Rensselaer Republican, Volume 15, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1883 — Pioneer. Life. [ARTICLE]

Pioneer. Life.

The youngest “boy preacher” in this country is now about forty years old. The Burlington Hawkeye wants to know if it isn’t about time to set another h#r. —Lafayette Courier. f

The big‘ditching machine which passed through town last week was tiie property of J. S. liutopiirqys, of Iroquois. He has taken a contract to make three mites of ditch in what is known as the Big Slough. The ditch to be seven feet wide ahd three fefct deep. Sixteen yoke of oxen furnish the motive power for the machine. Mr. Humphreys is noW workingnear J. M. Wasson’s place, south-east of town. I. notice Mr. J. T. Abbott, the Recorder of Jasper county, on the ground. Mr. Abbett declined a second nomination for the Becordership of his county, which was urged upon him by his party and which woald have be6n equivalent to an election; and is arranging to take a theological course at Evanston, preparatory to entering the conference. Mrs. Abbett, nee Miss Ora Thomas, was one of Battle Ground’s most amiable young ladies.—“ Camp Meeting notes in Lafayette Journal. The annual County Teacher’s Institute opens, next Monday, at the Court House, for a session of two weeks. Supt. • Nelson has made every necessary preparation for making it an unusually interesting and successful session. The institute will be obliged to use the Court Room during the first week of their session at least, but as the new schoo house is now completed, we suggest, that if any of the rooms be furnished in time, that the Institute be permitted to hold its second week’s session them The absence of desks makes the Court Room a very inconvenient place for the purposes of an Institute.

“Romance, and Tragedy oe Pioneer Life” is the latest and, unquestionably, the best contribution yet made to this department of history. The reader finds it wonderfully absorbing lro'm the first chapter to the last, and then there is a powerful impulse*to go back and read it all again. The trials and successes of the early settlers; their wars and treaties with the Indians; captures, escapes, and almost miraculous recoveries of women and children; great conspiracies, which only lacked success to change the history of the world and turn backward for a whole century the course of civilization upon theso shores;, romance, sentiment, toil, tribulation, and gigantic achievement of a class of brave and hardy men and women, of whom their descendants can not learn enough, will probably never find a more' complete and attractive record than is supplied in the work under discussion. It is nervously, yet conscientiously written. The narrative is in the dramatic style, with a thoroughly appreciable predominance of that peculiar metaphor which always declares the writer a patient student of the classics. Had not Homer tuned, his lofty lyre, observes Cicero, the valor of Achilles had remained unsung. The valor of our pioneers was never surpassed, ana, with another Homer to celebrate their achievements, the grandest epic in all literature would enrapture our age. The sub-setting of thrilling incident in this book, hair-breadth escapes, and a thousand ■ eventualities, even more rehiarkable than those of fiction, garnish every chapter, and add such restful variety as relieves and inspirits the mind, while they pour into it the very cream of historic lore. It must interest every reader, but for the young and middle-aged American, of either sex, the fascination of its paores is irresistible, and their story should be known to every .one who cares to know upon what strangeand soul-thrilling events the fabric of our Western Empire is erected. It tells this story, ana baptizes its subject in the everlasting fame which belongs to civilized liberty in every portion of the heritage of God. this commendation it would be unfair to author and publishers to overlook the style in which the book is produced—its beautiful type and heavy, toned paper; great variety and artistic excellence of illustration; neat and substantial binding; and the score details which conspire to make a volume worthy of a place, upon every center table and in every library. The publishers, Messrs. Jones f Brothers & Co., of Cincinnati, are well knowh as publishers of many of the best books sold in the past fifteen years.

• ■ ■ < - v •• - H*ad Quarters Rknsseuixk Post 84, Bkpaktmknt or Indiana, 6. A. K. General Order { Rensselaer, Ind. No. 4. \ Aug. 15th, 1883. I. It is hereby announced that there will ho no meeting of the Port on Friday night of this week, in consequence of the Reunion at Indianapolis now being held. 11. The services <4 the Left Wing are postponed to the next regular meeting of August, 24,1883. . sty command of M. F. Chilcote, Commander. J. A. Bo&nhah, Adjutant.

When yon come to talk about absent minded people, we intend to enter the name of our esteemed townsman, Mr. E. L. Clark; for the championship. The story goes that he took an .old friend home to dinner With him the other day, and left thfc guest sitting in the parlor white be stepped into another room upon some errand. The presence of the visitor .was not made known to any other member of the family, and Mr. Clark’s mind being occupied for a few minutes by some other subject, he forgot his guest entirely, and thought no more about him until sometime after dinner ohe of the children happened to discover his presence in the parlor.

Instructing the John Makeever was out on his Newton township farm last Saturday morning, and insisted upon showing the men how to set the fork of the hay derrick so that it would take a large load. He set it inWfeo much hay that when the forkfill had been raised a few feet the great weight upset the derrick, and the end of a heavy timber, just missing Uncle John’s head, struck him a severe blow upon the side, disabling him for several hours. In the afternoon he had recovered sufficiently to return to town, and is now about the streets apparently no worse for his knockdown, although he expresses the opinion that several of his ribs were dislocated by the accident.

The Temperance Meetings seem to be upon a solid basis now, and are well attended and interesting. The meeting of last Saturday evening was especially notable in that the services were entirely conducted by members of the Ladies Literary Society. The president ot the above society, Mrs. Purcupile, presided, and the programme, as published in last week’s Republican was carried out to the letter. One name, but not exactly a new one, was added to the list of signers of the pledge.