Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-01-09
The Board Fence.


The Board Fence.
''ShOo, shoe, get home, you plaguey
critters !" cried Mr.. Babcock, waving
his arms, as he chased a dozen sheep
and lambs through gap in the fence.
It was wooden fence, and when he
had succeeded,in driving the animals
to the other side of it, he lifted it from
the reclining position and propped it
up with stakes. This was an opera
ton he found himself obliged to re-
peat many times in the course of the
season, and not only of that season,
but of several previous seasons.
Yet Mr.. BabcOck was neither slack
nor thriftless; in fact, he rather prid-
ed himself on the ordinary appearance
Of his farm, and not without reason.
How then shall we account for his
negligence in this particular instance!
The truth was that this fence
formed the boundary line between his
estate and that of Mr.. Small, and three
generations of men who owned these
estates had been unable to decide to
whom it belonged to rebuild and keep
it in repair. If the owners had
CHANGED to be men of peaceful dispo-
sitions, they would have compromised
the matter and avoided a quarrel; but
if, on the contrary, they belonged to
that mnch larger class, who would
sooner sacrifice their own comfort and
convenience than their so-called rights,
this fence would have been source Of
of amending chickering's and strife.
And of this class were the present
owners. Again and again had they
consulted their respective lawyers on
the subject, and dragged from their
hiding-places musty old deeds and
records, but always with the same
result.
Il say it belongs to you to keep it in
repair; that's as plain as a pike-staff, .
Mr.. Babcock would say.
"And say it belongs to yOu-any
fool might see that Mr.. Small would
reply; and then high words would fol-
low, and they would part in anger
more determined and obstinate than
ever.
The lawyers fees and the loss by
damages from each others cattle, had
already amounted to a. sum sufficient
to have built fence around their en-
tire estates, but what was that COM
pared to the satisfaction of having
their own way?
AT last, one day, Miss Letitia Gill, a
woman much respected in the village,
and of some weight as landowner
and taxpayer, sent for Mr.. BabcOck
to come and see her on business; a
summons which he made haste to obey,
and how could it be otherwise where a
lady was concerned!
Miss Letitia sat at her window sew
ing seam, but she dropped her work
and took off her spectacles when Mr..
Babcock made his appearance.
$50 you got my message; thank you
for coming, I'm sure. Sit down, do. 1
suppose my man Isaac told you that I
wanted to consult you on business "a
matter of equity, 1 may say. 1t can't
be expected that we women folks can
be the best judges about such things,
you know; there's Isaac, to be sure, but
then he lives on the place; maybe he
wouldn't be exactly impartial in his
judgement about our affairs
"Jes' So" said MI. Babcock.
'Well, the state of the case is this:
When Isaac came up from the long
meadow to dinner-they re moving the
meadow to-day, and an uncommonly
good yield there is-when he came up
to dinner, he found that stray cows
had broken into the vegetable garden"
HE did, hey!'
'You can fancy the riot made. de-
clare, Isaac was almost ready to use
profane language, and am not sure he
didn't t; and after all / couldn't feel to
reproach him very severely, for the
pains he had taken with that garden is
something amazing; working in it, Mr..
Babcock, early and late, wedding and
digging and watering, and now to see
it all torn and trampled SO that you
wouldn't know which was beets and
which was cucumbers. It's enough to
raise anybody's temper
cit is so,'' said Mr.. Babcock.
'.And that isn't all, for by the looks
of things, they must have been ram
paging in the orchard and clover-feld
before they got into the garden. Just
you come and see;" and putting on
her un-bonnet, Miss Letitia showed
Mr. Babcock over the damaged pre-
cincts.
"You don't happen to know whose
animals did the mischief, said Mr..
Babcock.
"Well, didn't observe them in par
ticular myself, but Isaac said there
was one with a peculiar white mark,
something like cross, on it's haunch.'
"Why, that's Small's old brindle,"
cried Mr.. Babcock. Il know the mark
as we'll as know the nose on my face.
She had balls on her horns, didn't she?"
eyes, SO Isaac said.''