The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1872-10-05
ducers and consumers would be bene.
What 1 Know about Driving Oxen.

When l was boy, my father always
kept one or more ox-teams and several
spans of horses. Wherever the teams
were driven, my destiny always was to
manage the oxen and let some one else
drive the horses, as the driver could
always ride, while the driver with the
ox-team had to foot it, Boys liked to
ride forty years ago quite as we'll as
they do at the present time. More than
this, when l drove the oxen they would
take heavier load on the road than a
span of horses, go and return as soon
as the horses, and keep even with the
horses all day when blowing. But
when hired man was directed to drive
the ox-team, they would soon become
so hot that they would have to be al
lowed to stand nearly one-fourth of the
time, lolling and putting in the shade
Does the reader inquire for the cause Of
the difference? 1t was simply whip CT
no whip. The hired man must always
have tremendous long whip-stalk with
hard lash on it; while l, needless
BOBBY" as they called me, "never cared
whether 1 had whip or not" When
the hired man was driving the oxen,
every one on the farm knew where he
was at work, as he made the welkin
echo with his incessant bawling at the
team. 1t was one perpetual whip and
bawl from the time the team started
from the barn, until they returned. But
the whip always preceded the bawl.-
Hence, the oxen were kept on the tiptoe
of excitement from being worried and
fretted during all the working hours
Before the oxen were told to move they
were hit sharp cut with the lash. If
the driver desired them to gee, he played
the lash before giving the orders. If
the team geed too much, they took an
angry cut and were electrified into a
runaway mood by the furious bawl of
the enraged driver who was almost
fighting mad, while driving the ox-team
When the boy was directed to drive
the oxen he was pretty near out of
humor because he had to manage the
oxen and couldn't ride. Hence he would
not have the big ox-whip. He was a
little willful. All the whip he would
use was any little stick like gentle
mans riding-whip. But he soon learn
ed that he would mount the cart-tougue
and go anywhere through the woods
without whipping and bawling at the
oxen, and when blowing, the oxen would
keep the furrow far better by the simple
motion of little stick, than by the per-
petual whipping and bawling of the
driver. Hundreds of acres have l
plowed with oxen, without any whip at
all. After l had passed the age Of
" boobvhood," l always preferred an
ox-team to horses when blowing, as the
pillow could be handled much more easily
than when heavy pair of whipple-trces
were at the end of the pillow BEAM
Many and many days have l plowed
with my fat oxen for six or seven hours,
when each one was eating over half q
bushel of clean corn daily, besides much
other feed. As l used no whip; and did
not keep them excited by an angry bawl
those heavy oxen waddled along, quiet
ly chewing the cud, and grew fat every
day. The great trouble with teamsters
at the present day is, they do not know
how to manage oxen or horses. BY
their incessant bawling, whipping and
clubbing, they worry and fret off more
fat and muscle in day than the ami
mails can accumulate.