Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1899-12-02

VI a very short time, especially when
- II is looked back upon; but to the
'V' little brown turkey, fat and sleek,
who was shut In from the world behind
the freckled she'll Of turkey egg only
one year ago. 1t was a very long time
almost an age, in fact. The turkey
was laid IN straw-stack In the far
ther era OF the big field back OF the
barn. In the side of this stack, so high
up that It could. look over the hat Of
the taliest man.. the shrswd old mother
turkey followed out her nest. Within
its cosey sides she deposited an even
dozen freckled eggs. and there she pa
tlently sat FIVE long weeks, warming
the eggs into life. 1t was on Thanks
giving day one year ago that the last
one Of the eggs cracked Its shell, and
from within peeked out the subject OF
this sketch--as round, as downy, as
bright-eyed and inqulsitve turkey
chick as ever looked out OF a shell upon
this great, wide, selfish, hungry world
of ours.
The early life Of turkey chick Is
not an eventful one. It's Yorld Is hem
med in by the rail fence which incloses
TIE barnyard. and until it's wings are
strong enough to carry It's owner over
these confines into the pasture beyond
and up to the lower limb OF the old
apple tree, where Its elders nightly
eoost, It has little opportunity for men
tai Improvement, II, indeed, 1t has that
Ambition. Civilization, we regret to
say, has not advanced far enough at
the present age 10 provide klndergar-
RaS a,A a
friend OF ours reached the balmy days
OF early spring without an idea In it's
little noddle other than filling It's little
gullet with the fattest worms and the
biggest grains OF corn as often as II
had O. chance. BY this time, however,
its angular frame-and all turkeys are
angular, we may remark, as every
amateur carver has observed, at some
time or another, TO his discontinue
had filed out into something like pro-
portions. and It's scrawny wings had
covered themselves with feathers broad
and long, until at last II took Its place
among the elders, very much as boys
drift into ina anhood, acquire moustaches
and right to vote-quite as a matter
f course.
AS spring passed into summer. this
turkey OF ours began to take notice OF
It's surroundings. 1t learned to know
the gray-haired old farmer who owned
the place from the tall and broad
shouldered hired man, and the bent
and angular farmers wife from hef
pretty, plump, red-cheeked daughter.
1t knew the latter particularly well,
because 1t was she who fed II when II
was too young to feed Itself. 1t liked
her, too. did this friend OF ours-for
gratitude Ia not alone confined to chill
dren and story books-and when
handsome young man from the city
chanced to come that way one day, and
rent a room in the old farm house for
d week, while he hshed the neighbor-
Ing streams II noticed that, too This,
however, was not all that Was noticed
by our observing little friend. 1t no!
tlcec that the young man from the city
paid much more attention to the pretty
daughter than he did to the fishing.
and that she, In turn, gave him more
Of her time than she did the turkeys,
When this week was svcr, another one
was ti~'In. and another and yet an
other, until September found the young
city man still at the farm house, and
the friendship between the young cou-
pie had grown with each day. So our
little friend was not surprised, one
pleasant evening, to hear from its
perch on the lower limb Of the old
apple tree a conversation which was
not intended even for turkeys ears.
Under the tree, close to Its rugged
bark, was rustic seat. On this seat
were the lovers, for suoh they had
grown to be.
Mary" said the city man, shall
speak to your father?"
Yes, DEAR" replied the pretty daugh-
ter.
"When7"
whenever you please"
1t Is true that this was not much to
hear; but, such as 1t was, 1t gave our
tcnder-hearted turkey a strange feel
ing Of pain, in the expression of which
it made such a commotion that further
conversation was az an end.
The next day our friend confded its
suspicious to a shrewd old turkey-cock
"a patrlarchal fowl-who listened to
the tale with grave interest.
What does 1t mean?" asked the tur-
key.
1T means replied the cock, slgnlf-
cantly, that we had better make our
selves scarce for awhile, particularly
the plumpest OF US. I know wha: we'd
dings are, and feastinss, and / do not
propose TO contribute to their pleasure.
Not l."
But our unsuspcious friend remain
ed on the tree, and, fortunately for its
safety, the wedding which followed
within q month occurred In the morn
ing at the church, and the couple start
ed directly for their now house In the
city SO there was no wedding feast
that time.
After the wedding, life on the farm
was extremely dull. You have no idea
how the barnyard residents missed the
pretty bride. 1t was as If they had lost
both parents at single stroke. But
they got over 1t at last, and by the
time Thanksgiving approached they
had quite regalned their whilom cheer
fulness. 1t was q week before Thanks
giving that our little friend, who had
grown quite corpulent, having taken
TO feeding as a means Of forgetting its
bereavement, was perched upon the
lower limb of its favorte apple tree.
The night was dark, but not unpleas-
ant, and our friend felt In a mood for
"reminiscences.
n He'd by q Ftancc.