Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1892-03-05

C nice to ask
visitor to do chores, but if you will tax,
hector n run across the beechwood
TO the bush pasture and bring the COW
home, | can get the milking done b,
the time your uncle and the boys com,
to supper"
Hector was q mediun-sized, blacl
collie dog, and l a stout, wei. grow
boy of fifteen years.
Aunt Mary was the wife of Incl,
Eoen Geddes, a thrifty farmer, ther
living in Paulding county, on the ex.
treme western edge of Ohio, and | had
come from my own distant home tc
pay these hitherto. almost unknown
relatives and their children, nv cousins.
q long midsummer visit.
Having been myself born, and so far
mostly brought up, in the backwoods.
the then wild, or partially wild. state
OF this part of the country was entirely
congenial to my tastes and habits. as.
ever at that early age, | was quite a
hunter and angler, and had brouuht
with me the first gun l ever owned. an
old fintlock, smoothbore .,Indion
piece" really an accurate weanon for
throwing shot, and, as | fondly fancied,
almost equally good for ball.
Anyhow, thouhg it cost, TO beoin
WITH only three dollars and a half NV
faith in its powers (when it didn't han.
pen to miss fire. was mistaken, and
with it l had killed great Quantities
ot small game and not a little of LARGER
kind. 6N
80 now, when on this evening. the
second of my stay, Aunt Mary asked
me to go for the cows, nothing could
nave suited me better, and, whistlinp
up Hector, took down my gun, pow
der.horn and shot-pouch and started
off in high glee.
Uncle Eben and his two BOYS were
busy in a distant wheat field. and nv
aunt Jokingly called out, as left the
house:
IF You don't get lost, Willie, or eat.
en- up by something, 90 round nv the
Old clearing, on your way back, and
the boys will likely help you to carry
your game home"
"All right, auntie. I'll BRING vou
enough squirrels and partridres to
make a Sunday pie, anyway" re.
piled.
And away | went.
The pith of Aunt Mary's joke Law in
the fact that, although the woods
q bounded in game of various kinds,
they were supposed to contain nothing
more dangerous than deer, foxes and
r%accoons, not a single one of tbe for
merry ubiquitous bears and wolves hay.
ing been seen for a long time.
The tract of primeval forest. known
as the beech woods, was one mile
across, and just beyond its further
edge lay the bush pasture, a wide ex.
panse OF partly burnt.over land. on
which a rich crop of grass had sprung
up, and which, being a government re.
was open to the use of all the
In going through the woods. | shot a
'abbit, two black squirrels and n mart.
'ss, ana naving mus made sure of
y mp'e h'i'hg Q my good aunt's pie, I
hurried along to the pasture, sent lice.
to piclN>ut from the herd and gath.
r in our W cows-a task which the A
rained collie performed as intelligent \
= and twice as quickly as | could have N
started them, in single file. \
"oUoiaha pam homeward' 7
lnen telling the dog to ''hie on"
knowing that he would drive the
at,ie sofely to the house, ! made u
for the purpose of going il
enRthwise down the deep woods, and c
around by the old clearing. $
AS two hours of daylight were still
~ J a plenty OF time 10 reach the d
'heat-feld long before shutdown and 4,