The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1885-10-17

doomed up was an old farmer patton Of my
friends paper He looked downcast and
solemn. As all our alvices had been that
crops were more than cool this season;
that fruit trees were actually breaking
down under their autumn burdens; that, In
fact, field, garden AMI orchard had never
been more bountful i'll their returns TO the
tiller of the soil, l was at loss to know
how to account for the gloom and sadness
that seemed TO sit heavy ON the honest agrl-
culturisSs breast.
is any one sick at your house, neigh
borH' / inquired.
"Not's / knows on" he replied.
'Haven'5 lost any friends, have your
"Haiut heerd o none"
Thus satisfied that no omestic affection
was the cause of his melancholy, felt easy
in assuring him, on behalf OF my friend the
elitor, that the littl, bill he owed for three
years subscr pit on to the Clarion Gong OF
liberty woul never come at more accept
able time than just then.
GOSH said he and his sadness deep
ened Don come stickln' no bill, these
times, to any one that's tryin' to live by
farmin'. dunno what we upcountry farm
ers is comm to- We plough an we sow, an
we plant an we hoe: but wnen it comes to
the reapin' an harvestn' an pullin' an dig
GIN o what we ploughed an planted an
hoed fur, We most glner'ly have our labor
fur our rains There haint no fruit this
year, no hay, no oats, no ruty DagieS, no
moth n.
mo fruit this year" had TO eXclaim in
surprise. "Why, / hear that fruit trees are
sights to see tins season, AMI that the ground
is covered with thOusdniso OF bushes OF iruit
that will be left to rot
There We be!' said the farmer, with a
ptiful smile. That's jisJ the trouble. The
fruit come on TO the trees in the spring
thickern huckleberries. 1t stuck there TIL
it got to load heavy enough to spilc half
the best orchards by broakin' down tue
trees. Then tle most o what was left, not
ben' able to make trouble fur Us poor
farmers by staym on the trees any longer,
iist tumblel TO the ground an went to
rottin EASTERN boss could trot. The fruit
that stuck to the trees didn't want to be
u'did in meanness by its neighbors that
fell to the grouni, SO they jist turns to au'
fills thersalfs with knots al worms, so e2
to make it gall an wormwool to Us when
we went to gether EN- in; an that's the
way we farmers has been treated by that
branch o the sie's perluctiolS Tn halnt
no fruit this year.
The melancholy of the honest old farmer
was toucIing. ] sympathiz,l with him,
and asked him how about the hay, oats,
rutab1g1s, and things.
Wei" SAID he, in the fust place, the be.
| ginnin' q the season was too dry fur grass,
| au' when we went to cuttin what had man.
| aged to grow, til come on such wet spell
! that heap on it was sp' lei. Then the wet
spell dropped down jist in time to rust all
| the oats, IN oz fur buck whit, jist ez it had
| tuckerel through all the bal spell, o
! weltuer we had, along come frost right in
time 10 knock it higher'n Gilderoy's kite.
| Ez lur pas If, We Ia In no early pastur',
OWN TO the drought, an the wet weather
/ fetched on Lla tali pa5tur too late to help
u on. Thea corn got Cd too fast, and
euchral us on seiln roastin ears fur mar
ke5 an il thnz twenty bushels o 'tater5 in
the hull lame county thatll keep till
/ IhcNk3giviI', Til pay 81 bush'l fur 'em;
Tat i, pryilin' / kin make any one b'lieye
that my farms with mortga%in' fur that
much money, SOS kin raisA the spJni oolix
! to pay fur 'em. II We ask about rooty ba-
gies, kin til we that they'm goners fur
cool. The slo. him rains we've had
! lnale III" Nssi7 gro" iiStHT mop
yeast kin raise a settin' o bread, an they We
ist chokad the rootybagies deade'n fried
Goldfish ball. an them that 'scapel the weed,
has ben eat up by bug that likes 'em bet
tern 'skeeter likes to bits fat babies.
Tnuz worm that eats them bugs fas ter
than the bugs kin eat rootybagie'; but jiSt
to show 20 how ev'ry thing goes agin us
farmers, I'll be bamel if thur any o them
worms this year! l tell We tn hain't no
fruit this year; no hay, no oats, no rooty-
bagies no no hint Don't asst me to pay no
bill, for it's more'n likely some onell be
round with a 'scription paper fore winter
comes to asst We to help keep me an a lot
more o sutferin farmers cut o the poor
houser
! felt sorry for the poor old farmer and
Ididn press the claim; and when heard
him afterward make bargain with ship
ping merchant to deliver him 500 bushels of
choice appes carload or two of potatoes,
all the buci wheat he wanted, and oats by
the ton, | wondered where the unfortunate
farmer coull possibly manage to obtain the
goods to deliver, there being no fruit this
year; no hay, no oats, no rutabages, no
nothIn'l