The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-02-14
The Farm Boys Holiday.

No other boy knows how to appreci.
ate holiday as the farm boy does, and
his best ones are of a peculiar kind
Going fishing, is, of course, one sort.
The excitement of rigging up the tackle,
digging the bait and the anticipation OF
great luck-these are pure pleasures,
enjoyed because they are rare. Boys
who can go a-fishing any time care but
little for it. Tramping all day through
brush and brier, fighting flies and
mosquitoes and branches that tangle
the lines, and snags that break the hook
and returning home late and hungry
with wet feet, and string of speckled
trout on a willow twig, and having the
crowd out at the kitchen door to look
at 'em and say, Pretty well done for
you; but, did you catch that big one
yourself?'-t is also pure happiness 4;
the like of which the boy will never
have again, not if he comes to be select
man and deacon and to "kecp store. T"
But the holidays recall with delight
were the two days in spring and fall,
when we went to the distant pasture
land, in a neighboring town, maybe, to
drive thither the young cattle and colts,
and to bring them back again. 1t was
a wild and rocky upland where our
great pasture was, many miles from
home, the road to ii running by a Drawl-
ing river and up dashing brOOkside
among great hills. What u days adj
venture it was! 1t was like a journey
to Europe The night before | could
scarcely sleep for thinking of it, and
there was no trouble about getting me
up at sunrise that morning. The break
fast was eaten, the luncheon was packed
in large basket, with bottles of root
beer and jug of switched, which pack
ing l superintendent with the greatest
interest; and then the cattle were to be
collected for the march, and the horses
hitched. Did shirk my duty?Was Islow?
| think not. | was willing to run my
legs off after the frisky steers, who
seemed to have an idea they were going
on lark and frolicked about, dashing
into all gates and all bars except the
right ones, and how cheerfully / did yell
at them; it was a glorious chance to
'holler," and have never since heard
any public speaker on the stump or ut
a camp-meeting who could make more
noise. have often thought it fortunate
that the amount of noise in q boy does
not increase in proportion to his size;
if it did, the world could not contain it.
The whole day was full of excitement
and of freedom. We were away from
the farm, which to a boy is one of the
best parts of farming. We saw other
farms and other people at work. l had
the pleasure of marching along and
swinging my whip past boys whom l
knew, who were picking up
stones. Every turn of the
road, every bend and rapid of the
river, the great powders bythe wayside,
the watering troughs, the giant pine
that had been struck by lightning, the
mysterious covered bridge over the river
where it was most swift and rocky and
foamy. the chance eagle in the blue sky,
the sense of going somewherc-why, as
| recall all these 5hings | feel that even
the Prince Imperial as he used to dash
on horseback through the Bots de Bou-
logne, with fifty mounted hussars clat-
tering at his heels, and crowds of peo-
Pile cheering, could not have been as
happy as |, boy in short jacket and
shorter pantaIo0ns, trudging in the dust
that day behind the steers and colts,
cracking my black-stock whip.-CbGrleS
DUdleV Warner.