Nevada County picayune., 1888-12-12
NEBRASKA COTTONWOOD.
fts Wonderful Poss' IilitIes Explained Dy
 a TruthfuI Western Man.

was on Q pleasure trip, and the Nebraska man was one of the occu- pants of my car seat. the car being crowded. He kept me from going to sleep by squeezing me further up into the corner and telling me marvellous tales of the soil and the crops that grew in it-his tales being evidently products of the said soil and were favored with the aroma of Umahaw whisky remember he spoke Of rye straw out of which canes and fish poles, oats horse coul Int touch, ears of corn of quart of whsg caliber, cab bages that one man c3Gh, ..rry, turnips that Touid 70 into peek measure, squashes n hundred pie power, pota- toes you could pry out with crowbar, wheat three pccks to the bushel; ap- ples? slows of them; peaches? don't mention 1t! and pearsP mercy sakes alive,
 Said he: "The only trouble with us Is there's no timber thar 'cept cotton wood 'longside the streams. Cotton woods sumpun like aspens, specie of poplar. but it's meaner'n any tree you ever shuck an ax dt. In spring it sheds cotton till it's three inches on the ground and blows all around over the United statCs blows inter yer nose and ticsies it to deth. an it takes good de3l Q swarin' to git 1t out. It's powerful to warp when it's cut down. and good deal liver dead than when growth. Why. l started to build a rail fence out of it when fust moved thar, n the sun cum out hot, n them rails began to twist an curl up. an every one O 'em rolled to the ground an squirmed an crawled all over the field. thought old satan was in 'en, fer I didn't know much about their capacity an accomplishments yit. I'd cut an trimmed some long poles, n when the sun brought 'em to life they got frisky n crawlcd round jis like sea serpents you see picturs uv Mister, 1 I've actally seed big cottonwood saw ! logs git to twistin' n roll up hill. Once went to sleep side ov a log in the shadder n it roll over me fore l could wake up n nearly killed me. You don't want to fool much round 'em fer you cant place no confidence in 'em, n you don't want to when you once git acquainted with 'em. A feller went to sleep on wide board, n it curled up round him like bean pod, n we had to split the board to keep him from bein' squoze to death. Board fences is dangerous, as they SC likely to fly off n give ye bigger slap n ye need; any. ways yer fence is likely 10 warp D crawl around another mans field, D its all right ez fur ez he's concerned it's his property then-thats the law ther My fust house was out of it. n it warped n twisted SD ye couldn't tell which was the gable end. n in less D a week the hind door was at the front crackin' night n day n no sleep, D the floor bulgin' up n down like zn dogs wuz titin' un meath. n the shin. gles got to stan'in' straight up like squills on n pork-key an not door could be shet.
 Cant dress them boards, fer they keep bulgin' up so the iack-plane cant tech 'em; When they want bari they lis lay the boards out in the shine . they curl up round, n they clinch 'em together n put heads in; make bushe. measures that-a-way. too. n cheese boxes. Plant green fence posts . they'se boun to grow like green will lers. n that's great botheration, fei you've got to be takin the top board off n putin it on the bottom, CT else the cattle Il soon he g,ttm under.
 My two littlest uns was playin' teeter-totter with long jice one day z all ov suddin' both ends Topped ur n one went over the pig pen n tothei over hay stack. Why, I made my fust pump. stock n all out of cotton. wood, n the fust hot day the bottom O the stock began to climb up n the pump went down. n fore l could stoI it. the hull thing was reversed. n nc water.
 Strangers cum out thar n see cot tonwood houses n barns n say: Why laws, ye've been h1vin' cyclone here, when it's only been the warpin' T twistin' O that conblasted lumber thei won't go dead, n it never does go dead to any alarmin' extent.
 "Yas, stranger. Newbrasky is great State n Umahaw is its capital, but it, cottonwood's all I've got agin it n I've got that agin it strong. l may have been little big in sum o' my state. ments about the sile, but haven't told ye half the truth about the cottonwood, fer hain't got time.
 My friend" said l, Il can vouct for your truthfulne5s. When l was sixteen-yeer-old boy and did all the hard work and lying around in my fathers carpenter shop in Nj. Jo., Mo, l l gained profound and everlasting insight into the possibilities of cotton. wood. You're right. I've had a stick I of it fly around on cold, dark days and 1 hit me unawares, and my father wm not always at the other end of it either. l know it we'll '-.i. IT, BH'Ow, u De- i trot Free Press.
 VENOMOUS SNAKES.