The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1875-11-21


grain drill. They usually hitch pony
or mule with ropes to single shovel
pillow and with this they "skin-. the
GROUND ana plant their corn one grain TO
the hill. The next season they will proh-
aoiy plant their crop in the f,lrrow of the
llst season and cover it Ivy turning into
the iurrow the ridge upon which the last
years crop grew. The amount they raise
Win such primitive utensils l. surprising,
ana would gladden. the heart OF an ordi-
nary farmer, but toward the
close OF the season. when
the iruition of his hopes is at hand,
your Texan seems TO lose the 'git Up
and git with which he started out in tie
spring, and so only gathers about hall of
ms crop-say enough for corn-bread for
himself and family during the winter
FOR the rest he can kill deer now and
then, which will not spoil If hung in the
open air, and the skin of which he can
trade for tobacco. snuff for the Nomcn).
whisky and other ucccssarics. riding
thirty or forty miles to effect the barter
aud thinking nothing OF it. We stopped
one night with one Of these gcniuses
who had pitched his cabin on the
banks of the Colorado river. Iii. ostcnsi-
bic business Is running ferry boat, but
as the river Is lordable eleven months i'm
the year, and, nobody ever wanted to
cross during the twelfth, it may be i'm
agined he has plenty OF time at hi. dis
posal, which lac divides between hunting
"bee trees" and cutting cedar post. and
| hauling them to Loyal valley, twenty
miles distant. where he obtains the sum
OF twenty-five cents each for them. But
his principal occupation i, bee hunting.
which he has followed so lone and per-
sistcntly that his head sit, upon
his shoulders inclined at am
angle Of about thirty degrees
ward his right shoulder. caused by look
ing so often at the tops of the tall gum
trees, and his eye. have an eager wistml
look. When the old man learned / was
from Cairo he insisted upon our stopping
with hiin few days, which kind invita-
ton We gladly accepted. rs we. as well
Is our horses. We're somewhat faded.
During the evening he entertained us
with story of how he had traded Oh an
old spawned horse for good mule |
in the vicinity of Cairo, when he passed |
there OH his way to Texas from Tennes- /
see, some twenty-five years ago. Dur
ing our stay ne repeated this |
yarn ten separate and distinct times. al
ways winding up with, ~ reckon that /
was the best trade ever made" II hc .
had any more spawned horses which he |
hoped to put upon another guilcless
Cairoitc. he did not produce them. We |
spread our blankets under a tree that
night and We're lulled To sleep by the
river swiftly rushing over it, gravelly .
bed, and awoke in the morning with the
appetite OF wolves: fancy our disgust
when called TO breakfast to find the board
spread with soggy cornbread. wild honey
aud bacon floating in grease. and 50 rank
that we could not eat IT, During the re-
maindcr Of our stay we occupied our
time in fishing. in order to obtain
more palatablc than The bacon
aud were very successful. The old man
insisted upon choppiug open a"bee gum"
or VI, which il section Of a hollow
rum tree about tour feet long stood on
nd with the top covered; hole Is then
,orod into the gum Il swarm Of wild
ices introduced. and when honey *
wanted, they split open the hive where I
hey find it for the taking. 1t i not so
rood as tame honcy--if may De allowed
inc expression 1t has a strong taste. and I
g very cOlicLy. | was considerably :
Harmed to see u boy about twelve .
ears old cat nc least ten
pounds Of it out Of a Lorsc-buckct at one
lifting, but he was apparently all right /;
Shcn we lett. so presume that was not +
n unusual feat for him. If there was {
ny milk 10 be had here this land might {
eadiiy I'LL the scriptural description .
flowing with milk and honey and, I
Though Texas is the creates. cattle |
rowing State in the Union. milk is sell {
ION seen. ] have used condensed milk.
'ut up in the Gene,ee valley, New York,
Il the table of man who counted his d
attic by the ten thousand. After stay i
1 two days, declining his urgent invita- !,
lon to remain longer and 90 bee hunting, 4
'e babe our generous host (he gave us 5
he best hc had good bye, and as we !
lowly assembled the foothills of the
fountains we seemed to hear his voice
'aited toward US on the morning breeze, :
i reckon that was the best trade ever
lade." JAsprn
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