The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1894-10-25

stock, engaging cook and teamster
and otherwise getting ipto shape fol
work. Each man in thd party was :,
have his own individual iorse, and il
looking for an animal for me, Do,
came across Chesapeake.
As 1 said before, my decision as u
his desirability was overruled. Do,
said: why, he's just what you want
After he's travelled thirty or forty
miles day for q month, he'll be quie,
as an old COW. All he needs is exer.
cise."
Well, the horse was brought and led
to our first camp, just outside of town.
! was, of course, not allowed to drive
him, us Doc still persisted that I was
ignorant of horses; but Jake, our
teamster, gave him all the exercise he
could possibly need, and surely
enough. in a couple Of weeks he was
very much more calm in his deport-
ment; and while never consenting TO
walk, ho was willing to trot at n
moderate speed when held firmly in.
So he was turned over to me, to-
gether with unlimited advice about
how TO go down hill, how to go up
hill and how TO go on level.
had by this time mastered what
my work was to be. Our business in
that country was making maps, and
my part of it consisted chiefly in TAX
ing long drives by myself, and at fre.
quent intervals making barometric OBJ.
servations for altitude. We got over
the ground very rapidly, and in
November were far west of our start
ing point.
AT the time am going to write
about, we were camped at little sta.
tion called Hauston, on the railroad
that runs from Larned to Jetmore.
II must be understood that by this
time Chesapeake was my obedient SER
want. II l spoke to him he would
travel like the wind; and in Kansas
that means n goad deal; but il ! said
whoa" never 30 gently, he would
stop 80 short as to pretty nearly
throw me over the dashboard. That
sort of obedience was Just what
wanted, as had to stop 80 frequently.
had been careful, and he had never
run away, sol had begun to feel the
utmost confidence in his integrity and
virtue.
That part of Kansas is but thinly
settled. 1t is splendid grazing coun-
try, and years ago was the pasture of
numberless wild, long horned Texas
cattle; but the settler drove out the
rancher, and drought drove out the
settler; SO that now thore is only n
scattered population-some who came
there with money and haven't lost il
all. yet; some who would like to get
away and can't; few who have
actually made money through
some exceptional piece of luck or un.
usual industry. The prairie is dotted
everywhere with the fallen remains of
sod shanties; and deserted "dugouts"
line the benches beside the creeks
telling of the prosperous "boom" days
when every quarter section had an oc.
cupant, and when Kansas, to the East
ern mind, was anotbe-, ~amf for Ar
es.P''1 seeding. ,aen 40
piaces O. de. A recess is'dug in
steep ba ror terrace, the sides of
which fora ehree walls of the struct-
ure. The mt is usually built of
squares of sT"superimposed upon an
other, formiS N'wall frequently three
feet thick. Neie IS an aperture left
for a door, and another for window.
The roof is formed by laying light
boards across front TO back and shovel
ing dirt upon them, and it is often diff.
ticult to distinguish from above where
the bank leaves Off and the house be.
gins One frequently sees IA better
crop of corn growing on top Of the
house than in the field. These "sod.
dies, or dugouts, are often plastered
within and without, have good doors
and windows, and are very satisfactory
domiciles in a climate where the range |
of the thermometer is from 115 de- !
grees in the shade TO forty degrees be- |
low zero in the sun; for they are as
impervlous as cave to external |
changes of temperature.
About that time We were working |
uuuhuuilN uuIub lOI We eApccteu TO !
break camp and 80 home the lst OF
December if we had finished a certain
amount of territory. There was
danger of a snow storm coming up |
and stopping us completely. In fact,
it had showed little already, and we
were impatient to get through.
In spite of the near approach OF |
winter, the 14th of November was
warm as a summer day. Not breeze
was stirring as started out bright
and early upon my daily drive; and,
up my mind TO accomplish |
more than usual on that perfect day,
| kept Chesapeake up to an unwonted |
speed. In fact, | even touched him
it was barely touch-with the whip. |
II was the first time had done such a
thing, and he was surprised and |
panied. He put his ears back and |
looked around at me with a very
wicked expression, aud l knew he
meant TO let me understand that he'd |
get even with me. Then he started |
at ,aa1 -.