The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1880-11-13
. Coru.Stalk Cattle. u

the doctor satd muse 60 oOttth WHAT
mourning there was among our little
boys at the thought Of losing Aunt Kate
and her. '.beautiful stories!T
Just before the train started, little
Jamie begged to be held up TO the car
window to give me q good.by kiss.
Poor little fellow: his eyes, streamed
with tears, and not even the promise
of q pound of i'candy could console
him. ~ attaiw anllix1s
Twas not going to- Florida. where
fashionable invalids . spend their win
tiers, but to the home of an old friend
of mine on an Alabama plantation.
How glad I was to find that gshc, too,
had little boy! He was not much like
the nephewsI had left behind, but I
soon found him to be a good, hearted,
brave little lad. .8l45s@
His mamma and l were sitting ono
rainy morning with, our, work before .
great wood fire, when Frankie and his
bosom companion, Abe, a col6red boy,
came in with an arinful iof long, dry
corn stalks, . handful Of chicken icatb-
ers and two kitchen knives. .
''Now, frankie, YOU are going to
make mess, so'get some pupcrs and
put them down on the, floor" said
Frankies mamma. Abe ram 10 get the
papers, and Very ,soon, the two boys
were down on their Knees, pecling tho
stalks. GOV, b. rGaa yair sdE
Il | noticed that the stalks were old and
brittle, and that the, boYe preserved the
hull. After watching them for some
minutes. began to make Inquiries as
to,what the stake were foMp
:. 9 Desc is fur cattle" sid Abe, grim
ming. ,.,.t sotva, ca,,,,,,.v
l then asked how they made cattle.
frankie did not seem communicative,
so Abe again answered my question.
lt "Wa'al, We jest outs a'em. Ii yer
waits q minute I'llSshow yse.''''!a
He, cut off q piece Of the poeled stalk
about four inches long, then split the
hull into four pieces about d quarter Of
ar inch Vide and two inches long. lie
stuck two of these pieces near one end
OF the stalk for hind.legs, and the two
others 1t quarter of' IN lnch from the
other end for front ones } lIe then cut
q piece 0f the stslk about IN inch long
for the head, 4 niche for the mouth, two
pins fol, eyes, and marrow bits, Of hull
for horns; another little strip of hull
was stuck first into the head and then.
into the body to form the neck, d chick
e. En- feather sas n Ra for the tal and the
= '.Now, den," saids Abe, sadmphant-
~, holding Il up" doa'tysrsee dat'ss
cowe''ha1a Il ~ ssfto,ai rn,
~ / smiled, but Abe was ito good
natured to notice it. This u animal I
found, with slight variations. was made
to represent horses, cows, indies, sheep,
dogs and pigs, and1 Heven chickens,
which, IF course, tReuc smhoh smaller,
and had only two lske I lns tbs course
Of tina morning frankie and Abe manu-.
featured u SOW with seven. little pigs,
two cows, mule and a horse
II had stopped raining - "the boys
asked II l would not likSlto 70 out and
see their farms. y Unter, sAGsbMi in the
yard were these two, rterms, arranged
as nearly, IS possible like. sfrankie's
father s. !, Barns, stables, wagon houses
and pig-pens wefe made u bfaeks on
very small scale, tsnd fnl1abiseAby corn
stalk cattle ,tanaisvaaary slds
A wagon made Of q chip tied to two
spools was hitched up witbsstaFo corn
stalk oxen, their feather tails standing
up in the air.
I thought my little frisnd1would like
this new breed Of cattle. ~ They struck
me Is being much, easier f. manage
than those Of N9ah's ark. f0f there is
hardly a boy who has hSt HIT all man.
her Of trouble Ia rfaki6S Father Noah's
COWS and horses 'stastl aspy i0athcr to-
gether some corn ,stalks alis autumn,
let them dry, and ,s to- af fa!m for your.
; Sai;,,1 po.s'. 4Rt'rpers