St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1886-02-06
LOVE AT THE HUSKING.
The Mean Trick by Which Jones
Got All the Red Ears.

The c'rn had all been cut and piled
away ingreat stacks in the huge barns.
The Canadian landscape had been
clothed several times in silvery frost.
The rye was peeping up through the
upturn.d fields, and the first week of the
farmers saason of leisure had passed.
In th:t great stretch of level country
about Str.tford, where farmers reap as
rich larvests as are garnered anywhere
in tie Dominion, a programme of fun
had been prepared by the young men
andwonen. There were corn-huskings
whre led ears brought kisses, surprise
paties where nobody was surprised,
staw rides, apple-paring parties and
gtherirgs where the staid cotillon was
dnced to the music of violin. The
fst event of the fall of 1882 was an ap-
,le-paring. This whetted the appetites
Il the country folks, and everybody was
lager fo' the big corn-husking that was
20 bring all the beaux and bellies into
;he big barn of Farmer Treuette.
It WIS known to the young,
hard-fsed farmers that Sally
Treuete, the only daughter of the
Did famer, was to guide the course of
eventduring the husking, and that a
yreatnany grains of red corn had been
ning:d with the white grains that had
,een ropped in the corn hills in the
spris. Every red grain of corn meant
IN e; of the same color, and every ear
neal one kiss to the finder, and per-
lapaore if he could smuggle the ear
forwd again.
The was another circumstance that
addean unusual excitement to the
has9. Sally Treuette was a rosy
cheel, plump, raven-haired lass
whosoguish eyes had made sad havoc
With hearts of nearly all the young
men miles around. There was hardly
one them whom she had not smiled
upor various times, and whom she
had snubbed numerically after
warRed- haired Jim Radford, who
ownprty acres of fine farming land
near Mary's, and Owen Jones, a
sharatured Yankee, who had opened
q cory store near the railway station
i'm Stord, had each sworn in the most
vent from marrying anybody else.
Rad was tall, broad-shouldered
'androng of limb, with muscles
hard by work. Jones was
tall, slim and angular, with
hecteek and sharp cough that told
of mess and disease, but lied every
Tiny told it. He was like many of
che stone houses in the neighbor-
hooThe more they settled and the
woney appeared the stronger they
weRadford was always nervous and
I'LL Sc when he was in the presence
of but Owen was always able to
4altreak and tell marvellous tales
aneresting stories of adventure that
weery entertaining to the un-
socated Sally. She liked Radford
foiworth and Jones for what he
sef to be.
hight of the husking came at
lathe silver crescent of the new
mung in the west. The air was
i,1sty enough to be invigorating.
AtS VI tWlAhiiAS 11h1SAAo AAA5
A Farmer Treuette's barn yard.
Ias swung from rusty nails all
o;e interior of the barn. The un-
h ears Of corn had been torn from !
tlks and heaped in a great pile in |
thter of the barn, Store boxes,
ued nail-kegs and rough benches
4 a circle about the pile. The old
ing farmhouse about hundred
,away blazed with lights. 1t was
ed with elderly men and women
ring in a bustling, garrulous way |
sfreshments. Sally, clad in the
est calico purchasable in Jones
with punches of bright ribbon at
.roat and in her hair, fitted about
speck Of color in an ocean OF
erness. Canadian farmers always
as much noise as possi-
hen they are out for a jollification,
he jingling of bells, the clatterlng
.gons and shouts from vigorous
made the night air culver. Young
and women soon appeared in the