Smyrna times., 1885-11-04
Miss Ella on the Farm.

IL
tOllOWin':
Miss Ella Witchazel a charmin.
young school teacher Of Villisca. Iowa
1hdlng the close confinement and ar
duous duties of the schoOlroom iniu.
ing her health, tried the outdoor cure
Instead of spending her Winters sal
airy and Summer vacation in a crowded
motel at the seashOre, she went on 4
iarm, cut twenty acres of prairie hav
harvested forty acres of wheat, gained
twenty pounds in weight coat of tan
TOR her hands and face aud rugged
health that cannot be cqualed any
where Oft farm. There's the girl YOU
, are looking for, young man."
Now, what | want to say: | am
well acquainted with this young school
marin. Fact, as it was my farm She
spent the summer on. Nice girl. Ella
IS, as ever run wild in the sun. We
was glad, wife an me, to have her
come, an she did bout as she pleased
on the farm. I'd often read in the
papers bout women that taught school
IN the Winter an tarmed in the Sum
mer, but | never had any experience
of 'em before.
Well, sir, she fIrmed First dav.
nothin'd do but she must drive the
hoss-rake. Well, every man and wo-
man that comes from town wants to
drive the hoss-rake, an they call that
glttin' in the hay. My little Janev.
eleven year old next May, usually
drives the rake for us, but she amt ben
teelln' overly peart this Summer an
kinder kept her out Of the sun. So
Miss Ella gifts herself boosted up on
! the hOss-rake-my boy Joe he boosted
her-an' then she screamed an fell off
Then she got GU again, hit the hoss a
crack, an away she went on the dead
Jump out o. the field into the road
boss a goin', dust a Ayin' an Miss
Ella schreechin'. Some of the men
headed her off and stopped the hoss
Then she tried it agin. This time She
struck right through the standin, grass
where it was the tallest an thickest
ana tangledest; hOss a balkin' and
Iuggin, away by turns, grass holdin' on
or comm up by the roots, rake teeth
snappln'. We got her out of that
ana lost whole day on the rake. get
tin it mended.
Then she tried driven load into the
big barn. Had to send to the house
for ladder, an then all the men had
to go clear out of the field while she |
climbed up on the load Drivin' in She
got the Wagen caught in a gap as wide
as the Missouri river, run over two
stands of bees, upset the load and bur
led herself under 800 pounds of hav
II was the safest place under the ex-
cItin' circumstances; SO we Jest left her
ther Ontil the bees got CANNED down
an we got some work done. Next
load she went in on, and then turned
all of the men out of the barn while she
climbed up into the NOW, an then she
wandered around ontil she stepned
into chute an shot out about twebtv-
eight feet into the COW barn am III
right on the back of Jersey calf that
was worth $3.50 of any mans money an
hour before. Miss Ella want killed
but she was that jammed up that she
lay IN bed two days, an but for that
providence we'd hev ben workin' at
that hay yet. An anybody that wants
a broken back calf can have one at his
tiggers.
Well, come wheat harvest, she must
drive the self-binder. That was a lit
tie too risky, but she had her own wav. +
But she couldn't be trusted up above /
The knives, so somebody had to set up :
there an hold her on told Joe she T
was maxim fool of him-an' if she +
didn't make him drive around every :
poppy an every blOssomin' weed she !
saw in that field to save it. Never mind ?
.he wheat, but save the blamed weeds. =
There was only one stump on that 300 =
acres of prairie land, just one stump. =
hOnn | 10 l..
if that girl didn't run !, y
ntO it an break the reaper. Lost all a
he rest of that day mendin' of it. h
And yet, we all liked the girl. d
3ut the idea of her farmin'-why, do t,
'ou Know sir, one day in hayin', she t,
vent to town-tOOk one of my best n
work horses an Was gone all day, am u
anne home with bout 20 yards of blue si
nd white ribbons, and tied 'em on the u
mems hats and the rake handles. d
nd wanted us all to wear billed h
hirts, with the sleeves lOoped up with W
'lue ribbon, go marchin' out to the n
ayfield, me at the head with the o.
most and longest ribbons, singin'. nj
We merry haymakers, ira, la, la, la, Ia
a." She saw it done that way once ta
a concert or theater, an thought m
hat was the way hayin' was always Ia
one. An she was so vexed that she hi
ried when we wouldn't wear 'em. w
Jaw, when put on that hat, ma laid
ack and laughed till the tears ran
own her dear old checks. "Job =,
'histlepod," she said, "if you'll 90 out ~
nd work in that rig, you'll scare away ~ ~
he grasshoppers." My boy, Joe, he 81 ~
id wear his hat out, but he hid it ~
nder the hedge when he got out of ~, ~
ght of the house. / told Joe he was ~ -
ne biggest fool ever see. % %.
Well, Miss Ella got along fairly well ~
fter wheat harvest. Gathered some ~
raceful sprays, she called 'em, of poi -
ln ivy one day, and couldn't see out -
t one eye for nigh a week. One dav so so
ne took q tin pail to go out after ber- ~
les, and when she went through the -,
DIV pasture the cows thought there =,
'as salt in the pail and chased her till ~
ne was nigh ready to drop. And she. in
'ent to the barn once an tried to har- ~
ess young TuckahOe colt that had ~
ever had halter on him, an how she bo
OF out of that stable alive's mOre'n | tb
IN tell. But what l wanted to saw is -,
lat that's about the way the young 6o
omen who farm so graceful in the tb
ewspapers usually farm on the farm. e., %
ut we like her. An we hated to see ne
er go. An she will make n splendid h ho
ife for some man, if she can't run a on
run, but don't know about your Of Of
lung men comm out to look after ~,
er, for when she said goodbye to me os, ,s,
go back to town, she throwed her NJ;
ms around my neck an GIN me a sb,
qc that / saws In m4y how loo otoDH 80
by the wagon to take her to town,
, was always somewhere around,
JOe," says, you'd give your share A.
the farm for that" an Joe he ~, 81
dn't seem to care for anything of the lnl
nd, an Miss Ella, she up an give me m on
lOther squeeze an kiss, an saw Id, Ia
sr looking over my shoulder at my ~
~ Joe and-haw haw haw 1n' m
ma
Never refuse advipa NV son Of ag