The true northerner., 1875-06-11
HOW 1 BECAME A FARMER.

One fine summer afternoon / deter
mined to become farmer. Don't fol
goodness sake think that 1 WAS going
TO buy farm, for such were not my in
tentions. No, not by any means. Why
L had never joined the Patrons of Hus
bandry was because l had been black
balled by that same organization some
thing less than half dozen times. And
why was not going to buy farm the
reader can easily guess-I hadn't the re-
quired amount of funds.
But / am wandering away flom my
ine summer afternoon. To return will
tell You why and what way was going
to become farmer
Ny hank account was no more, and my
iandlsdy would not wait with me for an
other week s board, hence my departure
from the city and my arrival among
farmers The time was spring when j
wandered among the rural districts.
The grass was just starting from its
mother earth, and looked inviting in the
extreme, to lazy young man with the
world before him, and no one to take
care of but himself. When l say invit-
ing, l don't mean inviting to eat, but to
lie down and take comfort thereon. /
threw myself on the green sward meath
the shade of a friendly bush growing
near the roadside. L was lying thus,
dropping into a delightful snooze, when
a voice from the highway disturbed my
calm repose.
"Say young feller, what's the mat
teri"
remained perfectly quiet, turning
fAe matter carefully over in my mind
wss lying on my back, and, with very
hftlo body exertion, raised my left leg
to perpendicular position, and gently
moved nay foot up and down, and waited
~ see the effect. And to this day, /
soIelrz1r believe, though L know 1 am
liable to We killed for saying it, that this
motion was the sign of distress among
the PAtrons, for in an instance the man
in the wagon was at my side. Bending
over over me he said /:
"What ails you, young man 2"
/ said nothing for a moment, wonder
ing " If what ails you" was the test word,
and, II 30, what would be the proper re-
sponse Finally 1 groaned out-with a
mysterious and unknown working of my
fingers-the word, "Corn bread" With
a bounding heart / saw / had beyond a
doubt hit the nail on the head. With
out word my fraternal brother assisted
me 10 rise, and led NE limping toward
the wagon, which stood in the road near
by. He helped me into the wagon, and
after had imbibed something from a
little brown jug, was able to tell my
rescaer the story of my wrongs. This L
viii not repeat for reasons best known to
myself. Suffice it to say, that the farmer
was deeply touched by my tale. Iwound
up by telling him wanted to get work
on farm.
"wen, now," said my rescuer, CT
am looking for a cheap chap to work on
my farm. Did you ever shear sheep9"
"Oh, yes" said, 81 have done as
much of that as any other work about
the farm"
This was the truth, for 1 had never
been ON the grounds of homestead in
my life. l was just going to tell him
what a Jolly time had experienced last
Christmas, when the idea struck me /
might be treading on dangerous ground,
50 determined to remain silent on the
subject until learned something about
il.
How much will you pay month for
good shearer," / ventured, determined
pOt TO air my ignorance.
How much a month, said he, with