The herald., 1895-06-06
iALSTEAD'S PADDY'S RUN PAPERS

the horses and hitching them to the plow
were duties little irksome but there was
always sense Of grandeur and luxury in
riding one horse and leading another early
in the morning across field just as the
cobwebs were glistening with the sun and
dew, to hitch up to the plow, and then 1t
was very clever thing, if tho plow was
sharp, and the moldboard polished, and
the ground free of roots and stones, to
turn over the deep, rich soil and see it
Crumble, and it was not weary but joc-
und tramp to go on around the land"
shearing off slice and carving it down
mathematically, every step letting the fire
Of the sun into the earth to make 1t fruit
full.
invented way of using right hand
plow to throw the burrows inward all the
time-always away from the borders of
the fleld-and to turn the horses on un-
broken soil, that they might not harden
tho plowed ground at the corners. The
plan was to mark off land by furrow
drawn through the center of 1t and to
turn all the time to the right with the use
of the single line and "crowding stick"
OF course this ceremony contemplated two
horses and put the right hand horse in the
furrow all the while and the guiding
horse On tho unbroken land. However, as
horses are driven there is convenience
in left hand plow. My point was to do
the work Of tho left handlers with right
handler. One of the slovenly and eventu-
ally wasteful things in farming is to throw
the furrows toward the fences, for it is
putting soil where it cannot be so well
titled and spoils the fences with ridges par
alel to them.
That which disliked in farm work was
"making fence" and moro especially
mending fence, and the digging Of bushes
from fence corners and otherwise clearing
them. That was severe. have oven felt
it was disheartening. Chopping wood was
not SO bad. That was clean, though hard.
There was something worth while in cut.
ting down big tree, and no one told me
when was boy trees were among the
best friends of man. l thought they were
the enemies of my race--that the pioneers
were worn out destroying them-and I
have come to consider them benefactors.
Still, when great tree is to be cut, it is
like laying siege to city, and it is manly
and joyous to chop the deep notches in it
that cause its thrashing and resounding
downfall. l remember one grand old elm,
condemned because its vast shadow "killed
against two stalwart choppers and at last
groaned and thundered after majestic
bow to the shaken ground, and as it's green
head disappeared there was a sad change
in tho landscape.
did not get the knack of swinging the
scythe in meadow or the cradle in
wheat, rye barley or oat field, but l was
accomplished in binding sheaves and put
ting them in shocks. The only limitation
that distressed me was that the straw wore
out the skin on my fingers, and the beard
of barley tormented my arms. How I en-
WED party Of young Welshmen, right
from their native mountains, with their
hobnailed shoes and white corduroy
breeches, rolling up their sleeves and gath
ering the barley in their tawny arms that
seemed made of brassl did not mind
binding wheat oats or rye, but ripe bar
Icy field was not, to me, pleasant sight.
When in Richmond, Va, in 1860, at
tended sale of slaves at the Washington
House. The place looked like cheap
concert hall. There was a platform that
resembled a stage, and therelwere screens,
behind which the private part Of the bust
ness was transacted. There were no gal
leries, and the audience was accommodate
ed in the pit" SO to speak, 1t was as
dismal an apartment as l ever entered.
This was at the time when a radical south
ern state convention was being held, and
J. was in the capital of Virginia in the ca
pacity of a reporter and visited the slave
auction for the purpose of becoming bot
ter acquainted with the peculiar institu-
tion about which there was SO much dis
turbance and excitement
When walked in, an elderly negro-a
good deal of white in his hair-had just
been sold and was bowling in all polite
ness and humility, apparently saluting
the man who had made the highest bid.
The slave was a Virginian, whose future
home was to be in cotton state. A slen-
der and bright looking black boy came
upon the stage, showing great, round
eyes, and-when he pulled up his trousers
at the command of the master of ceremo-
Mesa rather slim and crooked pair Of
legs. This fine boy, gentlemen" said
the auctioneor, "is a smart and good boy,
obedient and learns quick and will be q
first rate servant He is l / years old, and
he plows we'll with one or with two horses.
Breaking ground or plowing corn is all
the same to him." That recommendation
made me nervous. Why it was my own
plowboy record recited to sell the boy.
Eleven years old, and could plow with one
or two horses My recollection is, the boy
sold for $3.50. MURAT HALSTEAD.