The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-02-19
BACK TO BOYHOOD'S DAYS.
Happy? Sure! If You Doubt, Hike
Back in Thought as You Read.
lChicaaO NpWs.l

Yes, sir, BoyhoOd's happy days. of
course. We know about that. We
haven't forgotten the joy of sleeping
in an unfinished loft in winter, when
our breath froze to the bedding and we
had to thaw out with hot fatiron
every morning.
Morning, too, We got up at a. m,
pitch dark. 81 below zero and still
going down, We had to get up, hustle
out and feed and milk the lowing herd,
curry the rear elevation of the family
mule. wake the rooster up to crow
thaw out the pump. chop four cords of
wood and shovel away the snow to
make room for the sun to rise!
Sometimes We went to school in the
winter-not often. Only on the days
when it was too cold and stormy to go
outdoors. Then we sat on a nice. cool
board about fifty feet away from the
stove and gayly blew at our fingers
and picked icicles from our hair. And.
as we sat, we listened TO a wooden
! image with a teachers license as he
handed us transformation and perma-
nently crippled our intellects.
Then came the merry springtimel
Rise at 2:30 q. m. More lowing herdi
The herd lowing owing to the supply
of fodder being low. Then the hired
man, who had hibernated in the forest.
came forth seeking. whom he might
make happy with his presence. And
we, being in need of extra JOY. were al
/ lowed to sleep with this woody hireling.
who snored like the boom of the sad
! sea waves: He was a good fellow, this
/ hired man. He taught US to chew to-
/ bacco and swear. These gentle pas
] times procured US more violent lick
| ings than any other JOY in our whole
young life.
! No memory is more loaded with joy
| germs than the spring crop working
Can we ever forget the blowing? How
we held the pillow when we had to reach
| up with pike pole to get the handles:
/ how we drove the old plug team with
/ the lines around our neck: how, when
| the clevis broke, the mares walked
away with our fraii body dragging be-
! hind by the ears? When darkness came
we stabbed the plugs and went forth to
milk the brindle heifer. The heifeI
/ kicked Us across the barn floor and aT
old COW obligingly kicked us back
again. Then, when the milking was
was over, what fun TO turn in and teacf
d fool calf to drink. This acting as dry
nurse to bandy-legged calf was one
of the most unrsxed joys of all. We
! tied the calf short. set the bucket II
/ front of him, got astraddle of his neck
/ stuck two fingers in his mouth and Will
the other hand jammed his head int
the pail And all the time we wer.
emptying cut abuse on calves in gen
eral and this lop-eared idiot in par
ticular. This went on until dad cam,
n and with loving patience horse
whipped us all about the place.
Then, when we had carried in tn,
wood, brought forty gallons of waite
from the spring and eaten about eigh
pounds of solid food. we went joyful,
upstairs-and came down again imme
diately to breakfast.
We often dream and wake -
for the days gone by when the h
ripe. We recall the old swamp t
ways had to be cut by hand We
little stones that we rasped the
| of our blades on. We recall the
snakes we stepped on with our
feet. We remember it all with 81
glddness.
Wei. well! How it all comes bd
I ust