Houston County Researchers: For the past 3 years, I have been compiling a book entitled: EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OF HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA 1821-1871: Copyright 2000 by William A. Mills. I thought I had this book finished last year, but I keep finding more interesting items to include in it. By the time that I actually print this book, it may be too large to contain in one volume. But, there is no need to keep all of this good info hidden away. I stumbled across an original story written by a man who was born in 1826, and resided in Perry, GA for several decades. This story was supposed to be published right after the Civil War, but I cannot find any evidence that it ever was. I've checked everywhere that I can, and no one has ever heard of it before. ================>>> Portions from Chapter 13: My first school teacher (master as we then styled them) was Michael E. Madden, an Irishman. He was excitable to eccentricity, and impulsive, but his good stock of sound, common sense improved by a fair education and long experience, with his genuine Irish humor, kindness and leniency made him a good teacher. We thought differently then, but experience and a sober consideration of his surroundings causes a wonder now, that he was not really hard and exacting. His was a mixed, and also a loud school, and the number of hard cases (among the boys, of course) predominated over, and was largely in excess of the docile and law-abiding. At one time, upon his refusal of a request from the former for vacation, they caught and hampered the old man. As he lay bound hand and foot, the request was repeated and again refused. He was then taken to the branch, laid down by the stream, and the request again repeated, with notice that if he again refused, they would duck, and then roll him in the mud and leave him there. He again refused, and as they were about to heave him into the water, he cried out lustily, "vacation! yes, vacation boys!" Whereupon, they relented and loosed him, all hands returning to the academy and to town, good humoredly telling all about it. This old custom was never again repeated here, but was seriously intended once afterward when Leonidas King was teaching. He, hearing of it before the preliminaries were perfected (how we never could ascertain) told us of it, and showed fight. He was said to be half Indian, and knowing his pluck, and learning also that he would be backed by the trustees, the movement was abandoned, and wisely too. There were two other teachers who were unfit for the position. They were excitable, rash and cruel, and on that account, should have been discharged by the trustees. One of them cruelly whipped the best boy in school, after his sister testified, and the whole school believed he was innocent of the charges against him. He rashly bumped my own against a classmate's head, leaving us with severe headaches the balance of the day. We were both innocent, and one word of enquiry would have satisfied him of it, if he had had any discretion or reason. The other punished a small boy so severely that he was bedridden for a week, and in one of his mad fits, he attempted to punish a young man, Tom Salter, when, as we used to say "he caught it". While the rod was coming down Tom's fist, slates and inkstands returned the compliment. Tom finally drew his knife, and Mr. Daugherty retreated, and Tom was allowed to gather his books and retire. While mine and my classmate's heads were aching, they were eased somewhat by Mr. Wood's attempting to lean his chair against the end of a bench, and missing it, fell, his head striking the floor. We rejoiced at it, silently though. These are a few only, of a thousand instances of their cruelty and rashness, and some of us now feel as we did then, indignant, and are at a loss to know why trustees and patrons allowed it. Notwithstanding the severity of the ordeal, it was not without an occasional item which provoked merriment and even pleasure. For instance: a girl was about to be punished by one of these cruel masters, and her sweetheart (there were no substitutes for that word then) knowing that it would be severe, proposed to take it himself. He was allowed the privilege (?), and came out of it, about the best whipped chap I ever saw. In language common then, "it was not only a stinging one, but a scorcher", and we have often laughed at darned and patched jackets and pants cut by the whip. These schools were considered letter A, No. 1. The (shall I say it) curriculum was thorough. Spelling, reading, writing, English grammar, arithmetic, geography and history were taught, not superficially but thoroughly. When we laid aside Webster's spelling book for an advance, we knew it from A to Z, and were subjected to the same rule through the whole course. By the way, our friend, Col. Killen, has now a genuine copy of the edition of Webster's spelling book in use then. Without any help, we were compelled to plod along through Murray, Smiley, Dayball, Hale and Olney. And if the rule and rod failed to elicit good lessons and enforce obedience to all the rules, the master appealed to the board of trustees, and their decision, which was a turning over of the offender to the tender mercies of the master, or expulsion, was finale. And its sequence: submission or "getting out of the jurisdiction" was the result. Speeches by the little ones, were such as "You'd scarce expect one of my age", "Casabiance", "The Battle of Hohenlinden", "Alexander Selkirk", etc. The older ones selecting from English, Irish and American authors and orators, the delivery of which, were not under the strain of erroneously conceived rules or undue attention to the cultivated and acquired requisions of oratory; neither were they imitative, but natural and easy, so that each speaker was true to his natural gifts, and therefore, distinctive. I am of the opinion until yet, that in point of true oratory, they excelled the school boys of the present day. Bill Brown, one of the larger, and Fort Morgan, of the smaller boys, were "first best" as we would say then, having several on hand all the time. They were often called up by request of the girls, and as often, responded with one each of their best. Just now, I remember that Bill was once called up by the master to headquarters, and his reason for non-appearance when school took in, demanded. He replied that "he had a pocketful", at the same time, drawing a handful of reasons (raisins) therefrom and exhibiting them, whereupon he was ordered to his seat, with notice that he would not be allowed to repeat that with impunity. ~~ TO BE CONTINUED ~~ _______________________________________ William A. Mills Perry, GA [email protected] ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.