The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-01-25
Planting "In the Moon"

Dakota Correspondence Modern Miller.
In the East thousands of people plant
and SOW "in the moon" to insure rapid
growth, bat in Dakota it is dangerous to
plant in the prolific phase of the moon, so
they are careful to plant at such time
that the moon will exert its influence In
holding the crop back. have known sew
eral disasters to result from neglect OF this
precaution. One day last January / got
lost out in the country, and while was
toiling through the tall new grass / saw
man with nothing on but his suspenders
tearing along like mad. He stopped just
long enough to tell me what was up, and
off he went again fer the Iowa side OF the
Sioux river, which he cleared at bound,
and fell on all fours into a snowdrift four
feet deep. He said he and his wife
had looked up the moon business, and
planted their garden the evening before,
but happened to get hold OF last years
almanac, and missed it about four days.
The result was when he woke up that
morning the beeLs that he planted forty
feet from the house had crushed in the
cellar walls, and a squash-vine had taken
the doors of its hinges, and was just mop
ping the floor with all there was left of the
hired man, whom it had snatched out of
bed in the attic. He didn't know where
his wife was, but ne saw some shreds OF
night gown and several agate but
tons in the front yard as
ne fed. He said there were pea-Vines after
him, with pods on 'em large enough for
phantom boats, and one could see by the
way he was dressed that if he was liar al
all he was not a regular Dakota thorough
bred sample. If really thought l would
ever become an average DAKOTA liar
would want to die. This territory must be
divided sometime before the day of judg-
ment, for how could the Almighty ever
audit its accounts with only one set Of
clerical angels at work at time?
About two weeks ago 1 saw farmer out
behind a straw.stack gathering into heap
a lot of old bones and pieces OF hides and
sprinkliDg salt on them. Yesterday l saw
this same man selling fine pair of steers
60 butcher up town, They were so fat
and had filled up so fast that he had pieced
out their hides with an old buffalo robe
This granger was Sunday school superIn-
4endent before he came to Dakota. but be
sWore that these were the same cattle had
seen him kicking together behind thu
straW-stack. He said all that they haC
eaten was some wild grass that had sprunl
mp in his door yard, where the women haC
thrown out few tubs of warm soapsud
on wash days. He said that he had learne'
that the best way to winter stock In Dako
IA was to knock them all to pieces In TIT
erWise, unless we get blizzard every week
they were liable to get too fat and roun'
on the native grass.
Last fall stopped at house to .borrov
a match to light my pipe. The man toll
me to 90 right out in the garden and pic
all wanted. / did not know what b
meant at first, but be went out with me
and-Tm almost afraid you will think Pr
liar fos telling it-there was about ha
an acra orouino the finest narlor m akches
ever saw. They were as thick as hairs o
blind mole. He said he had poor GRO
the year before, because the seed was to
good for such soil. This year he had mil
ed his sssd matches with about one-fourt
toothpicks. and got splendid yield.
/ went about after breakfast and saw IL
man blowing M Hubbard squashes wit
gun lwdsr. They were too large to b
moved, and the farmer wanted the grount
noticed that one of his wife's legs VI
about eight inches longer than the 0the
and the msn explained it thus: He sa
when they first came to Dakota they live
in "dug out" with nothing but d
ground for a Il Dor, from which they had
NOW the grass once day TO find the bah
He id his wife had habit of sitting wi
one over the other knee, and the /
that r.Lasieed in contact with the soil g
such start that the other could new
catch up.
One day 1 was very thirsty. 1 asked
man If the water in that negiborhood v
good. lie said: "You see that mu
stardfng over there?" 1 replying in |
affirmative, he said: "Why, three mont
ago that mule was jack-rab bit, / shot
say the water was good"
lie rnust also have taken a copious 81
ply OF ~ e alkah grass, which grows in t
country in abundance.