Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-07-06
"CO. AYTCH."
Exploits of an Old Confed in the
Cornfeld and Potato Patch.
Farmers and Fishermen, Facts
and Fancies In Old Maury
County.
CoLuMBIA, 49,, JuIy Z, lsss.


EDITOR LEpGER:-The crops in
this section of Gods country are all
nearly laid By, or that is, mine is. l
have put in and cultivated thirty-ons
acres of corn, two acres of sorghum,
two acres Of Irish potatoes, besides
seven acres Of oats, and in addition
set out and kept in good condition
three thousand sweet potato plants,
one thousand tobacco and fifteen hun
bred cabbage plants. | also tended
the garden, MIXED three cows, cut all
the wood and brought all the water
for my wife to cook with by myself,
and | have corns on my hands as big
and as hard as nickel, and my face is
so sunburnt and so blistered that |
more resemble an Indian than an
Anglo Saxon. But | laid by my sweet
potatoes and other truck, and Moses,
my horse is laid up with the poll evil,
and hence | have to rest awhile, at
least on this great national holiday.
The farmers are busy threshing
their wheat and cutting their clover.
The wheat crop as 8 general thing is
not frst-class, many crops having the
rust, which cut it off halt, but
early planted crops did very we'll. Mr.,
John NJ. Gray made thirty-three
bushels to the acre, but the average OF
many will not be more than six or
eight bushels per acre. There has
been great deal of rain, in fact more
rain than we have ever known and
more gully washing. A gully washer
is always dreaded by the good farmer.
A few years ago there was a great
drouth in the laRd, and the good
people concluded to hold a prayer
meeting to pray for rain. Well, they
met at church aud all of the old elders
and deacons prayed for rain. But one
old fellow thought that the other
brethren had oVerdone the thing and
when his turn came to pray he said:
"Oh, Lord, thou knowest our every
necessity; thou knoWest how bad
we need rain, and, oh Lord, if
it be consistent with thy holy will to
give us rain, We humbly pray for a
good ground soaker. Let it begin
gently at first, and then come down a
little harder until the ground is well
soaked, and then let it nizzle nozzle
all night. But, OH kind and benig-
nant parent, we pray thee to deliver
us from one of those "gulley>washers. "
But, notwithstanding the frequent
gulley-Washers, the farmers are salts
fed they are somewhat like old Jack
son Msyes, noted thief, who was to
be whipped for stealing. They stripped
the old negro and tied him over log,
and after hitting him lick or two he
said: Hold on, gentlemen; Use done
satisfy" He thought if he was salts
fed that would satisfy the law.
The crop prospects are fine, indeed,
and everybody is satisfied.
/ went to Swan fishing last week and
met a party of fishermen, but before we
got there we met gentleman who told
us that be wished be could
have seen US the day before; that be
could have saved US trip. He told
us that some men had come from
Warmers furnace and had put dyna-
mite in all the holes in Swan and had
killed all the fish, and further said
that they had not only killed all the
fish, but had killed all the turtles,
cooters, frogs, gars. crawfsh, crawl
bottoms, hellgamites, ETC., until the
water stunk. He believed it. | did
not. | thought it was but another
fish tale" | doubted, like the old
Dutchman that wanted TO join the
church. He believed all the hard
questions about the food, Daniel in
the lions den, Moses crossing the Red
sea, Shadrack. Meshack and Abednego
being put in the burning fiery furnace,
etc., etc; but when they came to the
question of Jonah being swallowed by
the whale, be could not believe the
fish tale, and he was right, too. Now,
fish tales are some times hard TO be-
lieve, for example, An old
fellow who once lived on the
st. Francis river told me
that he one time caught big catfish
He did not say how large the catfish
was, but he said on taking out his en-.
trails that he found an old coon, two
crows aud an old shanghai rooster.
with great long spurs on. Well, |
believed every word Of 1t until he
came to the spurs, for l have seen a
fish that | have no doubt could swal
low coon, and if he could swallow
one coon, be could swallow two coons,
and if he could swallow one coon and
Two pgows, be could swallow an old
shanghai rooster, but / cannot cons
ceiVe how be could swallow the long
spurs. That ROSTERS spurs spoiled a
fine fish tale. If he had only left the
spurs of Of that old rooster, / would
have believed every word.
go. AYTCHD