Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1898-06-11
KILLED, BY BARLEY.
Major Ponds First Experience In Plow-
ing With Oxcn.

Major Ponds First Experience In Plow-
ing With Oxen.
In St. Nicholas Major J. B. Pond,
the we'll known manager, tells bit of
autobiography entitled my First
Cum" Major Pond says:
A good many years ago l was a small
boy living on the farm Of my father,
who was western pioneer, in the state
of Wisconsin. When was about II
years old, was hired by q neighbor to
work at u job of blowing, and for it l
was to receive SO in money and pair
of geese Tho oxen which l was to have
charge of were 4-year-old steers, and
Mr.. McLaury, my employer, thought a
great deal of them. Mr.. McLaury work
ed at making his garden while I man.
aged tho oxen and plowed ten acre
lot. l was instructed not to whip the
oxen, but to allow them their own gait,
and this they soon found out, and it
made my journeys behind the pillow
very easy. At night the animals were
left in the stable, and we always fed
them carefully and groomed them as if
they had been horses. In one end of the
stable there was bin of barley.
My instructions were to sct that the
cattle were securely tied in their stalls
at night, and was to give each one of
them two quarts Of barley and plenty
of hay. One morning found one of tho
oxen had slipped his halter during the
night and was comfortably lying near
the barley bin. 1 put him back in his
stall and gave them both their usual ra-
tions.
When it was timo to yoke up for tho
day, Mr.. McLaury came with mo to the
stable, as was not large enough to put
the yoke ON the oxen. He noticed that
one of tho steers had not eaten the bar
Icy in his feed box and suggested that
perhaps he was not feeling we'll. So he
told mo to drive slowly, and If the on
showed symptoms of illness to let him
know.
On the way to the field we had to cross
a creek, where was accustomed to stop
and let the team of oxen drink all the
water that they wanted. noticed that
this OK hurried and almost pulled his
mate into the creek in his eagerness tC
drink and | could hardly whip him
away from tho water after he had been
drinking with all his might for at least
Is minutes
Finally l got him across the creek
and started to pillow, and then l noticed
that the OK was beginning to swell lie
swelled and swelled until he was more
than double his normal girth, and pres
emily lie crowded his mate out of the
i, furrow, and Mr. McLaury saw it anc
cano running into the field. l was
frightened and was almost inclined tt
"cut' for home, for knew then thai
the OK must have been feasting at the
barley bin and that had done wrong il
not telling Mr.. McLaury of my suspi
cions when l found the animal free from
it's halter i'll the morning. / knew very
we'll how much Mr.. McLaury loved the
first and only team of oxen he had cvel
had.
He asked me Immediately if the O.
was loose in the barn when l went gu
in the morning. I said yes, expecting tt
be knocked down, for he seemed to be ;
quick tempered man. But he was yer.
gentle and spoke kindly, saying: I'M,
boy, you should have told me he wa
loose. Then 1 could have kept him ava.
from the water and might have save'
him. Now my beautiful steer is lost. y
My heart was broken. I believe
would have given my life to save tina
OK, but he died right there, and we tool
his mate homo and turned him out t
Craze Was set to chopping wood, AM
my employer and his wife went ava
for the afternoon. Soon all the neigh
borhood knew that Mr.. McLaury's o
was dead, and | felt as though they al
thought that was the cause of it.