Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1883-10-13


up and hump yourself and 60 and
feed the pigs He was so darn mean
that I could not help throwing .
burdock burr against the side Of the
cow he was milking, and it struck
her right in the flank on the other
side from where the deacon was.
Well, you'd a dide to see the COW
Jump and blat. All four of her feet
were off the ground at time, and !
guess most of them hit the deacon on
bis Sunday vest, and the rest hit the
milk pail, and the COW backed
against the fence and bellered, and
the deacon was all covered with milk
and cow hair, and he got up and
throwed the three legged stool at the
cow and hit her on the horn and it
glanced off and hit me on the pants
Just as went over the fence to feed
the pigs. I didn't know deacon
could talk so sassy at cow, and
come so near swearing without act
ually saying cuss words. Well, l
lugged swill until I was homesick to
my stomach, and then 1 had to clean
off horses, and go to the neighbors
about mile away to borrow lot of
rakes to use the next day. I was 90
tired almost cried, and then I had
to draw two barrels of water with q
we'll bucket, to cleanse for washing
the next day, and that time I wanted
to die. 1t was most nine o'clock,
and 1 began to think about supper,
when the deacon said all they had
was bread and milk for supper Sum-
day night, and rasseled with tin
basin of skim milk, and some old
back number bread. and wanted to
go to bed, but the deacon wanted to
know if ! was heathen enough to go
to bed without evening prayers.
There was no one thing I was less
mashed on than evening prayers
about that minute, but had to take
a prayer half an hour long ON top of
that skim milk, and / guess it curdled
the milk, for l hadn't been in bed
more than an hour before / had the
worst collie a boy ever had, and /
thought 1 should die all alone up in
the garret, on the floor, with nothing
to make my last hours pleasant but
some rats playing with seeds of corn
on the floor, and mice running
through some dry pea pods. But, O,
how different the deacon talked in
the evening devotions from what he
did when the cow was galloping ON
him in the barn yard. Well, / got
through the collie and was Just get
ting to sleep when the deacon yelled
for me to get up and hustle down
stairs. I thought may be the house
was on fire cause / smelled smoke,
and 1 got into my trousers and came
down stairs on a jump yelling fire.
when the deacon grabbed me and
told me to get down on my knees,
and before / knew it he was into the
morning devotions, and then he said
''amen" and jumped up and said for
us to fire breakfast into us quick and
get to work doing the chores. /
looked at the clock and it was just
three o'clock in the morning, Just
the time pa comes home and goes to
bed in town, when he is running Q
political campaign. Well, sir, had
to jump from one thing to another
from three o'clock in the morning till
nine at night, pitching hay, driving
reaper, raking and binding, shocking
wheat, hoeing corn, 4 and every
thing, and l never got kind word.
l spoiled my clothes, and / think an
other week would make q pirate OF
me. But during it all I had the ad-
vantage of pio,is example. I tell
you, you, you think more of such q
man as the deacon if you don't work
for him, but only see him when he
comes to town, and you hear him
sing, "Heaven is My Home" through
his nose. He even is farther from
his home than any place I ever heard
of. He would be good mate on q
Mississippi river steamboat il he
could swear, and I guess he could
soon learn. Now, you take these
cabbages and give me ninety cents,
and l will go home and borrow ten
cents to make up the dollar, and send
my chum back with the horse and
wagon and my resignation. 1 was
not cut out for q farmer. Talk about
fishing, the only fish / saw was salt
white fish we had for breakfast one
morning, which was salted by Noah,
in the ark" and while the grocery
man was unloading the cabbages the
boy went off to look for his chrm,
and later the two boys were seen
driving off towards the farm with
two fish poles sticking out Of the
hind end Of the wagon.