St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-09-05

! ! !: ] !
"
year and give
NJ the old family
graveyard a ire
~ mendius clos I
NMNN(XN~NE IN shave. Nothin
MNEMEwNWEMaSM but the hand Of
W$NENNMAVM " Providence and
WNKWMNN&MM pure niger luck
pulled me through the tolls and snares
and trials and troubles OF that au-
tumnal day, which then I got out by
the hair of my head and the skin OF my
teeth. q it were.
aFrom Sunrise to Sunset"
Every Twin mortal man, born of wom-
an-if he will but only stop and bunker
down and look back along the line, and
be plum square and honest with nim-
self-can see that oncst upon time
he was q fool.
And way back there in the golden
days of boyhood it does raley look to
me like / was more different sorts OF
fool, and the blamdest, gonebyest.
biggest fool that ever sprung from the
bosom Of the earth and got tangled mp
with the web of time.
Now in them days the Sanders gener-
alton of people had made their clear
| ms and built their cabins down there
in the old Panther Creek settlement.
and by some hook or mercrook-the
GOOD Lord only knows howl had man
aged to worry through the ups and
downs and overs and unders of about
| 13 years of human life.
BY the old stage road it was sixteen
miles from the settlement where we got
our washin done to the town OF Green
willie, where we sold cotton and chick
ems and eggs and other farm produce
ments, and bought few dry goods and
groceries and other valuables of life.
i When I look back now and think about
| It right serious seems to me like Green
Vile was but little more than . wide
place in the road. But 1t was town,
you understand; to my young eyes 1t
was the biggest and the busiest and the
finest place in the round created warld.
Up to that time it had always looked to
me like the sun rose somewheres over
there in the fat woods on the other side
Of Panther creek, and then went down
with royal bobtail flush and set behind
them old red hills around Greenville.
In that day and generation the men
folks didn't 60 to town as regular and
frequent as they do now, and it was only
about oncst a year that they would fill
up with the milk Of human kindness
and let the Toys go with them. And,
mind you, with US boys trip to town
was the biggest thing in the deck-the
happiest and most brightest spot in the
records Of q year. White people. &C
cordin to the way see things now and
the way saw things then, railroad
excursion all the way from New York to
New Orleans nowadays amt nothin to .
ride on our OK wagon from Panther
Creek to the town Of Greenville.
So in the large and lovely autumn, in
the golden Indian fields were turnin
brown and red and pale in patches
the men folks they yoked up the
oxen and loaded the wagons and took
the boys with them and went to town.
II it was given unto me to live right
ON for q hundred years to come
I never could forget how tremendous
big and broad and bright and beautiful
the world looked to me on that frosty
mornin in October as'the wagons rolled
out over the old stage road-men and
oxen and boys all headed for town
from Panther Greek to Greenville-
from sunrise to sunset.
Uaclo Luke and His whip.
II in case you have lived as long - I
have you have took notice by this time
that back there in them plain old days
people had more oxen and thought
more Of their cow teams than they do
now. On that trip recollect that
some of the men driv two oxen and
some driv four, whilst Uncle Luke
Willis he driv six without tho sign Of .
rope on marry one. He had him long
keen whip, which he could take it and
ret the very air on fire from the tail OF
the OF OK at the wheels to the horns Of
tho lead OK way out there in front. And
to hear Uncle Luke talkin to his COWS,
sometimes kind and gentle and some
times with loud voice in the plainest
and strongest United States language,
and then see him handle his long whip
till it would coil up and hiss and pop
like q bunch of firecrackers-that was
fun and show enough for me.
Soon a. ever we got 10 town and sold
out the cotton and other producements
which we had took to market, the men
folks driv around on the square and
halted the wagons. Then they
went OF and left ~ boys there to
mind the teams and keep loose stock
away. You understand they didn't have
no stock law in town then, and II you
didn't look out the cows and hogs and
things would eat up every blessed thing
in the wagons.
So the men folks they left us boys
with tho wagons and teams, whilst they
went on to ''see about it." - heard
Uncle Luke say. Al for me, ! don't
know for certain where they went. but
from what little could see and pick up
around the edges knowed blame well
they didn't 60 or and drink any plain
branch water to speak Of.
Anyhow. We boys wanted to see some
Of the sights, 20 we took it time about In
regards to mindin the wagons, and 1t
want NO trouble 1t all that day to dnd
two or three yearlin boys fresh from the
woods and hills strayin and straggltn
around town steppin high and awk-
ward q mule colt in . canebrake.
Finally at last told the boys II they
would leave Ben Chris Weaver with me-
and let me have Uncle Luke's long whip,
I would mind the wagons and teams
and they could make up . crowd and
take in the town. II we only turned
loose two or three at . time. you under
stand, they dassent 60 out Of eight from
the WAGONS for fears they never would
| ut hack 70 bose. And that's how come
= a. xel,> %h> {oh - vnSvf23n All the