St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-11-03

| SubT SPllb bhO
wood. Toward the last of the mOntl
sap to the house to be boiled down.
"We made nearly hundred weigh
of syrup. Ann Satire would not let M
boil it out of doors, for fear / woul,
eat some of it. Maple honey brough
a fair price at the village, and they sol,
every pound of it, except once, whel
they had little on the table which ha,
burned in the kettle.
''When April opened the spring
work on the farm began. One of m,
first jobs was narrowing ground whicl
had been 'brOken up the fall BEFORE
| getting it ready to SOW to oats. Beal
did his work with oxen instead of hors
| es.
~ never shall forget Buck and Ber
ry.' They were pair of undersizet
four-year-old steers, light red, will
brockled faces and long, slim, hooked
horns.
"Bean starved his cattle nearly tC
death through the winter so as to sci
hay. People said he counted the
straws in every foddering.' His whole
stock come out spring poor,' as Yer
IhOhU i"hiOio say -lOuSh lldllcu anu
lean.
"Buck and Berry had never been
half broken to farm work. Buck, the
nigh one, was fat-headed, fiery
steer, quick and hOt-tempered. He
had vicious 'watch-eye,' by which !
mean, an eye showing the white all
about it.
"Berly, too, had 'wall-eyes,' and was
sullen brute. He continually hung
off in the yoke and pulled Buck with
him across the off burrows. 1t was
'Haw, Buck y and Back, Buck y Come
up, Berry, all day long; and if they
got the least bit the start of me, they
would run away with the harrow,
plough, cart, or whatever they were
hitched to, and make for the barn OF
the farthest corner of the field.
at did no good. whatever to beat
them for it; | soon found that out.
They had been completely spoiled for
work. They were just what Blue Pod
had made them. Yet he expected me
to plough alone with those steers :
and did plough after fashion. But
the steers would run away half-a-doz-
en- times every forenoon.
"SOmetimes | would hang to the
ploughhandles and put the plough in
clear to the beam to stop them. Buck
would then snort and throw his froth
ten feet high
'One day we hit stone in one OF
these contests and broke a plough
point. Bean fused all the rest of the
week about that. 1t cost seventy five
cents to get new one. The only won
der is, that | did not break all his old
patchedup farming tools to pieces with
those steers.
"AbOut that time Blue-Pod bought a
little pig of his brother, YellOw-eye,
and brought it home. | remember that
pig very distinctly, for | worked for
IellOw-eye to pay for it; and the pig
got me into sad trouble.
"There were two pens in the hog
house joining each other. In one of
these pens there were two shOtes which
Bean had wintered on frozen apples.
The little pig was put in the empty
pen.
FThe poor little thing had been tax
en- away from its mother and IA lot of
others. 1t fretted and squealed con-
stantly, and the sound of its squealing
seemed to set those old hogs in the 9th
er pen fairly crazy with rage. They
would stand and bark, with eyes like
fire Goals, then tear about and try to
get i'll where the pig was; and at that
the pig would scurry about and squeal
all the louder.
"Blue-Pod stood in the hog house
all the first day with an old rake's tail,
to keep them from getting over and
killing the pig.
"The second day after the pig was
brought home, in the afternoon, Blue
Pod and Ann Satire set off with the
horse and wagon to go to the store
four or five miles away, to get IA pound
of saleratus and gallon of molasses
or believe it was only half gallon OF
molasses they were going to get that
time.
81 remember it was only half gal.
Ion, for they had been talking it over
for fortnight every evening, and
throwing out how much more it took
to supply the table lately. That meant
since l had come.
81 was carting dirt with Buck and
Berry.
Meow, du try an git aout eight
load whilst we're gawn,' Blue-Pod
whined to me, as they started; 'an' bt
sure an luke aOut for than hawgs.'
"And when they had got out into the
road they stopped, and he agail
charged me to 'du try an luke aout fol
thairt little peeg.'
''Then, as he was shaking the reins
to start up old Rack-a-bones, Ann Sa
fire turned her thin, red nose anC
snapped out that it would be smart il
me if did let them hugs hurt tha
peg
"Yet | had to draw each load at leas
eighty rods from the barn and eigh
loads was heavy afternoons work, a.
any farmers boy will know. But
must look ont for the pig all the same
"Wen, the hogs kept pretty quie
for "A while; they had just had thei
dinner. | had got out five loads anC
set the cart for the sixth, and had i
about half full, when l heard a suddel
Outcry from the hOg-pen and fearful
one, too.
"'Whoa, Buck cries |. and drop
ping the fork | ran for the hog house
leaving the steers and half-filled car
standing bao ked up to the heaps in tn
barn yard.
"ThOse shOtes had just got their din
ner digested and were ready for som
lively work. Such barking as the,
were making! And Just as rushed in
one of them had made lunge over in
to the little pigs pen.
81 seized the rake's tail and jumpe,
into the pen after him. The little pi
was screeching and going like dar
from one corner to another, with til
old hog after him.
''In the midst of this tumult | hear
a crash, outside. The noise had start
ed the steers. Out of the barn var,
they went, with the cart the off whee
hit one of the bar-posts and broke