St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-10-18
POOR OLD OCTOBER.

liz has just leaked out that Col. Joseph
Wheelock offered a cash prize of $40 to the
member OF the Pioneer Press staff who
would write the best editorial on October,
whlch accounts for the gorgeous word pict-
ure winch appeared in the columns OF that
paper short time ago. Maj. Pyle, Capt.
carrie and Deacon Cochran made entries,
but the major carried off the honor. the
CONTRIBUTORS OF the two other gentlemen
being rejected. The following, in manu-
script lalmost decipherable). was picked
up on Nina avenue OH Friday and left at
the GLOBE office. 1t is believed to be Capt.
Carries article which failed to secure the
prize 1t is top good to be lost, and is
printed SO that The public may judge whether
Col. Wheelock acted justly in awarding
the $40 to Mai. Pyle The language of
Maj. Pyle and Capt. Carle-it will be noted
lis similar in several sentences, but this
is only one of the eccentricities of genius:
A royal month is October in Minnesota-if
1t lsn t 100 hot or too cold, or IL 1t doesn't
rain or snow. DID you ever wake up from a
sound slumber in u sleeping car just as the
gray dawn was creeping up from Inc east
and, making head rest of your two pillows
lay your lace close against the Wlndow-pane
and look out upon a gorgeous Southern Min
nesota landscape, which became shifting
panorama OF countless, variegated colorS as
the train sped swiftly along? If not you have
missed one of the rarest treats that fall to the
lot of man. There is nothing which will COM
pare with it in all the wide world. The hill
sides still retain traces of their lovely green
coloring, over which the COtswold sheep and
the Attorney COWS (the pride of the North
western farmer gambOl in their purity and
sentleness; the trees are putting OF their
summer garments and putting on rament
suitable for autumn wear in all the tints OF
the rainbow; the sumach bushes, which
dot the bluffs and lowlands, look
gorgeous in their dark clothing and
merry red headgear. under the protecting
shades of which young Berkshires dream
away the long aud pleasant afternoons. The
corn shocks weave into ones mind impress
sions of the tepees of an Indian village and
the great fields in which they are located spin
round and round before ones eyes, the
streets mixing themselves together in most
bewildering confusion. The brilliant yellow
pumpkins CLEAN like Jewels on background
of sombre hue, aud the corn shocks and the
pumpkins seem to dance in mad revelr and
execute all the intricate figures of the waltz
or the polka. The sun, which is slowly climb
ing over the hills from the east, bathes the
lovely scene in tints of gold and amber and
purple and crimson. The farm hand just
rouSng from his refreshing sleep, stands on
the back doorstep shifting the pure and
dlT. 4ucI6 10 d NiuI
trace of frost on the alder bushes, on the
roof of the spring house and on the freshly
plowed ground; but our special crop reports
Indicate that the frost is not general, so there
need be no fears that the damage is wide
spread. The air is sharp enough to make a
fire comfortable, but this does not seem to
make any difference with sturdy lad and
brght-faced lass who are standing by the
stile, clearly outlined against the white farm
house by which the train is just passing.
They are early rise~s, and one cannot help
feeling thrill of envy as the lad kisses her
ruby lips and they run away-She to milk the
COWS, he to feed the horses so they may be
ready for the days work The air is intoxi-
penetrate the trees and kiss their upturned
faces. Snakes dart away from the
paths into the dense weeds, fright
eued by the noise of the rush
ing train, and tramp (poor fellow.
maudlin but hilarious, steps off into a pool of
water and waves his hands frantically as we
pass. He is on the verge of snakes also. In
fact, snakes are fashionable in Minnesota in
October. No doubt he believes that walking
is preferable. He feels shod with springs
when some farmer hOistS him on his boot and
sends him on again over the hills and valleys,
through the tall, brown, silk-tufted grass and
the rustling leaves, inhaing drafts of inspir-
ing ozone (for which the climate is ceebrated),
and absorbing an alluring view up some long,
misty valley, or a blue lake, trimmed like
royal drinking cup with a fringe Of gold and
green and crimson-and mentally kicking
himself because it is an illusion, and not a
real genuine, old-fashioned drinking cup,
fringed with beautiful white froth and filled
with an amber nectar which would make the
mouths of the gods water.