Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 June 1884 — Why He Left Pennsylvania. [ARTICLE]

Why He Left Pennsylvania.

“I farmed it up in the mountains of Pennsylwany for fifteen years,” said a communicative West-bound passenger, “and useter think nothin’ could ever git me to leave the old place. It seemed ez ’twas the only place I could ever live an’ be raally satisfied. Though I’m a rough man in my speech, an’ my close ain’t o’ the finest, stranger, I try to be a Christian, an’ wan ter live and die one. But t’other day somethin’ happened w’ich caused me to make up my mind thet no man can live a Christian on a meountain fa m. Ye see, a neighbor o’ mine—Jenkins was his name—Josh Jenkins—what I wasted onct in a hoss trade, he flared up an’ tried to hev me turned out o’ church, an’ behaved so dod-rotten mean thet we had areg’lar ole Pennsylwany quarrel of it. Gnct he ’cused me of trespassin’ on his farm right afore all the church members, when I rose an’ made my soleumn decleration thet es I waz ever after seen on his land they could turn me out of church ez a liar an’ wicked man. Well, ’bout three weeks ago what should happen but one day when I wuz a-walkin’ on my own farm, attendin’ strickly ter my own affairs, an’ ihinkin’ how sinful I Brother Jenkins wuz to bear me so much ill-will, I stubbed me toe on a

dod-rotten stun an' tell clean off my farm onto ole Jenkinses, knockin’ down ’bout a rod of his fence. An’ the worst on it wuz that led-headed scarecrow saw me, and hed me ’rested for trespass an’ m’licious ’struction of property, an’ fined $5 an’ costs. I then concluded no true Christian could live on a Pennsylwany mountain-side farm, an’ here’s me an’ my hull family bound for Dakoty. Got any fine-cut. stranger?”— Chicago Herald.