The call from Mr.Poblin's horn had aroused every one in the
whole community. Twenty different horns were sending out blasts of
warnings. Every horn was screeching and screaming to every other
horn.

"0h Lawd", screamed Mose as this mighty saund was going up

from every corner of the settlement3~"-jei listen to de blowing of

Gabriel’s trumpet. Dar's at least a thousand of dose trumpets an' all
a blowin' at once.I's a pore lost sinner,. but Lawd forgive me an' I
promise on my word of honor dat if I get outen dis dat so long as I
live I'll never tell another lie..”

Mose fell at the feet of Mrs.Boblin and piteously walled: ”0h
Miss M'linda jes' take me with you to heaven an' I'll serve you better
dar dan I ever did here on dis earth.”

At this period in rural ventucky,the sound of a dinner horn at
night,and especially if blown in short sharp blasts that were prolongs
ed,was always regarded as a signal of distress to which a ready and “
willing reSponse was atuzys quickly given.

The blasts from Mr.Boblin's horn awoke the neighbors and when
these went to their doors to investigate the cause of the "distress

call," they too became alarmed,seized their horns and blew answering

calls.

 

 In less than ten minutes the blowing of horns,the screams of
women and children,the moans and groans of the negroes and the howling
of the dOgs made it seem as if pandemOHium had broken loose and that
the end of all things earthly was nigh at hand.

Prof.Green,who was teacher of the Beech Creek school and who
boarded week about “with the scholars," was this week the guest of the
Boblins. When he heard the tumult—~more asleep than awake-and without
stepping to don his clothes to make himself presentable—appeared on
the scene

"Professor,” said Mr.Roblin as he pointed upward,“—will you
please explain the cause of the stars falling from their places."

"No,Mr.Boblin,I can't explain this wonderful phenomenon. While
I have seen a few stars fall yet I must say that this beats all that
I ever saw or heard of before.” answered the man of letters.

"There! Look! Yonder comes a great big star and it is coming
right in this direction. Run,Malinda,run and take the children with
you",exclaimed Mr.Boblin as both he and the professor dodged behind
a large beech tree that stood in the yard. Each was surprised to find
that neither had been Struck by the flying meteor.

A frightened cat that was being chased by the dog,mistaking

Prof.Green's bare legs for a post,shinnied up the legs of the man,thus

reminding him of the fact that he lacked a great deal of being dress'
ed as one becoming his profession. It was with fear and trembling that
he retired to his roam as he expected every moment should be the last
one while here in the flesh. I
It was not the Boblins only who were alarmed as never before,
but so it was with every family in the whole country. Nor was it the
whites alone who were frightened and thiéfmost wonderful dispatw mete—
oric display ever before witnessed by the inhabitants of this old
world—the negroes were thrown into parOxysms of fear that almost bor—

(07’ (LL Wu) fluted/721»
dered on insanity. It was a most% ~1 sight to behold.

 

 As each of these meteors flitted across the mighty above and
left its fast fading impress behind,it was succeeded by one of its
kind that was just as erraftic as its predecessor. The whole heavens
above were in commotion. To the spectator it was a marching and a coun—
ter marching and yet a most disdgig one. It seemed as if every star
in the firmament had been loosed from its place and was tumbling and
descending upon the earth below and yet from s0me unknown aa£s§e=$§8m
insipaaaaehte cause failed to reach its destination.

The peeple crowded together—parents and children,the servants
and their masters and even the degs crouched at the feet of the fright—

ened throng. They looked into the blanched faces of eachother,but couldL

Q.
glean not one ray of hepe,because there appared to be no way of escape.

It was indeed a solemn occasion.
”They spoke not a word:
But like dumb statues or breathing stone,
Gazed on eachother,and looked deadly pale.”

At length 'light began to dawn in the east. There was a rosy
streak of day. One by one the meteors began to fade away and by the
time the sun had shown his face above the eastern horizon,the last one
of the dread omens of impending danger had ceased to be visible to the
awe-struck inhabitants of old mother earth. Never before had the lumi-
nary of day been more welcome to any pe0ple as his effulgence soon
eclipsed the brightness of these {hearers of the mightygt 1r deep
and caused them to hide their faces in abysmal space.

"Bless de Lawd," exclaimed Luke the colored preacher as the
sun rose above the tree tops and not another meteor was in sight,"—I
jest natcually thought dat de end of de worl' had come and dat in a

short time we good peOple would all be in glory and de bad Ones in de

fire dat is never squenched but burns forever and forever more.“

 

 "Luke,if you are so certain of heaven why was it that you were
so frightened when the stars fell?" asked Deacon Johnson,the owner of
the colored preacher.

"Oh,mar's Billy,1's afeard dat may be you wasn't quite ready
for de trip an' I didn't want to go by myself.” was the reply.

The day that followed the night of the "Falling Stars,”as that
occasion is known until the present day,was one of seriousness to all
the peOple who had witnessed that wonderful meteoric display. It was
late the—asrt morning following the incident before breakfast was
prepared and then it was eaten with little relish.

The peeple of different neighborhoods collected together and
discussed the wonders of the night before and all offered up a prayer
of thankfulness that they had been spared and were still in the land
of the living. It was not a day for work. There were many who dread—
ed the coming night as it was feared that perhaps the sun and the moon
should slip from their places before another day and thus destroy the
world and all the pGOple thereon.

It was agreed that there should be a ”prayer meeting and Watch
service" that night at the Methodist church. By "early candle-lighting”
all the peeple of the neighborhood were present,both to thank God
that they had been preserved through the frightful scenes of the night
before and to implore his protection during the future. Bro.Riley,the
local preacher was chosen to conduct the services.

While the prayer and song service was being conducted inside
the church it was thought advisable to have some of the brethren stay
on the outside to watch for any signs that might appear in the heavens
and thus warn the worshippers of any impending danger.

Prof.Green, Deacon Johnson and Mr.Boblin were appointed as

"watchers for signs." The three men took their places on the “style-

blook'-whioh was about fifty yards from the church. Just beyond and éfléflt

W "-33 , 9r

 

 of this was a swamp that was dark and dismal. The watchers took their
seats in silence,but kept both eyes and ears Open for the least sign
that might attract their attention.

About the time the congregation began to sing that once famil-
iar and popular hymn, ”Hark from the tombs," Prof.Green cast his eyes
heavenward and saw a meteor flit across the sky. He called the atten-
tion of the other men to the sight. Very soon another star made its
appearance. This caused the men to tremble. They well believed that
there was to be a repetition of the night before.

While the men were watching for more signs,two large black
dogs that had followed their masters to the service began a ffirce
fight in their rear toward the swamp. The watchers turned their heads
to invetigate the noise made by the dogs and as they looked they be~
held an "ignis fatuus,” or ”Jack—O'lantern,” moving up and down and
across the ,the swamp. The growling,snapping,snarling and fighting
of the dOgs,t0gether with the strange light was too much for the men,

especially at this particular time.

‘ 5
Just as Bro.Riley was in the midst of one of his most earnet

and most vociferous prayers and was pleading in a voice that could be
heard all over the settlement,the three watchers rushed into the house
of worship each one yelling as if he had been seized by fits of in-
sanity.

Hr.Boblin mounted a bench and cried out at the tap of his
voice; "The end or time has came. The stars have commenced falling
again and the whole business is cOming down on us. The devil is in
the swamp and is coming this way howling for souls.’

The two dogs which had been fighting on the outside carried
the war into the church and ameng the congregation. This added to the
confusion.

 

 In the midst of the confusion that followed the announcement by
Mr.Boblin,Sister Simp30n raised a shout that could be heard for more
than a mile. That good woman closed her eyes,raised her head toward
the roof of the church and screamed: "Thank God we shall all be in
glory in a few minutes.‘

While most of the people there assembled were professed chris-
tians,yet there were very few of them who could agree with sister Simp
son in thanking the Lord that they were to be in glory in so short a
time.

At last the shouting ceased and some of the more brave ven-
tured out to investigate the condition of things material. The two
dOgS . had ceased their righting and had made friends. The Jack-O'lan—
tern had escaped to some other section of the SWamp,there was an occa—
sional meteor that showed for a few seconds and disappeared—everything
was as quiet as a November night should be and in a short time the
peeple felt a kind of security and all believed that the prayers of
the good peeple had prevalied and that there was no further danger.

After a few prayers of thanksgiving for their preservation and
when the peOple began to get tired and sleepy,the congregation slowly
and silently left the church,went to their hemes and before midnight
most of these were in their beds sleeping the sleep or the just.

For a short time the bad boys and the mischievous girls were
quiet and sedate,but the scare soon wore off and by Christmas the
”Falling Stars,” were only a memory. Then as now,Christmas was a time
for fun and frolic rather than for serious thought. The people felt
that,

”Religion does not censure or exclude

Unnumbered pleasures,harmlessly pursujed.'

 

 C H A P T E R II

BEECH CREEK SETTLEMENT.
Not the oldest nor yet the youngest,
Not the richest,nor yet the poorest,
Not the largest,nor yet the least,
But take it all in all,for men and women,
For boys and girls,for feilds and skies,
For happy homes and loving hearts,
The best place outside of heaven the Lord ever made.

The Beech Creek Settlement from some cause unknown and unexplai~

nedto the writer,or any one else on top side of the earth,has never

been either mapped 0r chartefiada charted. The geOgraphies and the

school histories are as silent as the grave in reference to this par-
ticular section of the state of Kentucky. It has been suggested that
the reason for this omission was prompted by jealousy on the part of
those who were never admitted into the inner shrine of this goodly
heritage.

To assist the anxious inquirer in his efforts to lomlte this
”garden-spot” of the world—as the Beech Greeters were w:ont to speak
of that community—it were well enough to say that it was and is still
situated about the center of what is known as the 'Penny-royal,'-smne—
tunes called the "Pennyorile' section of the state of Kentucky.

Before descriéing the manners,customs and other characteris-
tics of the Beech Creekers,it would perhaps be advisable to enter into
a more minute description of the territory these people occupied near—
ly a century ago and which has came down as a rich heritage from a no-
ble ancestry to an honorable and God—fearing pesterity.

Beech Creek was so named from the great number of Beech trees
that grew,not only on the banks of the creek but were scattered over

a large adjoining territory. The Beech Creek Settlement extended about

 

 five miles up and down the stream and was about the sane in width.
While the Beech trees were more plentiful than any other kind of tim—
ber,yet there were hickory,walnut,oak and several other kinds. The
country before invaded by the woodman's axe presented a sight that was
the delight of the hunter's eye.

The water of this limpid stream was as pure and sparkling as
though distilled in the laboratory of nature itself. The creek had
its deep holes,its fishing holes and its swimming holes,all of which
were the delight of the boys of that time.

From the creation of the world,the power of steam had lain
dormant in every dr0p of water of Beech Creek,while electricity was
quietly sleeping in the clouds that overhung the surrounding territo-
ry. During all these ages that unseen force in natere had Only been
waiting for a Newton or an Edison to make it the servant of man.

Game was plentiful. Deer and turkeys-both now almost extinct—
furnished a plentiful supply of of meat to the hunters and the early
settlers. squirrels and other small game could be found almost any-
where outside the farmer's yard. This game was so plentiful that it
was often a menace to the planter. Turkeys,deer, squirrels,rasoons

and other birds and animals frequently invaded the corn fields and

did great damage to the growing crops.

It was but very little more trouble to go to the woods and
bring home a fat turkey th a mess of squirrels for dinner when the
"company' came than it was to step into the back yard and kill a yel-
low legged pullet for the session.

0n -ccount of the] plentiful supply of acorns and beech mast
that ripened about the time the first frosts fe11,not only the wild
game,but h0gs and cattle that belonged to the peeple became exceeding-
ly fat—thus making the expense of raising this steak a matter of small
import. The cost all told of growing a hOg or a steer until the animal

 

 was two years old did not avfierage to as much as three dollars per
ad.

A new entirely extinct bird-the wild,or 'passenger pigeon" —
found this place to be an ideal feeding ground. In the fall of the
year these birds visited this section-not by the thousands Only,but by
the millions. This is no fiction,nor is the following statement over-
drawn or misrepresented in any partiuular. The author writé;whereof
he knows and knows whereof he writes.

While these birds were known in most pafirts of the United
States in the fall of the year,yet it was a popular belief that they
were more plentiful in Kentucky than in any other portion of the Union.
They came in flocks or drOVes that were innumerable. So numberless
were they in their passage over the country that the eye could look
in no direction that there were no pigeons in sight. There were times
that it required more than a half an hour for them to get beyond the
vision of the onlooker. Above and around in every direction were
these birds. They were never seen during the late winter,the spring
or the summer. It was only when there was mast in the forgst that they
made their appearance.

When they arrived at their feeding grounds they would alight
on the trees in such numbers that that it was frequently the case
that the limbs of the trees were unable to bear their weight. When
they were alarmed or took to flight,the noise made by their wings
was very much like distant thunder or the rear of a waterfall.

These birds had their roosting places which were many miles
distant frOm where they fed. At night they would pile up an eachother
until the weight would cause the trees to break and the falling thnber
killed thousands of the flock. Hegs learned the places where they r00s-
ted and fed on the dead birds that had been killed during the night

fl
and these porters becam\fat on pigeon meat.
/

 

 These birds were not however it for human food. They were
IRA/W

poor and tough. There was a peculiarf\about the meat that was not at

all inviting. Yet there were those who each fall felt called upon

t2 gfy‘ Zp'pigeon pie,“ with a hOpe that it might be better- or more
a 0L a‘
P paliative than the one of a year before. A trilal once a year of this

diet was as much as any one ever felt disposed to tackle. ‘Men and
boys sometimes shot these birds for sport-but not for their flesh.

About the time the war between the North and the South broke
out it was noticed that year by year the pigeons became scarcer and
scarcer until in a few years they had become almOSt extinct. No one
has ever yet been able to give any good reason or explanation of the
disappearance of these birds. They were not killed for their flesh,
nor were they destroyed by any human agency. That they have disappea—
red is a certainty. There is not today a single specimen of that ‘ in-
numerable throng that lives to mourn over the deaprture of its
kind.

The last pigeon ever seen in a wild state of which there is
any aeoOunt was about eight years ago when one of these brids was seenL
sitting—lonely-on a tree on Waldon Mountain in Tennessee. It was alone-
with all its cOmpanions dead and gone.

In the year 1878 several of these birds were captured and pla-
ced in the Zoological Garden at Cincinnati. A few eggs were laid,a
fewer number were hatched and still a fewer number of those hatched
ever lived to maturity. These died one by one-the last of the many
millions. 0n the in: first day of September 1914,the last survivor of
that mighty host,having been born in captivity and having lived to be
twenty eight years of age,closeé its eyes in death and from now hence;
forth and forever,the world will be 'pigeonless,' that is so far as

the wild pigeon is concerned.

 

 CHAPTER 1”
THE OLD LOG SCHOOL HOUSE.
There was not a family in the whole Reech Creek Settlement frOm
the arrival of the first man an. woman in that cammunity-—seeking a
home in that favored spot of earth—~until long after the time of which

we shall write that did not believe in both religion and education.

¢L
Hence the school and the church. These persons understood the t3: R's

and determined that no child should arrive at the age of fifteen and
be usable to spell every word in the Wlue-baok Speller,read intelli-
gently from the McGuffey,or Saunder's reader and cipher half Way throu
gh Pike's or Smiley's arithmetic.

The school house was erected in the center of the district and
was a primitive affair. It was built of 10gs,the cracks between chink-
ed an daubsd,the roof of clap boards that were held in place by poles
laid thereonjas nails were to scarce and expensive to be used on build,
ings of this kind. At the rear a large Opening reaching half way acr0$5
the room was cut out and in this was a huge fireplace with a'sttck
and clay chimney."A log was out from each side of the building Elna
and in this Openih'r either panes of glass or greased paper served as
windows to lot in the light.

The seats were made of split 10g¢s,split side hewed and turned
up,holes bored in the bark side and into these holes long pogs,used
for legs were driven. Those benches were about ten feet lcng,stood
about two feet from the floor and wereubacklessq The splinters were
frequently a great annoyance as they persisted in entering through the
seat of the pantaloons into the flesh of the boys and others who occu—
pied those benches.

It was from these seats or benches that the word " crouge" had

its origin. Eight or ten boys would sometimes be seated thereoa,or

 

 rather "roost” on one of these uncushioned and unocmfortable instru-
monts of torture. It took a long-legged boy to be able to sit on this
ancient piece of furniture and be able to let his feet reach to the
floor.

Every boy wanted the end seat,but when he got that coveted po—
sition he did not know how long he would be able to retain passession
of the place. While the teacher would have his back turned attending
to some of the other duties of his profession,some one on the bench
would pass the word " 3FOUfé'up the line. Then by a concert of action

and a sudden moving of the boys,the fellow on the end would find him-
self landed in the middle of the floor.

When the teacher would discover the 30mm0tion and turned to

make investigation he would find 8am scrambling to his fest,while the

WV
remaining boys on the befih would apparently be studying as if their

lives depended on their application to business.

"What's the matter San," demanded the teacher.

"The boys sorouged me and I lest my belt," replies Sam,while
pretending to be very much worried over the matter,but really enjoying
the fun as much as any of the other boys.

"No more sorouging," replies the teacher with a scowl and a
frown,yet smiling to himself and thinking of the time when he Was a
boy in the long ago when he too engaged in "sorouging."

There is no other word in the English language that mOre com-
pletely expresses this pushing process than the word "scrouge." It is
a word that needs no definition--it defines itself.

In the old fashioned school house there was never any complaini
of a lack of "ventilation." It was ventilated frOm the bottom by the
crégs in the floor,from the outside where the chinking and daubing had
fallen from between the cracks of the logs of the walls and frOm the

top as there was nothing between the floor and high heaven ggept the

 

 clap-beards that were fequently blowa off by the winds or had rotted
from exposure to the weather. The trouble .was that it was frequently
the case that there was llttlo else to the bullamg except ventilat-
tion.

As the school building was invariably erected on pillars'Eb
~aasie keep the sills off the ground so as the prevent decay,and as
it was too much trouble to underpin the house,the space between the
floor and the earth beneath made an ideal place for the hogs of the
neighborhood to collectlln rainy or cold weather. If these animals
made too much noise while the school was in session,it became the duty

of some boy to go out and drive the animals from their beds. Whether

or not the h0g3 were fine porkers,ose thing is certain they knew how

raise a lgige and vigorous croihof fleas.

These'fleas were so respector of persons on account of age,sex
or previous condition of servitude. When théfihvaded the building,
they went carrying their appetites with them. They came like a thief
in the night. Wheh theq began OperatiOES there was sracthing,and twist’
ing among both scholars and teachers.The boy who could produce the
most flea-skins when the day closed was reggarded as the champion
"flea-killer" of the day.

With the fleas,the seed-ticks,the big ticks and not infrequent—
ly the lice-—which were introduced into the school by same freckles—

-faced,tow-headed boy-- which ix XXXHhXXhXXBXXXEHX insects later persie’

ted in finding their way to the heads or the others—-with about one
third of the boys and an equal number or the girls having a chill
every other day--all sitting on high backless benches,writing with
goose—quill pens dipped in poke—berry juice which Was used for ink;
doing the chart) at home before going to school in the morining and
after the school .“ closed in the afternoon3getting a threshing every

few days by the teacher for some disobedience of the rules of the

 

 institution of learning and then another ”whaling" at home for fear
the.$he teacher had not done his full dutygthe school lasting only
three months in the year and the boy having to miss part of this time
from the school on account of duties at home--the wonder is how an
edvcatfion could be obtained under such adverse circumstances.

Children then as now,were afflicted with many and various dis-
eases such as mumps,measles,wh00ping cough,chisken—pox and last,but
not least that troublesome affliction the "seven year itch," or as it
was denOminated by the more ignorant "the eatch." The disease was not
then regarded as particularly disgraceful,but that did not prevent it
being very annoying.

As a prevehtive,or rather a charm against these infectbous
diseases,the boys and girls frequently were what was known as "stink-

bags."

This was a small bag made of flannel and held about a table—
spoonful of a mixture that was composed of equal parts of sulphur and
assafeotida. This bag was hanged around the neck with a string,permit-

a.
ting the 9g to come down to the breast bone of the wearer.

When the wearer of this charm got to: near the fire,or when he

exercised himself until he got in "a sweat," there was therefore an
odor that would place that from a "pole—cat,” clear outside the pale
of recOgnition as a disinfectant. But both teacher and pupil soon got
used to the thing and paid no more attention to the pungent odor of
the "stink-bag" than they would if the room had been banked by roses
and violets.

The boy of that time knew nothing more of athletics as now
taught than a Hottentot knows of the christain religion. His gymnasium
was the woods and the fields-—in fact it was any spot of the earth
that was not used for any other purpose. And yet he was an athlete.

could "skin the cat," turn a "summersault," jump a ten rail fence,
out clifi% a squirrel,out run a horse, kick higher than a mule,swim

aw-
like a duck,was as strong as a young bullfwas not afarid to tackle

 

 his Satanic majesty in a square fight. Ho;§€ could hunt coons and p08“
sums all night,do a good days work the next day and be ready that even-»
ing as soon as supper was over to go hunting again.

On the school ground when play time camo,he engaged in "town—
ballc "bull—pen," "cat," "sntny over," "marbles," "m mble-the peg,
"prisoner's base," ind other games of amusemsnt. The girls "skipped
the rOpo," fihascd the fox," and occasionally took part in the games
played by the boys-

And yet these boys and girls did get an education that fitted
and qualified them for the duties and responsibilities of life. Henry
Clay, the "mill—boy of the slashes," Abraham Lincoln the "rail-splitter;

and in fact three fourths of the great men that Kentucky has produced

.. .
it Lu en

(no
attended school and received most of their traihg ihfischool houses and

under just such conditions as here described.

Those were the "hard schools of experience" that tzight the
boy to fight his own battles and to win his way to victory. The old
log school house with its old time teacher and the 923“ now out of
date "blue-back speller,"wers the Alma Mater of more great men
WCmen than all the high schools)i=d colleges and universities
United States combined.Thnzeid—feehicned4ssheel

The old fashiosed school in the old log school house had no
commencement or graduating exercises. There were no diplomas issued
stating to the world that John Smith Gr Sallie Brown had cOmpleted
the course of study as laid down by that institution;no giving of
presents to the boy or girl who stood at the head of his or her class;
no annual sermon by some noted divine,or an address by the congressman
or a college president——nothing but a school exhibition Where every
one from £31 the youngest to the oldest was expected to recite any-
thing