Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-06-24
KILLED BY BARLEY.
Major Ponds First Experience In Plow-
ing with Oxen.


ing with Oxen.
Ii st. Nicholas Major J. B. Pond,
the we'll known manager, tells bit Of
autobiography entitled MY First
Gun" Major Pond says:
A coed many years ago | was small
boy living on the farm Of my father,
who was a western pioneer IN the state
Of Wisconsin. When 1 was about IL
years old, was hired by neighbor to
work at a job of blowing, and for it [
was to receive 50 in money and pair
of geese. The oxen which 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 l man.
aged the oxen and plowed ten acre
lot. 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.
Ny instructions were to see 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 the
oxen had slipped his halter during the
night and was comfortably lying near
the barley bin. | put him back in his
stall and gave them both their usual ra-
tions.
When it was time to yoke up for the
day, Mr. McLaury came with me to the
stable, as | was not large enough to put
the yoke on the oxen. He noticed that
one Of the steers had not eaten the bar
ley in his feed box and suggested that
perhaps he was not feeling well. So he
told me to drive slowly, and if the OK
showed symptoms Of illness to let him
know.
On the way to the field we had to cross
creek, where l was accustomed to stoI
and let the team of oxen drink all the
water that they wanted. l 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 the water after he had been
drinking with all his might for at least
10 minutes.
Finally 1 got him across the creek
and started to plow, and then noticed
that the OK was beginning to swell He
swelled and swelled until he was more
than double his normal girth, and pres
emily he crowded his mate out of the
furrow, and Mr.. McLaury saw it and
came running into the field | wa.
frightened and was almost inclined tC
"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 | found the animal free from
its halter in the morning. | knew very
well how much Mr. McLaury loved the
first and only team of oxen he had eyel
bad.
He asked me Immediately if the oH
was loose in the barn when | went Out
in the morning. / said yes, expecting tC
be knocked down, for he seemed to be &
quick tempered man. But he was very
gentle and spoke kindly, saying; My
boy, you should have told me he was
loose. Then could have kept him away
from the water and might have saved
him. Now my beautiful steer is lost. "
Ny heart was broken. l believe
would have given my life to save thai
OK, but he died right there, and we tool
his mate home and turned him out t
Craze. | was set to chOpping wood, anc
my employer and his wife went away
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.