The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1891-11-14
BRAuN'e STONE FENCE.


"A AOW11nG bN1S0F0 AVs0WVVOU " 0eAS0
It, but Abandoned the Job.
A few years ago an old Dutchman
named Braun bought q quarter section
Just below mine. He came from Penn
sylvania, and was hard worker and a
thrifty chap, as most all Pennsylvania
Dutchmen are. My farm Is fenced with
barbed wire. The Dutchman didn't like
wire fences, so in the spring he planted
willow hedge around his quarter Sec
ton. Summer passed, and the hedge
was growing like jimsen weed, when
early in the fall little black cloud
which had been hangin around over in
the northwest all the afternoon suddenly
swooped down our way and went rippin
and tearin across Braun's place. It
didn't leave q dozen hedge plants
standin.
Then the old man concluded that
fence which would stand agin hard
wind would be cheapest in the long run,
and by the middle Of October he had
built q stout rail fence to replace the
hedge. It was a beauty-seven rails
high, with locked corners and heavy
"rider" on every length. But we had
hardly time to look over the old mans
handiwork and pronounce it good before
blizzard struck it and scattered the
rails over several neighboring townships.
Rather reluctantly Braun then decided
to follow my example and fence his
place with barb wire. He put in place
of the rail fence that was q wire fence
which could scarcely be beaten. It had
large, sawed posts and five heavy wires,
and should have lasted a lifetime. It
might have done 80, perhaps, but for an
unfortunate occurrence. One afternoon
early in November another blizzard
came sauntering along, pulled up every
blamed fence post, carefully wrapped q
few miles Of wire around them and sailed
off toward Chicago with the whole outfit.
When the hedge was destroyed the
old Dutchman merely sighed; when the
rail fence went he said something half
under his breath; when the wire fence
followed it he swore. Then he sat down,
lighted his pipe and fell into brown
study.
Bright and early the next spring he
began another fence. It was somethin
entirely new for our country, but it was
| dandy and no mistake. The old man
set his hired hands to work pickin up
| stones and haulin powders together.
| and in few weeks he had collected
enough of 'em to build a stone wall. 1t
was as strong as stone and cement could
make it, and was four feet wide and
| three feet high One afternoon, just
after it was completed, Braun was
| pointin out 10 me the fine points Of his
| new wall, when we noticed a black
| cloud over agin the western horizon.
| "Theres trouble over thar, old man,
said l. That blamed thing IS jest rollin
| up its sleeves and splttin on its hands
and geti:n ready for business. It'll be
along here, too, in about two minutes"
We'll, let it COON"
| Then, as there wasn't anythin else to
do, we sat down to watch it. 1t came
zippin along, twistin off trees close to
the ground or pullin em by the roots,
cuttin the prairie grass as clean as a
mower could have done it and sweepin a
clean path. When it reached that wall
it just stopped a moment as If to look it
over, and could swear heard chuckle.
Then it stopped and caught hold Of the
edge of the masonry. 1t held together
we'll, but up it came, slowly and steadily.
Jest when the wall had been turned halt
over the blizzard suddenly gave q groan,
lost its grip and loosened its hold. The
wall settled down upon its side and the
blizzard jumped over it and went howl
in out Of sight.
"Vell!" said Braun jubilantly. "Vot
told you. Dot fence is dandy, dom
it7 1t is Won feet higher now as pefors
dot Wind COON along" And he winke(
the other eye.-South Dakota Cor. Chi
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