March 1st, 1858

Dickinson Ticket

     Supervisor:  Hiram Dickinson Sr.

     Clerk :  Hiram Dickinson Jr.

     Treasurer:  William Dickinson

     Justice of Peace: Samuel B. Dickinson

     Highway Comm.:  Tother Dickinson boy

     School Inspector:  Sally Dickinson’s husband

     Constables:  all the rest of the Dickinsons

     Whiskey Inspector:  James Yakes

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A. Puff

O for ten hundred thousand rhymes

To raise or praise the daily times

A paper noted near and far

For disturbing peace and causing war

The editorial, Raymond takes

The dirty work is left for Yakes

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Scotland Forever

 

     Supervisor:  Wm Aitken

     Town clerk: John Kelly   Straddled of the fence

     Treasurer: Joseph Moore    Meddler

     Justice of Peace:  Saml Black    The best man amongst them

     School Inspector: John Thomson    The better part of community

     Constables: John McMuldroch    Snail gait

                                 Thomas Thomson

                                 James Erskine

                                  Wm Campbell

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Bull head ticket

     Supervisor:  James Yakes    Top bull

     Treasurer :  H.G. Wheeler    Best bull

     Clerk: Saml Coppernoll    Little bull

     Justice of peace:   Rev Talmage Waterbury D.D.   Used up bull

     School inspector: Dan Hathaway    The knocked up bull

March 4th, 1858

Lecomton must go it-the president and his supporters are using their utmost exertion to have Kansas admitted or some into the union and be one of the sovereign states of this confederacy with the Lecomton construction. Let them alone and they will work out their own glory.

Old buck would get short picking here-not one man to stand by him.

What a poor hole this must be-not a solitary administration man to be found-some that was have deserted.

Our place has gone up-no government paper-not so much as a few stamps. Ichabod is written and fixed on this place.

 Old Sherman went up the lake today.

 We saw James Erskine out this morning with a pipe and Oldfield with his hands in his britches-and Vancamp with hands stuck in his pants.

R Mead smokes-Ed Erskine cut ice from the pump-Sam (no) Boddy drives poor team and rakes fore and aft.

Gust. Sherman is moving up north-hope he will go to the north star.

 Eleazer Day passed here today-Yakes Jim looks grim.

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 Mr. Editor:

What is man? One of your correspondents tells us that man is an animal who thinks, walks, sleeps, etc, etc.

Now this is common to all animals and he concludes by saying that man is God’s best creature. If so, I say the Lord deliver us from the worst & we should like to be informed what kind of a creature he is, where we could find him that we might be prepared to avoid him.

Man is a cheat of the darkest hue

Man robs his neighbor of his due

Man lies when truth would answer better

Man cusses God, man kills his brother

Such is man, his acts declare, the widows wail

And the orphans cry

Such is man, the bitterness of his oppressions and

The worlds history of his cruelty exhibits.

Alex

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And when you speak of the President of the United States, speak with respect and not with such foul slang as you are guilty of. Extract “It is because they are chips (so to speak) from the dark and hideous block upon which our slave-driving president mounts himself and from which he cracks the lash of the slave drivers whip.”

What nonsense. No one but a blockhead would make such assertions and now after being the aggressor and writing filthy trash for the purpose of imbittering the minds, hurting the feelings of the citizens of our village come out with a whineing complaint that he doesn’t get fair play.

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Your skull and brain has created wonder without measure to think how nature built so thick a wall about so poor a treasure.     O.K.

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Throughout Christendom there are perils that thicken on every hand. The authority of God is but little regarded in this age of temporizing and mammon worship. Other Lords are dominion, fashion, pride, wealth, glory, pleasure lust and iniquity. These are the gods that have reverence here. They are amongst the great and the mighty of this world.

The word of God is not revered as it should be. Men disavow its inspiration, disclaim its authority, they cavil at its teachings, they turn their ear away from its truths, they are turned unto fables, they cannot endure sound doctrine. The plain, simple truths of Almighty God are too insipid for them. They must have human eloquence, flowery essays, elegant orations and soft saying in place of those pungent out-throwings of divine truth that lay bare the heart, that disclose falsity, that probe the conscience, that arraign the soul before the word of Christ as before the great white throne and which only offer salvation upon the grounds of unconditional and eternal obedience to the will of the living God.

And, Alas: there are too many who have no higher calling than to administer to the itching ears that wait upon their words. The might and faith of the holy men of old is far too rare. Gold outweighs grace, silver has more influence than salvation. The terror of the Lord is forgotten and the judgements of the lord are ignored, the wrath of the lord is in the shade. The judgement is denied, the resurrection forgotten, hell horrid and destruction detestable.

The heart is left full of idols and prophesying smooth things disguised under the subtle title of preaching love. But this love is not the love of God for man, nor the love of Jesus for the lost. It is not that mighty, devoted, all sacrificing impulse that tears the soul from every idol, that wins the heart from all luxurious ease and selfishness, that binds the body as a living sacrifice to the horns of Jehovah’s alter and that yearns with unutterable longings for the glory of God and the salvation of men. This love that fills the heart with the agony of intense desire-this love that allies the soul to the great Eternal-this love that turns the world upside down, if it may but pluck sinners as brands from the burning-this love that counts all things loss and dross if it may win Christ this love that renouncing all its worldly honors, glorifies only in the cross of the Lord Jesus, is in its character and manifestation very far from resembling the smooth sayings, the honied words, with which men are accustomed to be lulled in the lap of fleshly security and enabled to slide quietly, peacefully and unconsciously down to perdition.

Faith is weak, faith is lonefaith, is dead, zeal is unfashionable and earnestness is  impolite. Now and then a spasmodic revival, like a galvanic shock, thrills a church for a moment and then leaves them to relapse into a slumber, more lethargic and deathlike than before. Pride creeps in, humility steps out, aristocracy takes the chief seats in the synagogues and piety is crowded into the corner, evil is done that good may come of it, sin is winked at that money may be gained, Worldlings are counted for their influence and their gold. The earnest, fervent, piety of other days is remembered by some with regret for its departure, while others gladly discard the toil of the Pilgrims, for the comfort of the celestial railroad, even though the track be far from the Kings highway and atoll you to have himself installed as engineer.

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When lovely woman stoops to folly and finds too late that men betray,

What can sooth her melancholy, what can wipe her guilt away?

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Now is the chance to get your money back.

Selling off at cost-Call around, ladies and gents.

Be sure to bring lots of cash-A great assortment of goods to be sold at cost     U.R.

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Great was the fall of the ladies who tumbled off their horses today. (No bones broken.)

March 5th, 1858

Mr. Editor:

It would seem as though a cloud, a mysterious cloud has cast its lowering shadow over the progress and conduct of the “Times”. Its progress is slow and yet not sure. Each day shows that some of the preceeding days contributions have been wantonly extracted from this journal and that true facts are too bitter to be allowed to remain on its pages. It is also obvious to the mind of the most cursory and careless observer that the productions of certain privileged contributors remain untouched and to all appearances safe from molestation, even when of the most exceptionable character and tone, are secure against the comments of those who might full justly indignant, or who might, from a better sense of true propriety, feel justly disgusted at the public appearance amongst us of such disgraceful productions.

That the daily appearance in the “Times” of such articles is by any means creditable, I fearlessly deny and as fearlessly assert, that the system now in operation, (of guarding with a jealous eye, such contributions, eminating, no doubt, as their general tone would indicate, from some deep and dark sink of Border Ruffian iniquity, which lies concealed amongst us and the business of which, is, no doubt conducted by those, who can justly, only be classed among the very outcasts and scourings of society. And of instantly removing any respectable or deserving comment, that their infamy may call forth from those who are capable of dealing properly with such vile and contaminating documents as those to which I allude) is truly degrading and humiliating to our better feelings and senses a community of American citizens.

But the question here arises-why is it, that in a matter of undertaking, of so trivial a nature as that of establishing of such a journal as the “Times” the contaminating influence of a rotten and unprincipled party or clique should be allowed to exert itself over a free community. It is because they are chips (so to speak) from the dark and hideous block upon which our slave driving president, mounts himself, and from which he cracks that cruel lash of the slave dealers whip, over the shoulders of his benighted dupes. If this be, Mr. Editor as I believe it is, the cause of their being so privileged and favored by the “Times” or its proprieter it is truly a disgrace to the Republican community. If sir, an impartial and independent journal is to be kept amongst us. Let it be kept free from such damning and degrading influence as that which proceeds from the emissaries of the power behind the “Block”. (Throne)

Let all have equal privileges and equal rights, let the contributions of some worthy members of society be protected from the claws of the Border Ruffian Lions, that are lurking and prowling about in our midst. Let not the contributions that alone eminate from this hidden sink of ruffianism, infamy and iniquity, enjoy a monopoly of our journal. Let not those who look upon “Africans” as a portion of the brute creation, and who by the way are far inferior in mind, body, intellect and conscientiousness, to many of these same Africans, crack the dark, bloodstained and despotic lash of Democracy over our free Republican shoulders with impunity. Even though it has been plaited for them by Buchanan and a handle adjusted thereto by the rest of the rotten democracy that like so many scorpions infest our otherwise happy country.

Let me then advise, Mr. Editor, that you allow the just to contribute to your journal, as well as the unjust and to protect truth as well as falsehood when it may chance to enter its pages. And if this cannot be consistently done, better by far discontinue the “Times”.

Yours                 Fair Play

March 8th, 1858

Mr. Fairplay:

Sir, your complaint has been noticed. We can but sympathize with you in your distress.

No doubt many an exile from justice has complained in the bitterness of their affliction, yet we think Fairplay groans harder and louder than any of them and all for a supposed abridgement of his rights, yes for the reason that he cannot have the privilege of this journal to slander the character of our private citizens whose course towards him he does not approve, for some petty quarrel or something of the sort. No Mr “Fairplay” we think your contributions to this journal have been more than personal, abusive and false than all others that have been seen in these pages.

And now sir as you are so free with your advice, we will volunteer to give you a little in all kindness and first don’t think you know everything and that all who differ with you are fools.