Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-11-25
A Thanksgiving Ont West
chicago News.

AilicaSo NcNs.
Ezra had written letter to the
mefolks, and nit he had complain
ed that never before had he spent such
a weary, lonesomed day as this thanks
giving day had been. Having finished
this letter, he sat for long time gaz-
ing Idly into the open fire that snap.
ped cilders all over the hearthstone
and seat it's red forks dancing up the
chimney to join the winds that frolick-
ed and gamboled across the Kansas
prairies that raw November night.
1t had rained hard all day and was
cold, and, although the open fire made
every honest effortto be cheerful, Ezra,
as he sat in front of it in the wooden
rocker and looked down into the
glowing embers, experienced dreadful
feeling OF loneliness and homesick-
ness.
"Pm sick o. Kansas" said Ezra to
himself "Here I've been in this plaguey
country for goin' on a year, and
| yes, I'm sick OF it, powerful sick of it.
What a mlser'ble thanksgivin' this
has beenl They don't know what
thanksgivin' is out this way. / wish
was back in OF Mass chusetts-that's
the country for me, and they hev the
kind o. thansgivin' likel"
Musing in this strain, while the rain
went patter-patter on the window
panes, Ezra saw a strange sight in the
tire-place-yes, right among the embers
and the cracking flames Ezra saw a
strange, beautiful picture unfold and
| spread itself out like a panorama.
aHow very wonderful" murmured
the young man. Yet he did not take
his eyes away, for the picture soothed
him and he loved to look upon it.
sit is pictur' of long ago." said
Ezra, softly. 81 had like to forget it,
but now it comes back to me as nat
raj as an OF friend. An seem to be
part of it, an the feelin' ofthat time
comes back with the pictur'. too"
| Ezra did not stir. His head rested
upon his hand, and his eyes were fixed
upon the shadows in the freight
at is pictur' of the oil home, said
Ezra to himself. al am back there in
Belchertown, with the Holyoke hills
up north an the Berkshire mountains
loomin' up gray an misty like in
| the western horizon. Seems as if it
wuz early mornin'; everything is
still, and it is so cold when we
boys crawl out o. bed that, il
it wuzn't thanksgivin' mornin', we'd
crawl back again an wait for mother
to call us. But it is thanksgivin'
mornin', an we're goin' skatin' down
on the pond. The squeaiin' o. the
pigs has told us it is ) O'Clock and we
must hurry; we're going to call by for
the Dickerson boys an Hiram Pea
body, an we've got tohyperl Brother
Amos gets on about half o. my elo'es
and get on bout hall O his, but 1t IS
all the same; they are stout, warm
clo'es and there big enough to fit any
of us boys-mother looked out for
that when she made 'em When we 90
downstairs We find the girls there,
all bundled up nice an warm
Mary an Helen an Cousin
Irene. They're goin' with us an
we all start out tiptoe and
quiet-like SOS not to wake up the OF
folks. The ground is frozen hard; We
stub our toes on the frozen ruts in
| the road. When we come to the mill
ister's house, Laura is standin' on
the front stoop, a-waitin' forus, Lau-
ra is the minister's daughter. She's a
friend o. Sister Helen's-pretty as a
dagarr' otype, and gentle-like and ten
der. Laura let's me carry her skates,
an I'm glad OF it, although have my
hands full already with the lantern,
the hockies, and the rest. Hiram
Peabody keeps us waitin', for he has
oversight himself, an when he comes
trottin' out at last the girls make fun
of him-all except Sister Mary, an
she sort o. sticks up for Hiram, an
we're all so cute we kind o. calc'late
we know the reason why.
"And now" said Ezra, softly, 'the
pictur' changes; seems as if | could
see the pond. The ice is like black
lookin' glass, and Hiram Peabody
slips up the first thing an down he
comes lickety split, an we all laugh
except Sister Mary, an she says it
is very imp'liteto laugh at other folks
nisfortunes. Oughl how cold it is,
and how my fingers ache with the
frost when l take off my mittens to
strap on Laura's skates-but oh, how
my cheeks burnt And how careful |
am not to hurt Laura, an how ! ask
her if that's tight enough an how
she tells me 'jist a little tighter, an
how we two keep foolin' along till the
others hev gone an we are left alone.
An how quick get my own skates
strapped on--none o. your new-fang-
led skates with springs an plates an
clamps an such, but honest, OF
| fashioned wooden ones with steel
runners that curl up over my toes
an have a bright brass button on the
endl How | strap 'em and lash 'em
and buckle 'em on An Laura waits
for me an tells me to be sure to get
'em on tight enough-why, bless me,
after ] once got EN- strapped on il
| them skates he'd come of, the feet wud
ha' come with 'eml An now away
we go-Laura an me. Around the
| bend-.near the medder where ST Bar
ker's dog killed woodchuck last
summer-we meet the rest. We for
get all about the cold. We run races
and play snap the whip, an cut all
sorts o. didoes, an we never mind the
pick'rel weed that is froze in on the
ice an trips us up every time We cut
the outside edge; an then we boys
Jump over the aIr-holes, an the girls
stan by an scream an tell us
they know we're agoin' to drown
ourselves. So the hours 60, an it
Is sun-up at last, an Sister Helen says
we must be gettin' home. When we
get our skates off, our feet feel as if
they were wood. Laura has lost her
| tippet; | lend her mine and she kind o.
bushes. The old pond seems glad to
have us go, and the fire-hangbird' S
nest in the willer tree waves us good
by. Laura promises to come over to
our house IN the eyenin', and SO we
break up.
Seems now" continued Ezra mu-
singly, 'seems now as if / could see us
all at breakfast The race on thepond
has made US hungry, and mother says
she never knew anybody elss's boys
that had such capae'tie as hers. tits
a Yankee thanksgiyin' breakfast-sau-
sages an fried potatoes, an buckwheat
cakes an sirup-mape strip, mind ye,
for father has his own sugar bush and
there was big run o. sap last season.
Mother says 'Ezry an Amos, won't
you never GET through eatin2 Wewant
/ to clear off the table, for there's pies
to make, an nuts to crack, and laws
sakes alivel the turkeys got to be
stuffed yit' Then how We all fly
round. Mother sends Helen up into
the attic to get a squash while Mary
maxim the pie-crust. Amos and
crack the walnuts-they call 'em
hickory nuts out in this pesky country
of saoe hr,Ish and pasturp land The