Rensselaer Republican, Volume 15, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 February 1883 — Primitive Life. [ARTICLE]

Primitive Life.

The Rochester papers report a small-pox scare near that town. IU- . -4 The weight of opinion in regard to tire wheat crop, seems to be that it is not as yet greatly damaged, but is in considerable danger. Persons living in the woods report that the sound made by the falling timber, during the late ice storm, was like the cannonading of a battle. The Kentland papers report that the line grove of young trees "surrounding the court , house there was rained by the ice storm. A few Jrees in the Jasper county court house square are ruined, bat there are still enough left. There was no mail whatever brought in on the Tuesday evening train. Owing to the high water in the Ohio nver, the mail agent, Arthur Cole, was unable to get across from Louisville to New Albany to take the train.

Opinions differ as to the damage likely to result from the .crack in the wall of the Catholic church building. Some think the whole front will be likely to fall outward, and others, that the only damage will be that which results from the injured appearance of the building. A Big Brick block in prospect. - A number of loads of building stone have lieen unloaded near McCoy & Thofripson’s Bank within the last days. Mr. McCoy says “those dotomcks will be handy to have eithei *£or building or to sell.” Thero is considerable prospect however that Mr. McCoy and Mr. George Kannal will together • rect a fine block, to cover the whole comer from Kannal’s drug store this spring. “A consummation devoutly to be wished.” Almost a fire.— Mr. Ellis Walton on leaving his house Tuesday morning filled the oven of his stove with green wood with the expectation that his daughter, Miss Libbie, would find some nice dry fuel when she returned home at noon. It became so much dryer than was expected that when Miss Walton returned home she found the wood burned touches and’ the floor beneath the stove all on, fire. The alarm was given and the fire* extinguished before serious damage was done, but it was a pretty narrow escape for the house. , Wrnlfc»*i" ■»TT~~ Caught Again.— Last Friday morniug Sheriff Powell, acting on advices received from Vincennes started for that place and there found and Chas. Roberts, rkone of the meiiWho were arrested louring the Reunion, last Fail, for puking pockets.. Roberts in company with his wife and two children was living* at a hotel in Vin-<;<-naes in fine style. Roberts, it Will be remembered, is the same man who, in company with, Samuel Buxton, escaped from the Custody ot the deputy sheriff during the Reunion and were afterwards recaptured at Wateeko, XU*, and having great trouble and ospense been l«A%ed in the Montieello jail, again f-caped. Roberts is now safely ihoaroerated within the Vim* enfttrable .w?ai|B' ofthe Jasper county •jail '$&&& ;.he will. 4bftbtleßS' te-*. HiHm p jury of bis fellow 4.>nm*yttie'n decide the question of lit guilt or innocence,

So»E Ice.--The- Chicago A Kankakee Ice Company’s ice houseat the Kankakee river on the L. N-A <fc C. railroad, is a big institution. ’ It covers nearly an acre of ground, holds 40,000 tons of ice, and required 100 men for 28 days to fill it. Messrs Perry and Olliver Lewis, of Rensselaer have been working their for some weeks and returned home Tuesday. They report that it is now full of a splendid quality of ice, 14 inches' in thickness.

Branching out.'— The enterprising and reliable banking firm of R. S. & Z. Dwiggins have just made a notable extension to their business, having bought the bank of Durham, Rankin <fc Co., of Attica. The business will be con, ducted under the name of “The Citizen’s Bank of Attica.” Zimri Dwiggins will be president and J. W. Parris cashier. The following etxract from the Attica Ledger, requires no explanation. “Messrs. Durham, Rankin & Co. have sold their banking business in this city to U. S. & Z. Dwiggins, of Oxford and Reus-selanr.-..This < bank commenced business about the first of June and has in this short time taken a prominent place among our business institutions. The Messrs. Dwiggins come to our city not as strangers but from neighboring towns, well acquainted with many of our citizens. They come as bankers with ample capital, long experience and excel, lent credit. They will make Attica their permanent home and we feel assured that the high credit of our new bank will be sustained. ' The Ledger wishes them' success/ 1

Sitka, White Co., Ind, Editor Republican. Presuming that a few items from a former Editor of your paper might prove interesting: I send you a brief description of this community where the backwoods habits of 50 years ago are still practiced. This far away station is neither in Uncle Sam's Alaska possessions, nor is it a Russian port as its name might indicate, but is only ten miles north from Monticello! But, ye gods! what a transition in so brief a space! Out of the bustle of town life, and away from the engrossing cares of business, one feels as though he had exchanged hemispheres with a subject of foreign missions, and got badly swindled in the trade. After a residence of nearly three years here, the quaintness of our people, and their primitive mode of living, has not ceased to be a source of amusement, as well as profit. To illustrate: Our citizens “to the manner born” are so far removed from any regard for fashion as look to with great disfavor and suspicion on a man or woman with “store cloths,” and the individual who presumes to intrude into our society in such attire would simply be looked upon as > a reckless adventurer. Home-spun is good enough for us, and no one is thought the less of for his unpresentable appearances, as you might denominate it. Sunday attire is every-day wear, overalls, or patched coats and pants, with plain calico dress and Sun-bonnets. They were g ood enough for our grand-parents, and are good enough for us. A double log house is sumptuous, and a twostory plank dwelling is palatial, and indicates remarkable thrift, on the part of the occupants. Mostly the one-room log hut, with a lean-to attachment is thought ample accommodation for our best farmers. For the sake of the argument, we will r'dmit we are fifty years behind the age, make it one hundred if you like,—who ; cares? The double-Bhovel plow

and one horse io “gee and haw” is. ; the best any how; and as for the Armstrong grapevine-cradle, it beats your self-binders all to peices. Just so with our churches. We are large y Dankers, and “Iron-side-Baptists,” and maintain preaching once a mouth, when we ail go, aud rest assured we will have! a big crowd and good times. Our j churches have "two doors of eu-| trance, the woman going in one* way, and the men the o.her, thusj dividing sheep from the goats.; A man Could n<St be guilty of a; gi;eater . impropriety than to sit ’ .with his lady during service. The services for the most part ore of that “’whang-doodle” sty e aptly

i——- ——; illustrated .by the oH and well known story of “old dog Towner, ah” and the wood-chuch. r A young man, in order to convince his mother of his ability to preach as well as her favorite minister, repeats with all the fervor and gesticulation of the latter the following rigamarole: “Old dog Towser, ah, went down to the end of, the lane, ah. And there he* saw a woodchuck, ah, and the woodchuck ran and old dog Towser ran, woodchuck went into his hole, ah, old dog Towser canght him and shook him all to pieces, ah.” So our preacher .goes down to the end of the gospel lane and there he sees a sinner, and the sinner rans, and the preacher runs, and just as he goes into the water the preacher catches him and shakes him all to pieces. More anon. S