Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-09-27


30 COWS, enters into lively conversa-
tion with the engineer as to the state
Of the road between Barnstaple and the
end Of the journey. The few passengers
In the train gaze anxiously out Of the
steamy windows and growl disconso-
lately. Then the engine gives mourn
full boot, disconsolate and fatigued
kind Of pull, and slowly they leave the
station and issue forth into the night.
The lights are lowered, and Barn
staple relapses into slumber.
"Well, that's a bad journey over"
Ssoliloquizes the traveller left upon the
platform as he endeavors to restore his
circulation by variety of ingenious
adaptations of the cellar flap. CHOW for
the worst part-seven miles along coun-
try roads in some ramshackle convey
ance, suppose"
"Be you the gent as wants to go to
Norcombef"
eyes Have you got a carriagei"
''It would be no matter of use airy
in to get four wheels to Norcombe, so
I've brought dogcart, and don't
s'pose we'll get there in that. It be
mortal bad night"
"Well, we'll try, ehH"
"Yep, we'll try" the man answers
in melancholy voice as he chambers
into the high dogcart, while the pas
senger takes seat by his side and,
glancing at the horse, estimates that
the driver is not very far wrong and
that they are not likely to get to Nor
combe after all. But in two seconds he
has altered his opinion altogether and
arrived at the conclusion that he does
not know horse from tenpenny nail.
"Old man." he would often say aft
erward in recounting the incident to
some particular chum, "if you want q
sure cure for ennui or sluggish liver
try seven mile ride on frosty night,
with the roads like sheet of glass, be-
hind Kentucky nag. Tobogganing in
Canada's fool to it. If you'd seen
that horse, that looked as if he couldn't
raise enough energy to drag hearse,
take slippery hill, nearly as steep as
the side of house, at an easy trot,
without so much as winking, you'd
have gasped, and when he got to the
top and went full speed down the other
side your only regret would have been
that you hadn't doubled the amount Of
your accident insurance. OF all horses
In the world give me Kentucky horse
as fast as railroad train and as sure
footed as mule. Imagine, my boy, a
seven mile drive on frosty moonlight
night behind a quadruped that treated
the whole affair as joke, and then
Imagine jay, with the reins in his
hand. who did nothing but say: He
can't go like he used to. He's getti,
old and lazy It was drive I've neve
forgotten and one Pm never likely t.
forget"
otis mortal bad winter. III
driver again observes as they spin owe
the frost bound road, mortal bad. "
eyes; it's bit severe. !"
"Ah, we've never had such white
since 81, when I had 30 COWS all froz
to death In one night"
"Ahf"
eyes, and the strordinary thing wa
that said to myself as went to bed
Now, shouldn't be s'prised If some Q
them was froze in the mornin.' That
what said the night afore"
"Then why didn't you get up an
try to make them warmerf"
The driver turns look Of blan
establishment on Herbert Darrent 1t
The first time that such reasonabl
suggestion has been offered to him, an
Its novelty is bit bewildering.
"City folks don't understand cattle,
he grumbles at last and falls to rum
mating why he didn't get up and do some
thing for those 90 COWS, but as he car
not arrive at any satisfactory solutio
he presently breaks the silence again.
you've just come up from Chioast
shf
.1AI wAAs u ~ 49, TT.