Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1894-08-09
A DROUGHT YEAR IDYL.


Wherever one may go around the
west this year, the average country
town presents precisely the same APP
pearance Everything has sun dried
look; the grass and weeds on the main
streets have a pinched and withered
aspect; the song birds are silent; the
village joker whites his dry goods
box in somber humor; the people even
have turned in a measure to the preva,
lent color of the sod; stray lumber
wagons that rumble into town ara sig.
nails for the dogs to awaken from theiI
maps, and the people to come to Their
doors in surprise; on the streets the
dust lays white and thick, and overhead
the orb of day splutters and winks
with unremitting glare. 1t is the dry
year and everyone has the dumps
Over here in an adjoining field you can
see farmer dragging along on a bind
er, cracking the whip over the heads OF
horses to whom peck of oats would
be u glad surprise, with the binder
knife set so low down that it occasion
ally cuts off bunch of sod with the
pinched and withered wheat heads
and binds them up in loose and fab
by bundle. 1t is the dry year and al
nature seems to have got the tantrums
Over here OH the shady side of the cor
ner on sun parched bench rests an
old man with straw hat, cane, 6
pair of patched overalls and one sus
pender. He is the oldest settler. He
can tell you what kind of weather they
had thirteen years ago at this time
how much snow they had the succeed
ing winter, and what grand year the
next season was. The village banker
is just around the corner. He knows
what kind of weather we have beer
having, too, and what we are likely tC
get but he is not banking on it, He il
doing business on a purely intrinsic
value basis; he is the man you hear Sc
frequently spoken of in Dakota as no
being here for his health. A little fur
ther up the street, with three or fou
Gaping lots intervening, is the yillag,
merchant. He is sitting on his coun
ter and looking out of thickly Il!
specked window at man who ap
proaches the door; the man has fou
dozen eggs which he is going to trade
for three pounds of Goldfish, and wher
the merchant sells the eggs for casl
and closes up the deal he will have
made cents. This is what makes hin
so much absorbed in thought. About
mile out of town stands large SUI
burned court house. The windows arr
all up, and this is about the only sigr
of life apparent. This is the place PEG
pie come to when they want to tell the
county treasurer about when they
think they can pay their taxes. Al
the other end Of the town stands the
railroad depot, sleepily sizzling in the
summer sun. The ticket window il
locked, there is q scum of dust on the
wooden benches, and the iron arm
rests are so hot that they hiss wher
you expectorate on them. There is nc
one in sight. Up stairs the agent lives
and his wife cultivates flowers. She
has them all in the window, and you
take off your hat to the first live thing
in sight. When the sleepy old train
crawls in and crawls out with yourself
and the other four passengers, you
breathe an inadvertent sigh of relief
and try to sleep until you get to the
river. For this is the dry year and al
nature sleeps.-Madison, S. ID. Ontlook