The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-10-05
THE PEASANT HERO.


i who are not above plain living, for
neither hotel or refreshment.room la
ever been heard ofthereA The place is
simply one of those quaint little clusters
OF roughly hewn log huts, clinging like
ilmpets to either side of the high road
VII Gu are nowhere seen TO such perfec
ton as in Sweden OF Russia. Some few
OF the houses are of a grander sort-ac-
iually two stories high, with brightly
I painted roofs and whlteWashed balconies
IN front, that make them look as If they
had white ties on. They are the swell
mansions of the place. and look down
upon the poor little shanties around them
as footman looks at a beggar but for
The most part, our village is made up Of
little cabins Of the real Russian type,
/ built with no tool but a short axe-one
storied, matched with straw, containing
| two or at most three rooms, and topped
/ By the cooked mas shaped "Tekcrdak" or
garnet, In which the Russian peasant
slows his hay, piles his wood, stores his
provisions, dries his clean linen (when he
has any,) and, III word, bestows every
thing which be cannot cram into the
little kennel below stairs, where he, his
wife: his children, and very often like.
wise his OK and his ass, his pig,
and his poultry, and everything that is
his eat, drink, sleep and vegetate. The
beamN OF MIR. VANS house tit into each
other at the ends like the corners Of d
State frame, MS door is fastened by strong
wooden pegs, beside his big stove hangs
the fuoely oeuauoeG picture OF some
husslah SAINT, Win a candle burning IN
front or 1t, and III the corner Of the
room stands huge "soondook" or wooden
chest, painted red, and ciamped With
iron bands. This chest IS the peasants
greatest pride; he keeps. his Sunday
clothes III lt-he and his friends sit upof
it like sofa, and whenever he changes
from place to place, he always drags thi1
tgreat teayy sentry-box Of thing along
Il with INN. ..su s...
but doubt whether any OF you WOul(
like to live IN a Russian cottage. Th
roof is just mixture OF sapllngs an(
spiders the walls wish wash Of wood
earth and ear-Wlgs; the floor a paste o
straw and clay, dotted with black bee
ties, like the plums in a Christmas pud
u ding .I XIII.
The hut lived In had only lust beer
built, so that had nothing to disturb
me worse thaa regiment of black ant
marching every now and then out of th
cracks in my window sill, or swarm q
Il 50 itoea coming ping pingiDg through
my open window. And what's more,
u had little round table fixed in front o
my cottage and low bench put besid'
it, and there [ used to have my breakfas
and tea in the open air; and | can tel
you that when used to sit there on
glorious summer morning, fresh from ID,
early walk, with my cosy little tea.url
tsteaming IN front of me,a fresh roll on on,
Il side, a couple OF newlaid eggs on tb
other, and the soft, dreamy, sunny up
lands stretching away before me 70
miles, edged here and there with darl
patches OF forest, like fur trimming upon
velvet robe-I was happy as could be
One may be comfortable in Russia as vel
as anywhere else; and when you come t.
travel there, you soon find out that it j
not the cold, dark prison, full Of spies
wolves and frost bites, that we used t.
imagine it; that there are other things t
eat there beside soap and candles, AM
other things to do beside sitting all da
close to stove with wooden comforSe
around your neck.
While the heat of the day lasts yo
don't see much Of our villagers Her
and there you may fall in with stra
one creeping along the highway, 0
Struggling about the fields; but, as
rule, the bulk of the population don
show up till towards evening. Then, a
if by magic, the whole place suddenl
becomes alive with al kinds of quee
figures; bearded laborers in greasy re-
shirts, with baggy trousers stuffed lat
their high boots; shouting childre
shaggy as bears, and brown as baZel.n