The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1883-10-31
For the Farmer and Mechanic.
Wake County hotes No. =. An
Oxen Ride OVes Black Creek.

Just to-day | had recollected that last
week was fair week. Among the many
friends that / passed a clever ome
with. were. Wharton Green. ALI Wsd-
dell. Tom Holt. Lop Leach. Mac Buis.
Max Long, Matt Ransom. Tom Emory.
Jimmie Norwood. Jas Summerville. Zeb
Vance, old DR.. Williamson tot the K. h.
days) my chicken friend, Nash OF Chat
ham, Hal Worth. and last but not
least. Gov. Jarvis and old Dave.
And now / am passing away and COM
ing 10 my Wake county letter. Down
the FAYETTEVILLE road 12t miles from
this city is Black creek. and Just AT this
time of the year YOU canno tell whether
it belongs to the water-oaks or the wa
tiers that extend /. miles beyond. You
will please know that your correspon-
dent by experience understands that
country Nv invitation to visit Jimmie
Balentine was day before yesterday to
hear a famous sermon aad to meet John
Balentine. John Lewis Johnson. Bent
Afford. William Balentine and half a
dozen Norrises, all personal friends of
YOURS and mine. men who in the dark
DAYS were so true to Us that nv heart
has sven to-day an extension that made
me take the ride that | am going to tell
YOU about. 1t wasn't ANYTHING to start.
bur | knew that Jim Mckee's and nv
horses would never travel that muddy
road. Looking back to-day you will
know that oxen nave a surer footing on
Wake county roads during the weather
you are seeing now than camels in Egypt.
VIII YOU please believe me: We sent
out to old man lvey's and got a pair Of
oxen so sure footed that harness would
STAY on them. On old John Dry. the
longest horned OF ali of them, we put a
saddle that we borrowed from Will
| Stronach. We mounted Dave. and YOU
know that | took the Sulky seat and it
was jOstle here and jostle there, as we
swaved backward and forward, while
| what was under the seat nobody will ever
know. As we travelled along we stopped
to talk a little while with Bryant Smith
and he told US that Swift Greek Town
ship under the management of Lon
Stephenson would never fail to be a
Democratic precinct. Over Walnut
creek we shook hands with little June
Goodwin, and his black eyes looked like
the pease they raise in that country.
Isn't it slow travelling behind oxen
Il eiICh hdSC PicBoI iOlS DCCollC
almost a monOtOny to the sulky man
until you chance to ask a dry friend on
the muddy road to help you to eat a lit
tie lemon. And now please. we are
whipping our camels fast, looking here
and there, seeing the broken ground
with the wheat and rye that you
know has beef sOwn, trying to reach the
destination for which we started, forget
ting the rains that make swollen creeks.
Black creek is before US now, her
mile and a half of with is stretching
here and there, water-Oaks intermingles
with the debris that is floating down al
most like a Mississippi overflow. There
is a game chicken sitting on a log. and he
halls US fine and nice a little negro is
sitting on the limb of a tree. and he hol-
lers ''all right Mars Stronach. chuck us
a quarter; some OF these days the water'll
30 down." do you see dat catfish dar
and dat rattle-snake up at the farm.
look dar at dat little girl yonder wild her
clothes all gone" Dave threw the quar-
ter M old man Ivey's oxen like the
camels axe there. The trip is made and
solid gronnd we reach, muddy! isn't it
muddy? Dave stops to pull on his
clothes behind the tree, and the sulky
seat is a trouble to me. We've reached
MIR. Utley's now, a gentleman Wen
never forget, of his children eight are
girls and four boys each girls hair has an
autumn tinge, they come around us and
tell us father is here, and mother is
there, and the oldest girl brings the chairs
the boys come to me and the girls to
Dave. What is the use of telling you
more?
G. T. STRONACH.
CONTINUED