The Virginia enterprise., 1907-06-28

81 Grabbed the Reins
"oh,& say, grandpa said Dickie,
and his head was buried so deeply in
big old trunk in the barn that only
a pair of sprawly legs and two long
feet hanging on to a nail in the floor
by the toes, and dusty trouser seat
could be seen.
"Oh, say, grandpa, here's two of
the dandiest pairs of cows horns with
little brass balls on them. Only three
Of them look as if they had been
broken off. Can have 'em, grandpa?
asked first"
sx*s Cant J., have one pair, grandpa"
begged voice from another corner,
then a red-faced boy appeared.
LET me see them," said grandpa.
why, they are old Bucks and Brides
horns. No, guess I'll keep them
little while longer. Upon my word,
I'd forgotten about them.
But, boys, I can tell you a real
good story about them," he added.
when? when grandpa? Now; will
you?" And Dickie swept off a clean
place on bench with the sleeve of
his coat. 4 - -, >.-
"Well, suppose we wait until after
supper. That'll be a good time and
I can think about it little"
So in the" early evening the time
| for storytelling grandpa sat down
before the. fireplace, with "a boy on
eachaside of him. Each lad had a
stick and jackknife, whiting.
| 'Well; tt" begin at the beginning"
said grandpa, when l. was a little
boy we didn't have as many horses
in our part of the country as there
are now. But we used oxen, which
are just as strong and sometimes as
swift as horses. Though usually they
are slow. I guess you have not seen
them very often. They are fastened
together. by. a wooden yoke and driYen
by @rein sometimes, but oftener con.
trolled by person merely speaking
and cracking4a whip. j.
Father. gave me pair of young
ones, black and white, and said I was
to train them. I was much pleased
I and5made upzmy mind that they would
be the best team In the country. I
named them Buck and Bride. I was
always gentle and never abused them,
and soon they grew to love me and
would do anything I told them to.
Zone day I took them to be shod.
An OK, you know, has split hoof,
md rp1{
have two shoes. That makes eight
shoes to an OK, doesn't it2 I must
tell you how they shoe oxen, as it
is very different from shoeing a horse
The OK is first led into: frame about
three feet wide, which is built of
strong TIMBER with floor in It, Two
heavy poles push up on each side of
the ox's shoulders, holding him firm;
then, two more just back of his horns,
to which ropes are attached, and
these hold his head and shoulders per-
fectly still. Two broad leather bands,
fastened loosely to poles as high as
the%ox's back, are next passed under
his body, and hook on the other side
TO another pole These poles are
turned around, shortening the bands
until the OK is raised off his feet. The
feetSare then roped back, hoof up
wards to other poles, and tied tightly
so they cannot move. The blacksmith
is then able to nail the shoes on
quickly, without being bothered by the
animals struggles. 49,. 4''
Buck and Bride could go so much
better after they had been shod, as
they did not slip in going over the
rough roads, Ice and melting snow
made it very slippery, and one had to
drive with great care.
zone day, along in ! April, father
was# chopping with a very sharp ak,
and it slipped and cut a cash in his
leg The blood spurted high and we
both knew that he had cut an artery.
Togetherswe managed to bind it up
above the wound and stop the blood
flowing, but father was dreadfully
weak. fa~E.4 $50,
| 'tYou must get me down to DIR.
Mead's right away" he said. So
managed to partly carry him to the
sleigh and wrap a blanket around
him. He held the stick with which
we. had twisted the bandages around
his leg, and drove. We started pret.
! ty fast, butt had good control Of the
oxen, so didn't care. But just at
a turning point in the road I heard q
noise and looked bzncA. Father was
lying with his eyes shut Il and the
blood was bouring from his. leg. l
;ropped the reins. I was so frightened
did not know what I was doing and
sprang to his side. In minute had
the. bandage tighteend, but had to
hold it. The oxen were running very
fast now, and the reins were dragging.
i ! dared not leave father a second and
J, could not have got them, anyway. j
called to Buck and Bride; they tried
to. slacken, but could not. Faster and
faster we flew. The road was narrow
and very steep. I was terrified. The
oxen were beyond their own contrd
now. We were near a turn In the
! road. They switched 70 one side sud