IMH 74:4 340

"Chronicles of Upper Burnet" (1)

Wednesday November 3rd.

Aleck Benge was here early this morning to get a job of gathering corn but did'n't get it. Father and I went to
town with the last load of wood. The news of Garfield's assured triumph did not astonish us much. 59 We
made some necessary purchases but were bothered with so many jobs that it was four o'clock when we got
home. Alvin nearly finished up the job of digging at the kitchen end, and chored around. The day was cloudy
cool and threatening, warmer at night. Jake was here just at dark and borrowed Alvin's cabbage cutting squig.60

Teaching notes: This might be an interesting time to point out how people got their news in 1880. Here we
have a presidential election return known in a rural area of Morgan County the day after the election. They
have not radio--that was forty years in the distance--they have no home delivered newspaper, yet they know.
Have the students speculate on how they found out. My guess is that Alex Benge brought the news and that
he knew because he either went into town or somebody had been into town that informed him. And how did
the folks in town know? The telegraph! The telephone was invented and exhibited in 1876, but was doubtfully
in use in Martinsville in 1880. Researching that subject would be an interesting task for an inquisitive student.