Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1888-04-19

he earns his daily bread and is
himself high priest before the mys-
terious power from which he de-
rives all Of his we'll earned bless
ings.
To set back and discant on the
honors, beauties and the profits Of
farming is nice enough in theory,
bus 10 put your hands TO the plow
and straddle over clods from the
suns glorious appearance in the
orient to his golden setting in the
occident, and creep home in the
witchery Of the twilight, leg-weary,
with your back broken and bis
ter on your nose as big as a quar-
Ter from elevating il about hun
dred and twenty-five times too
often in the suns scorching rays
10 see how near it is to noon,
kno cks the poetry clean out Of the
thing, and leaves you in the pres
ence ofa realization as convincing
a as first class case of bilious collie.
1t is indeed a pleasing prospect
TO see Ceres skimming DER th e
bending corn aud the basking Of
the golden ha,ye in the ripening
sun, but there is a painful discord
in the rythm when at about 2
o'clock Of a July day you "gather
in the sheaves" and you are made
to think that If your spinal column
was about a foot shorter it would
be just that much more convenient
in reaching for things about your
feet, or that you had rather be q
monkey in equatorial Africa, whore
spontaneous nature produces her
fruits in abundance, and all you've
got TO do is TO climb after them
and to use your prehensible ap-
pendage while selecting the choic-
est.
The picture of a buxom lass
idealized in a saucy hat, a cutaway
dress to the knees in front, red
stockings, dainty shoes, with
golden sheaf under her left arm
naked TO the elbow and sickle in
her right hand, is n clod-hopping
allegory beautiful enough for any
thing, but when you come home
at sundown, tired, hungry and
with an eight inch blister between
your shoulders where, through
your open. back shirt, the sun got
in its work the fire out and the
old woman just returned from get
ting up a church festival and wants
a dollar and a half to help the
thing along, you'll then realize
the truthiuluess that distance
lends enchantmont to the view,
especially when it comes TO farm.
ing, and ths further off the better.
It's fine to sit in your stocking
feet, on the front porch, your head
frowzy, shirt collar open and
thrown back, and while compla-
Gently tanning yourself with the
tail feathers Of the last thanks Civ
ing turkey, peruse the columns of a
late CmEFTAIS, and to look over
your growing crops spread in pan
Drama before you. It's fine and
satisfying to witness the gradual
fulfillment that "as long as the
earth ,remaineth there shall be
seed time and harvest" but if you
were plodding along.the rows, with
sweat trickling down your spinal
column, the soil in your shoes
and crawling up your shins, the
beauties and independence Of n
farmers life lose their charms
when the old woman tells you in
tragic language that if you don't
scour yourself off with soap and a
corn-cob, you can sleep in the
hay-loit.
Yes, by all means teach the boys
the art Of farming, not that there
is any great pleasure in it, but
that it is a necessity, and that it
is a pleasant occupation, if you
can get others to do the work.
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