The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1869-05-21
Rrom,he Milwaukee Evanipg Wisconsin
LSnr rros Our Pieneet iifes
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Btfbre the dbg-staf began wane DAG
causet 10 retrae9 theaBitter thihgs hadsalu-
in regard to our wet month of Aprtl-Wheh
50 SsenedH9 mn The hue-eyed goddess sue
g~orically responding TO that name never
tcO,dl ''weep her blue eyes clear AGAIN,
yefv dry summer followed: and ON the
6rst of AUGUST il became dryer than ever.
Even the slight refreshment of dew came
! to he withheld. and the earth baked on I'M
relieved through burning days and sultry
nights. E.1r,E
AZ times there were signs Of rain Grim
cloud-varriors would rise at sunset, flash
| their blades in each others faces, growl
I their menacea, and nseme. as darkness
came ON. the most threatening shapes, as II
| mmmoninp st~orm-spirits from all the halls
of the air. But this diminishing amounted
| 10 nothing; the next days sun would rise,
bmzen and scorching as before, with only
the clouds sinking their fiery heads in the
I horizon to break the remorseless blue OF
the sky. ""
Those were the days in WHICH %weadopted
| the rising-with-the-larkrul Icould make
no estimate. of the amount Of hoeing, reap
ing, hay-maldng and wheat-binding per-
formed by All. beneath the silyery moon or
/ me mONHH luNNlNNh NhNiAhAAAt VI NhR hN@NH
7 As for He'll and |, when the dreaded empty
lnrder yawned in our faces, we = a to rise
before. the lark aforemention' I had medi-
tated his first note, and CHI ge yaliently
from the roseate vagaries of dreamland
upon bread, pies, sputtering lard, irothing
eggs, weights and measures, and all the
prosaic things Of "baking day. While
| often. when the morning stars hung un-
dimmed in the enst, our clothes line swung
TO the breeze the spectral garments OF the
weeks wash Taking time by the fore
| lock" but family expresses the rate at which
we travelled ahead Of that ancient wielder
of the scythe.
The grove was cndurable for the first
two hours Of morning For the remainder
of the day we could only gather within the
thick walls Of our log cabin and dozo in q
partially dissolved stute until the blessed
twilight should come down. Dinner !
why we would ooner have gone to the
guillotnie Light, l~istless collations from
cupboard shelves suliced until unset gave
us the hardihood to make tea.
As evening descended we became ami
mated with life, aud, alopg with bats and
beetles and other devotees TO night, went
briskly about our work. We cleared mp
the debris of lunches brought water from
the spring and douchcd our thirsty plants,
and descended in a brigapdish manner
through a trap door into. the cellar to see
what chances the cream had in lis efforts
10 rise. And when ALI came in from his
shadowey field laboTs, We yentured upon
the preserves and canned delicacies, and
laid out, OF the solemn hour of midnight,
a comforting little banquet of biscuits,
crystal chips Of citron "tinct with CHINA
mon" ruby shayings Of dried beef and
dainty drains Of blackberry wine.
To what length this cultivation Of the
nocturnal might have been prolonged de
pended entirely ON our supply of candies
which were giving out before this unnatur-
nj demand, and the market forty miles
away-had We not very soon experienced a
change in the weather.
The morning OF one Of the last days Of
August dawned with more than usual
severity. L "a deuced sight hotter" All
said, than any day we have ystexpe,
rien6ed."
Every little breath Of a Zephyr was curl
ed away among the trees sullenly refusing
to come forth. A strange stupor oyerhunl
all things, as II An evil power had deter
mined TO smother the world and had wei
nigh succeeded. Rosa, the COW, after be
ing MIXED; cropped never q mouthful, bui
dung herself under the nearest tree witt
tremendous bovine signs. The hens stood
in a cluster with ruflied feathers, looking
aslsance ut the sky aud Grooming some dire
full prophecy Of the day to corle. Dos
T Tony, ON whom the heat,fell with telling
fury, dug frantically into the gnound il
search of GOODNESS, appearing to labor be
tween the two alternatives of melting qui
city back 10 earth or bursting forth in
full blaze. I feared hydropHobla, and wher
my movements were vol observed, l sud
denly emptied a bucket of water over hin
from the window. SO far from going of
into Commissions, Tony, after the frs
shock, evidently considered il very kind o
me. and for q time painted less f%uriously.
. With us, as0with the beasts of the field
and the fowls Of the air, the day pulsed
languidly on. AZ noon an innocent whit
cloud showed like a driftof snow above tn,
western horizon.
! At four O'clock Il was no longer a seem
ing snoy-driit but a great dense jagge,
: mass of clouds, in which incessant iashe
ouiyered and hoarse thunders sounded
e sweeping mp dafkly and swiftly over tn
A sun. The storm gods were evidently Il
earnest this time. Very soon n cool dam
4 puff Of air came over the prairie, followeI
: by the merest caress of q breeze, bringin
us TO the door with joyful exclamation
that IL was really going TO rain, 10 be sure
Along the air came. the sound of the "rush
[ ing Of many waters" Over the westerl
fields marched the white seething torrents
sending out pickets of big drops that smot
/ the earth here and there. Another dam,
/ puff, less, gentle than the first, nearly dc
7 priyed US of breath, sent the hens career
ing around the house corner, and ominoul
Z ly flung down several articles hung abou
the wall. We had only time to close Oh
e windows-Af making a desperate rush a
/ the woodpile in his thoughtfulness for kline
ling before the gale was around and abov
Y us. ...
3 Wind, hail, rain and thunder roarin
= above, the room darkened TO the gloom {
night, the keen lightning showing All lool
: ing aghast from the window, and Bell an
! clinging to each other with somethin
n more than sisterly devOtion--alI this form
n ed q picture and produced a s~enBatio
e which any smart thunder shower of to-da
i calls wildly to mind, and fills me with
desire to run down cellar and hide anon
q beef barrels and butter Jars.
(, This was our FIRST lesson In Wester
y 4torms. The Verde MORts had alway
sheltered as from anything of this sort; )
we stood staring like three statues of stu
pidlty until All. the irst to command hi
= faculties, roared out, "The roQEheroof!
y and before we had caught but a glimpse {
. the mass Of shingles and raiters crashin
down upon our cherished borders Of par
Q sizes and pinks, he hurried us 10 the ira
y door and thrust us down with such a tho.
q ough regard 10 dispatch and prompt after
ton 70 business that two pans Of milk wen
upset and our heads bumped most di
d trachngiy together Though the aublin
and the ridiculous we're thus .suddenl
blended, our feelings were such that "
had no ineiinationt to perceive II; ond wha
ever faint rage Of merriment may have lii
u gered in our spirits were quite extlnguishe
q when All beloved from tho top Of The lat
der that he hoped the logs would no0 mas