Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1874-06-04
Driving Oxen.

IxEvKR had any trouble driving oxen,
though know q man who'd a. soon try
To drive lions % to pick up . whip and
undertake TO "haw Buck" and "gee
Bright" !,
They don't appear tender-hearted, and
don't seem to the casual observer to be
longing for sympathy, but oxen have feel
fngs which must be consulted. Ii you
want TO yoke up your oxen, take the yoke
ON your shoulder and gently approach the
starboard or. If he moves away, throw.
ing his heels Ia the air, turn about and
approach the other, for in the long run 1t
doesn't make a cents worth OF difference
which OK is yoked up first, though there
are men who always pail on the left boot
first, and would persist in it If the house
was on IRE.
II the larboard OK runs away, don't
throw the yoke at him, and jump up and
down and howl. You can't throw yoke
over twenty rods at the most, and the
chances are you wouldn't hit him. Take
the woke on your back again and saunter
across the pasture toward the first OK. APP
proach him as If you didn't care whether
you got the yoke on him or not. Let
your face wear smile, and whistle some
careless air. If he shows disposition TO
run away, don't 60 to bowling:
whoa there-hold on--I1l kill you
blast your eyes-hold onp'
Keep up your indifferent demeanor, and
In about one hour and half you can put
your hand on the OK. Rub his back and
speak encouraging words to him, and let
him see that you are his true friend. In
little time you can put the yoke on him,
and then start off after the other OK on
the far side of the field. If he makes a
bolt for the barn, preserve your careless
air, and above all don't pound the OK you
have already secured BY a persistent
exercise Of patience you can get the pair
yoked up and ready for business by ten
O'Clock, if you commenced early enough.
Don't chain 'em to stump and maui 'em
with rail after you have them in your
power; seek TO conquer by love rather
than force.
Few farmers know how to draw out
the full strength Of pair Of oxen on a
dead pull They set the team of with
yell, kick one, pound the other, scream at
both, jump oyer the log and whoop, and
the result is that the bovines jerk and
lump and waste their strength. The right
way is TO send them off gently. Pretend
that you are unhitching the chain to
go home, and you don't know how much
this will encourage them. When the chain
Is taut, and the oxen are ready for the
pull, give them kind word, tell them
their motto should be Excelsior" and
that England expects every man to do his
duty. Don't throw rocks at them. An
experience of forty-odd years has con-
WINGED me that nothing will discourage
an OK so quick as to hurl stone-quarry
at him when he Is doing his level best
to accommodate you.
In driving oxen before wagon, don't
carry bean pole with brad-awl fastened
into the end. The OK is not as swift on
foot as the antelope or gazelle, and they
shouldn't be made to gallop over ten
miles without rest. There is nothing so
good to rule the brute creation as kind
ness. The true farmer will, If necessary,
sit up all night with pair of wild oxen,
giving them kind advice, explaining mat
tiers, and rubbing their spinal columns
with cob to bring out their gentle ma
lures and win their confidence and es-
teem.--M. Quad, in Our Fireside Friend.