You never go to 'im for nothin'." Bright, handsome young men, graduates of Eastern colleges, were there seeking their fortune; a great many able, strong men drawn there from different parts of the country by the gold fever; but none of them held the public confidence like this poor man.

He could scarcely write his name, and knew nothing of the usages of polite society, yet he so intrenched himself in the hearts in his community that no other man, however educated or cultured, had the slightest chance of being elected to any office of prominence while "Ike" was around.
He was elected mayor of his town, and sent to the legislature, although he could not speak a grammatical sentence.

It was all because he had a heart in him; he was a man..