The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1900-03-29
BY Ernest McGaHy.


at the plow?" was Uncle Toms remark
after breakfast was over.
I'D like to see If could" said the
boy, "even if get sick of it before
night"
All right" was his uncle's reply
"But you cant carry the gun with you.
The mules would stampede"
why, what would there be to
shoot?" said Aunt Fanny.
"Oh. there's blackbirds and kildees
by the barrel" said Uncle Tom
III take my bean shooter" said the
boy, and get enough birds for potpie
by night
SO. with a pocketful of buckshot and
his rubber weapon, he was ready for
the fray. The farm was one of 240
acres. 1t was rolling country and
fenced in by the old fashioned barbless
wire fences. The soil was dark loan
and easily worked. There was sand
enough so that pillow would seour
fairly well, and there were no rocks.
The boy had watched his uncle pillow
the day before, and it did not seem
very hard work. &c. with light pillow
and the old team. he started in with
considerable confidence. The reins
were crossed over his shoulder and I'M
der his arm. and the novelty of the job
appealed to his curiosity He grasped
the handles and started the team with
an assuring "Git upw His instructions
were not to hold the plowshare too
deep in the soil or he would be hoisted
into the air by the combination of the
lines around him and the leverage of
the earth's surface, and for the first
200 yards he gingerly scraped along al
most on top of the ground.
Then he remembered that this was
not blowing. and he "h'isted" up the
handles and dug into the bowels of the
earth. 1t was a long pull and strong
pull and pull all together as he re-
'nembered ii afterward, and it ended
by his being slung over the tops of the
pillow handles and deposited in the dirt.
The pillow had been turned upside down
in the furrow, and his hat had been
scrapod off by the lines. The neal
mule beaned on him pityingly, and his
back felt as If part of it had been pull
ed out and thrown away. Then he rec
objected about not digging in too deep.
SO he braced himself and took hold of
the pillow handles again. A long stretch
If comparatively level ground assisted
his efforts. and all went we'll for some
time. 1t was a vast and awful dis
lance across the field for the first fur
row, and his uncle was a mere speck
mt the other end When he got to the
end of the furrow, he found the wire
fence. and beyond was a limtess ex
panse of rolling prairie stretching
down to the timber line of the Tarkio
river Outside of the fence were sew
eral burrows, which, his uncle had ex-
planned were TO keep the prairie fires
from coming in and burning the fence
posts.
lie turned the mules and started
back on the blowing. The loose loan
broke under his bare feet, and the fur
row crumhled down and arched ahead
Of the pillow like the back of an angry
hog. There was a steam, light, misty,
- iilbNl liiil''s l'iblt' liiAiA iCSN hB AAoAAi
the cloYpn hide of the old brown earth.
Far in the west bank of white clouds
lay furled in the blue skies. He held
The plow more steadily now, and when
the share began TO sink too deep he
eased it up without jerking the point
free from the furrow.
The turning point was reached again,
-
cottonwouds that hanked one side of
the field came down a troop of black
birds, clacking and gossiping, in their
quest for grubs, bugs and angleworms.
First in size and Importance were the
gorgeous purple grackles, or crow
blackbirdS. They were the autocrats OF
the hlaclbird tribe and most important
and busy when engaged on foraging
expeditions such as these. They were
followed by the more sober hued COW
blackbirds in great numbers, and as
the team drew away and the burrows
line heightened out the scouts of the
expedition came in close to the pillow.
The boy had already got his bean
shooter within easy reach. and as the
birds lined along the furrow he stopped
the mules.
The nearest blackbird was a big pur
pie grackle The boy drew the rubbers
back a bullet flow as the rubber bands
snapped and the blackbird doubled up
in the furrow with a bullet in lis
breast. Putting in another bullet. the
boy took another shot at the next bird.
which had not noticed the almost
true the second bullet went to its
mark. and a second backbrd dropped
to the shot Going back, the boy pick
ed up the two birds. and the rest scat
tered back along the fuirow. Putting
the lines across and under. he started
along the furrow again. Again the
birds drew up, and again he got two
shots at them, getting one bird aad
Just grazing another When he got 10
the opposite end Of the field, he found
a couple of inquisitye kildecs rummag-
ing about and winged one of them
with his first shot. y long chase over
the drying burrows of the previous
days blowing secured the bird.
Going back he had several more
shots at the blackbirds. which seemed
TO grow holder and hungrier as. the
day advanced. He seldom missed
them and in one instance killed two n
one shot the bullet striking one bird
CHANGING blow on the neck and wingirg
81 spcnn1 lirI i'm the buncb