The Vinita weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1905, 1904-10-27
MEMORIES or FARM LIFE.
Thoughts Of a Boy Of Ten as Related
by Him When Man Of
sixty-six.

Si6ty-bix.
At $3.50 q m the boy Is percheG
on the barnyard fence, lmpatiently
waiting for the hired man" and
"hired girl" TO finish milking the
cows. The boy bangles his bare feet
10 drive away the mosquitoes. while
be uses both hands to relieve the itch
ing and burning caused by the invisi-
Bile "no-see-ems," says Forest and
Stream. lie looks at the mud nests
under the caves. and wonders why the
swallows desert the cliffs when barna
appear In the wilderness. "It shows
sense. anyway" he muttters 20 him
self.
Before the mixers are out OF the
yard the boy jumps on the fence; the
straight spruce bars rattle TO the
ground, and the cows pass out, one by
one, with clicking OF toes on the
lowermost bar. The boy puts up the
bars. then waits for something ta
happen. "old Short Legs," the leader
of the herd, braces herself, throws up
her head, and sends out a blast that
causes the air to vibrate, and the boy
TO wonder. for the hundredth time,
what IL is all about
Down the hill through the marrow
lane the boy follows the cows, listen
Ing to the rattling Of hoofs, while he
wonders why COWS have split hoofs
and the horses round. The end OF the
lane is soon reached. The boy drops
the bars. and As they rattle TO the
ground he hears another boy letting
down bars In the edge of the woods
across a burnt land clover field. But
the boy does not care for echoes this
June morning; II is bird life that
claims his undivided attention.
Down by the brook IN the alder
grounds blackbirds are sending up a
wild chorus. On all sides the boy
hears the songs Of native birds. The
loud carol Of the robin. the clear notes
OF the song sparrow. the tender strain
OF the Peabody bird. the rich, rollick-
ing roundelay OF the bobolink, the
sweet, canary-like trill OF the thistle
bird, and over In the burnt land clover
field the sprighuy song OF the house
wren arises from many a blackened
stump. Why the little bird was called
house wren was beyond the boys
knowledge. He had never found a
nest near a house, while nearly every
hollow stump In pasture and field had
Its tenants. Years later the wrens
disappeared with the hollow stumps,
but In that locality-northern Maine
did not build In or around farm build
ings) The boy visited several robin
nests In the pasture. The nests were
all in the roots OF upturned trees. The
boy wondered what the robins would
do when there were no upturned trees.
The boy climbed over the rail fence
into the clover field. He was no stran-
ger tc the birds; he had provided
breadernmbs and nesting material. 50
the birds did not resent his curiosity
Two mornings before he had saved
the eggs of pair OF house wrens by
killing a large striped snake that hs9
made ifs way TO the top Of the nest
Ing stump Il was this nest towards
which he struggled through the
tangled clover
If the birds did not resent bis visit
the bumblebees did The humble
bees. little and big. thronged the
clover field and a scent Of honey was
In the dew-laden air. but the boy |
could not tell whether q came from |
the bees or from the sweet clover
blossoms. He found nine eggs in the
wren nest. They were rosy white.
densely covered with brown dots AMI
patenes. The boy thought they
looked lile costly gems. such as his
FAIRY hoolss claimed for the prince and
princess
While inspecting the wren's mes.
the boy thought Of breakfast and
thfreupon he climbed back to the lane.
hoNoRard hoand Ne did not follow
the lane TO the barn. but turned of
10 visit the spring at the foot Of ths
hill When he stopped down 10
qusneh his thirst there looked up 10
him a ten-year-old boy with round
face blue eyes. and mass Of curly
brown hair
To-day. So years later. the same boy
knelt to drink from a Mas. shusetts
spring. The face that looked ap %
him was the face Of an old man. lone
and wrinkled. The blue eyes were
here. but the mass OF brown hair had
disappeared. aad thin white locks had
laken its place
All. me- How the years are drift
ng!
So sns...-- 60.