The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1904-04-02
OLD
FAvORiTES

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The Wonderful '0as-Hess shay."
Have you heard OF the wonderful ens-
EoSs shay.
That was bailt IN sgeh logical way
IL ran handred years 10 a day.
And then. Of a sudden. lI-ah. but stay,
III tell yoa what happened without do
lay,
Soaring the parSoa into sts
Frightening people eat o. their wits
Have you ever heard OF that. / say!
Seventeen hundred and itry five.
Gsor,sias Seyu13us vas thsa alive
SRu=fy old dr01= from the Gsraan hive.
That vas tie year Rhva Lisaon tpSn
EaS the earth open and gagP her down,
Al Brad3ock's army vas da2s 80
hrgSh,
Lxtt without a scalp 20 It's srown-
Il was o. the terrible Earthquake day
That the Deacon aaLsAe3 the ens-Aoss
SAY
But the Deacon swors (as De2coas do.
Wlgh an Il dew vGm. or al Il tel
yeoa'1
he would baild one shay TO bear the
taown,
n the krounty n all the keatry raoan' /.
IL should be so bu.ls that il couldn't
break daowu;
"Pur." said the Deacon. rs mighty
plain
Thur the weakss' place mus stan the
strain:
N the way I fl it. u maintain,
Is only test
r make that place u strong uz the RESI- .
Step and prop-iron, bolt and screw,
Spring. tire, axle, and linehPin, TOO,
Steel 81 the finest. bright and blue;
TASrouZhbrace blsoa-skIn, thick and
wide.
Boot. top. dasher, from tough old hide
Eoand ia the pit when the tanner died
That was the way be ~pu. her through
'There"' said the Deacon, ''Gaow she i
dew
Do. ! tell you. rather guess
She was wonder, and nothing less,
Colts grew horses, boards turned gray,
Deacon and Deaconess dropped away.
Caiidren and grandchildren--where were
they?
But there stood the stout Old one-hoss
shay.
As fresh as on Lisboa-earthqlake day.
Eighteen hundred-it came and found
The Deacon's masterpiece strong and
sound,
Eighteen hundred increased by ten
"Hahuzum kerridge' they called It then.
Eighteen hundred and twenty came--
Running as usual. much the same.
Thirty and forty at last arrive,
And then came hfry, and dfty-avs,
FIRST Of Noyember-the Earthquake
day
There are traces Of age in the one-hoss
shay,
A general favor of mild decay.
But nothing local. as one may say.
There couldn't be-for the Deacon's art
Had made it 50 Ike in every part
That there wasn't a chance for one to
start
FIRST of November. Fifty-dve.
This morning the parson takes drive.
Now. small boys, get out OF the way.
Here comes the wonderful one-hoss shay,
Drawn By rat-tailed, ewe-neeked bay.
"Huddup" said the parson. or went
they.
The parson was working his Sunday
text
Had rot to ffthly, and stopped perpleyed
At what ;he-AIOses--wa coming next.
All at once the horse stood still.
Close by the meet'u'-h0use on the hill
First a shiver. and then a thrill.
Then something decidedly Ike a spill
And the parson was sitting upon rock.
At haIf-past nine by the meet n house
clock
Just the hour Of the Earthquake shock.
What do you think the parson found,
When he got up and stared around?
The poor old ehaise in heap Or mound.
As II Il had been to the mill and ground /,
You see. Of course. II you're not a Ounce,
How Il went to pieces all at once
All at once, and nothing first
Just "a bubbles DO when they burst.
End Of the wonderful one-hoss shay.
Logic is logic. That's all say.
Oliver Wendell Holmes.