Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1908-06-04
ONE OF THE CHAMPIONS

a former Wisconsin boy, who was
one of the early settlers of southern
Nebraska, occasionally regales the
younger generation OF the prairies,
through the columns of one OF his
county papers, with a story OF his
boyhood experiences in the "big
woods" He has repeated some oil
these stories until he actually believes
them himself Here is his latest pro-
duction, appearing in the Franklin
| County Tribune:
"My grandfather, a sturdy Yankee,
emigrated from the state Of Maine,
sett ing in the big woods of Wi<con-
sin, fifty miles north of Mil Waukee,
along in the SOS. My mother, n
widow, with two small children fol
lowed soon afterwards to live at
grandfather Grandfather had with
him two sons; the older, Uncle rom
as we called him, was Il man with a
strong arm and a brave heart and
the recollection of my bOyhOod days
spent in the society of this sturdy
back woodsman. will ever come up
wildly before my mind II green spot
on my memory.
"Opening up new farm in those
days was no picnic. The custom
was to fell the heavy timber during
the winter and in the spring log up
and burn; but the most interesting
part was to plow the land the first
time among the green stumps. 1t
was while at this work that the
thrilling incident which | am about
to relate took place.
1.-The pillow was heavy breaker.
The coulter was welded to the point
and fastened to the beam with a
clasp. We had on the plow six heavy
oxen, and as uncle took pride in say
ing, not one OF them girted less than
six feet.
"There was a green white oak
stump that came directly in line with
the plow. Uncle made a miscalcula-
ton somehow and the point of the
pillow caught the stump squarely in
the center. He yelled, whoa, but it
was no use. | knew that the old boy
and Tom Walker couldn't stop those
oxen, for | had just touched old
Bright, the off wheeler, with a goad
stick. Every OK seemed to lift with
a will. The plow point settled into
that green stump an inch at a time.
There was a tearing OF splinters.
The top of that stump flew apart,
the plow slid through and SO did my
uncle (by the skin of his teeth, but
the back part of his trousers was
loose and baggy and as the top part
of the stump came together again,
like the Jaws of a bear trap, my uncle
was caught by his clothing. Again
he yelled whoa but it was no use.
81 remember, boy that | was, was
knew something was going to happen.
| knew that every one of those oxen
was as true as steel and had never
been stalled. l knew uncle was a
powerful gritty man and would never
let go of those plow handles. knew
also that the linen in my uncle's
trousers was made from flax that
grandmoth Their had broke and spun
with her own hands. So | waited
for circumstances to develop them
selves and didn't have long to wait.
Every OK seemed to bow his head
and lift with will; the chain on the
hind cattle hummed like strings on a
bass yiol; great drops OF sweat, as
large as marbles, stood on uncle's
forehead. All of a sudden there was
o. crash; the plOw beam parted in
the middle and the oxen ran away
pell-mell to the house, leaving my
uncle still clinging to the plOw han
dies and fast in the jaws of the
stump