Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1899-11-22
The Murmurous Mud.


brought forcibly to my attention
plentiful rural product which people
of the city know little about but
which plays a very important part in
the life of the country, namely, mud
OF course, we have mud in the city,and
we used to have a great deal of it in
Pittsburg, but we have in measure
abolished it. There is still some
CRIME on the streets, when 1t rains,
and 1t is very dirty as far as it goes,
but it scarcely reaches above the soles
of stout pair of shoes, and a person
who is acquainted with real mud
would hardly notice it. l suppose
that in time mud will be abolished
from the country but beginning in
that direction has scarcely been made.
There is nothing so plentiful in the
rural regions now, and 1t will be one
of the great factors in bucolic life for
many months to come.
One of the principal objects of
country road seems to be the manufac-
ture of mud, and it is so successful
that there are thousands of tons of 1t
in ever ytownship. In fact, it may be
said that the mud product exceeds all
others, and owing to the ingenuity of
the original roadmakers 1t seems to
be produced without apparent effort,
and ostensibily without expense to the
community, though it is in realitI
quite an expensive product. The roads
are laid out through material that
makes excellent mud, and then the
tramping horses and men and the roll
ing of the wheels of vehicles seem to
make the mud without any cost to
anybody. l have known people in the
convenient and expeditions making of
mud was washed out of the roads by
heavy rain to laboriously shovel new
stock into the highway so that when
the first shower came a new supply
was quickly manufactured.
Now, if these people had to stir up
and mix and amalagmate this mud as
regular task it would be found that
it would take great deal of the labor
of the horses and the men who do the
work in the country, but as it is most
ly made in the roads and as it is simp-
ly incidental to the hauling of the
grist to the mill, dragging the crops
to market, taking the family to
church, or making trip to the post
office, it really seems as if it were no
work at all. 1t is something like the
device of indirect taxation. We pay
millions of taxes on tobacco, whisky,
on cough drops, on imporattions, ETC.,
and plenty of us think we do not pay
any taxes at all, whereas If the tax
gatherer were to come around and ask
for half of the amount, directly out of
our pockets, we would raise such
.-.ck as might overthrow the govern
ment. 1t is just the same with the
making of mud. 1t is incidental"
and people think it costs nothing. 1t
is all charged up to other accounts.
When the resident of the country is
making mud, or when he is further
mixing the mud that is already made,
he will load a ton on his wagon, where
as when he is not making mud he will
perhaps be able to load three tons.
The difference between the loads rep
resents his expenditure for mud. But
thus far he has not been able to get
along without it, 1t is said to be a
useful product in many ways-will
cure snake bites better than whiskey;
will cure the sting of a wasp or a bee;
is an antiseptic, and will remove foul
smells. There is treatment for rheu-
matism which consists of boiling the
patient in mud. 1t also serves to put
covering of protecting earth over all
country vehicles, over the horses, the
harness, and the shoes and boots of all
who dwell in rural parts
Probably it is its antiseptic quail
ties that cause the country to be such
healthy place. l think it can be
SHOWN that the country is healthier
now than in the early days when there
was less mud. There IS, however, an
amount far in excess of what is needed
for these purposes. This may be set
down as partly owing to the we'll
known liberallty in providing, which
is characteristic of the country, and
partly to the pleasure and recreation
which it gives. If you ever drove a
team over a muddy road you will un-
derstand what this means. Instead of
a dry, mOnotonous rolling along of the
wheels the operation Is full of variety.
1t is no sedentary occupation like
driving over an asphalt pavement, for
no sooner does one wheel rise out Of
a hole than another drops into one.
There is no chance for ennui at all,
and in order to insure beyond perad-
venture that your liver will not be-
come torpid, and that the occupation
may not lack variety, occasionally a
wheel drops so deep that the horses
cannot move it, and you get off and
put your shoulder to 1t, while exer-
clsing your vocal powers in command
ing the horses to pull their best Then
the sounds are very different from
those which arise from rolling over a
hard monotonous surface. We have