Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-10-19

but a poor crop, OWN to a dry spell
an corn made but poor showin'; bu
was so 'customed to his fault-findin
I'd bin SURPRISED il he hadn't; an
grumblin', tho wearisome, breaks N
bones. H8 81
"Well, 1 grew, an Daisy grew. NJ,
brothers was always good an gentle t
her, because they knew what store so
by her, an before I knew it, hardly,
was big girl goin' on seventeen. goin
out into company, fur young folks her,
in Jersey always kept company early
an Daisy was a COW with her own littl,
red calf trottin' alongside her.
"Sich q pretty COW as she was, an s.
uncommon good! She was fair-sized
though of q smallish build, with shor
horns, an, when her new coat came on
as sleek as she well could be.
GAS to good temper, never did see
SIGH docile crittur could milk hel
both sides, an child could hang onto
her legs without her movin'. Put hel
into lot with only low rail an she d
never jump over, but stay contented.
"However, her milk-givin'-that was
the prime thing! 1t was out of the com.
/ mon, the richness of her milk. used
to brag, an say twas all cream. ]
made fourteen pound of butter week
from her-and such butter! Just as
yellow as buttercups an dandelions.
Butter as made you think of pasture
fields, nee-deep in red and white clover,
| with runnin' water gurglin' through.
Such butter as some folks live an die
without sight of! --..
"'Twas human natur to brag about
Daisy. l couldn't help it, was so proud
of her!
esquire FELTON, dropped in often, an
always began talkin' about her. The
squire was pretty rich for these parts.
He had a big farm and kept it up good.
Fences in repair, land all under cultiva-
ton except the wood land, and that
turned out to be mint of money when
a chair-factory was started at the mills.
He had good horses-sleek as oil-an'
fairly good cows; but none that could
come up to Daisy.
"Now, to my thinkin', the squire was
sort of an Ahab-not in all ways, O.
course. but 1 mean in his covetin'.
Ahab wanted Naboth' s vineyard so bad,
you know, that he couldn't be easy with
out it, an jist after that fashion the
squire wanted Daisy.
's'Now, Kitty, how many pound of
butter has that leetle COW o. yoHrn made
this weekp' he'd ask.
"sJust fourteen pound an half of
such butter that would make your mouth
water to see,' I says to him one day,
as proud as peacock.
"sNow, you don't say !-so!'
"That was a way he had of tackin' so
on to the end of his words.
"sNow, Hitty,' says he, wipin' his
bald head, 'they do say as how you an
Simon are keepin' pretty steady COM
pany. You'll be wantin' a fine weddin'-
gown sure. Now, you let me hev Daisy
for fifty dollars an you can git a good
settir '-out for't-so!'
"sYou must spend considerable time
talkin' bout your neighbors to find out
so much,' says I, vexed enough; for
twas known old FELTON, was a regular
Paul Pry. sNow, squire, you've asked
me before to sell my COW, but say once
an fur all, will not sell Daisy. Ill
keep her as long as she lives
sHe LATED, kind of smooth chuckle
but he looked black enough. He was an
oily sort of man, but jist stand in his
way once, and it didn't take much to
see the smoothness was just veneer.
"I'd always claimed Daisy for my
own, an nobody home had gainsaid me.
The boys an mother always spoke of
her as Hitty's COW, an it Civ me a
troubled feelin' when father says one
evenin':
"sI've had wonderful offer to-day.
The old squire said he'd give seventy
five dollars for ma leetle cow
"'The squire won't get my Daisy!' l
cried, my voice all of tremble. I've
told him 1 won't sell her. It's just
wicked of him to be comm round askin'
you'll Then l began to cry, was so
"Father lighted his pipe without say
ING a word. He never talked over what
he meant to do.
"I was worried an miserable for sew
eral days. knew seventy-ive dollars
was an uncommon price for a COW, an |
knew fathers hankerin' after gettin'. |
But when the week had gone, an moth |
in more'd bin heard about the Squirrels |
offer, began to breathe freer, an think |
nebbe I'd made myself miserable fur
1othin' I
Saturday night I went early to bring
Up the cows. 1 always enjoyed goin'
Town to the pasture. l always was a
'eg'lar country body, fond of trees an
'ocks an grass an brooks an plenty of
ky stretchin' overhead, an just liked
ollerin' the cow-path that never ran
traight, an stoppin' on the planks to
ook down into the brook that was so
lear you could see the stones on the
,ottom an the minnows fiashin' here
n there.
1T he'd bin nice day, clear an
right an bracin' outside, an smooth
n pleasant in the house. We he'd got
long brisk with the work, an Simon
vas comm at seven o'clock to take me
D singin'- school, an l had new red
ibbons to wear, an so was jest con-
emit as need be, an sung away as I
7alked along out of sheer good, healthy !,
eelin.'
"The pasture-lot the COWS was in that
ay was a four-acre field, with woods {
n rocks behind it, an fences of tree {
Jumps round the two sides. Part of it
'as poor, swampy ground, an lots of I
an thistles grew where twas
igher up. The cows stood waitin' by i
10. Ill 4