West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1900-11-15
Ne OLD TIME
THRESAlNG.
Back Yard Politicians For Once
Avoid Politics.
They Compare the Present Method OF
Threshing with the Pioneer Methods

al was out TO Sarah's last week, helpin'
'em thrash" and the Democrat, rs he and
ms nelghbor sat down in the back yard for
their accustomed gossip. 'sThrashin' amt
wha, 1t used to be in the old days when /
was on the farm Thcre'd be week of
gittin ready, women.folks n bakin' fried
cakes and bread and pork-eake, things that
would keep through the whole siege, men.
folks maxim pole-s,ables to be covered with
the fresh straw, drawin' the manure out of
the way, cuttin' the grass round the stacks.
stoppin' up the ratholcs in the wheat bins
aud the last thing, goin' TO town the morn.
IN the thrashers was expected. for molas-
ses. soap, saleratus. raisins and pound
roast of beef to start 'em off in good shape
second day and three or four days followin',
they'd have TO put up with mutton. boiled,
broiled, fried and fricassed"
''What ~ exeitin' time il used to be
when 'he processin hove in sight over the
hill. First the separator, jangling and
clashing along, with the driver standin' up
ON the machine. A country boys highest
ambition in them days was to be thrasher
aud drive the separator standin' up. Now
town boy yerns to break on a freight, or
go with circus, but to stand up and drive
arsttlin' old separator, with its canvass
curtains noppin' and the back machinery
bangin' like Chinese band, was high
enough place for any boy to aspire to in
them days. Right behind the separator
was the horse power. slung under trucks,
then wagon loaded with the sweeps, then
another with the ,umbling rod, braces and
stakes, and cart bringing up the rear full
of oil cans, chains. sledges and other tools.
What an excitement /! TO arms, the Greek.
the Greek was nothing to Here they
come The thrashers are comm =
''Ont flashed the butcher knife and down
went woody lamb. Then the neiphbors
who ''ehanged work" would begin to come,
some with horses and some with pitch-forks
and some with goggles.
"rhere was sure to he MISUNDERSTANDING,
and hard feelin's about who should 90 IN
the straw a, the tail Of the machine. lis
all hard work and no glory at the tail of the
machine. They want any more du.t as
know of. but some way you can't insult a
man worse than 10 ask him to go into the
straw. There amt any glory, as I said;
no chance of gitiin' your arm jerked ou, by
the roots IN the cylinder, or a finger slashed
of with the land knife, or of gittin' ground
up on the tumblin' rod, and threshcr likes
glory as well as soldier does. So mostly
they put some patient old man at the straw
carrier who has eight or ten children and
the rheumatism, and just as soon wear Cog
giles as not. About the time they would
git the machine set cloud would begin to
rise in the west but nobody paid much at
tention TO IL.
"After good deal of drivin' of stakes
and proppn' of wheels TO git the thing
level, three men climbed the nearest stack.
three patient old fellers got out the goggles
and went round under the straw carriers 10
wait for the golden storm, the band cutter
whet,ed his blade and cracked a Joke or
two-he was most always kind of fool
boy, quick with his hands-,he feeder. an
important feller. climbed onto the platform.
the measurin' man put his bags handy and
saw TO IL that his half bushel measures was
ready for business. the children stood gap
in round while the driver jumped onto his
perch over the horse power and cracked his
whip over the backs of the ten waitin'
horses. Zum-m-m-m-m Zum- m m m IN zum
rum zum zum chug In went the first
bundle and 'hrashiu' was begun. Up rose
the dust in clouds and the clatter grew
mercer. The goggled man at the straw
carrier begun to look like a sea-serpapt
siickin' ont of yellar sea and 6ehtin' for
his life. The driver yelled and cracked his
whip and hurried the neigbbors bays and
favored his own old grays, the machine
tender went round with his oil can--he was
another important feller--and joked with
the children and made 'em believe he was
goin' to grease their aprons. It took
week, pfovidin' there wasn't any rain. to
finish common job Of thrashin'. But there
always vas rain. Just about the time the
second stack was laid we'll open to the
weather, them clouds, which nobody had
designed TO notice, come on for business and
the men and horses scudded for shelter.
The older men and the bashfuI men set
round in the barn and smoked, but the
smart young skylarkin' ones--the band
cutter for one--alIers hung round the ki,ch.
en-, cracked Jokes with the women folks.
hiried with the hired girl and the grown up
daughter and kicked round under foot while
supper was bein' got ready.
Them suppers and dinners make my
mouth water TO think Of Beef hash,
bioiled mutton, potaters cooked in their
jackets tbesi way potater was ever served
up; Jane won't cook 'em that way-says
Il looks too counryhcd,) billed onions, fried
apples, pork-an'-bcans, apple pic, dough.
nuts, pound cake, cofec-oh everything
good The cooks on the prairie would
just throw themselves so the thrashers would
tell PcuIngill's how well they farcd At
Smitsew. OF course the rains would
dfeneh the stacks so they couidn't 90 on
with the thrashin. and out Of the fifteen
men about eight would set around al next
day aud tell stories and smoke and niri.
while the beef, ham and mutton melted like
dew before the sun. Course lit set in for
three days steady rain, Why they nigh,
pull out and 90 home, but there would be
enough left hanging round to keep the