Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-10-06
By Ellis Parker Butler.

thought SWatty Wou!u IluNe 49,
thing fixed so there wouldn't be any
divorce when he came from the
judges room and it disappointed MN.
SO Swatty said
Jaw! shut up your bellerin'! We
amt going to let your folks get a.
worced are we? You make me s Iva
acting like we was. I guess me ana
George knows what we are going 10
do. don't we, George?'
So / says:
Eyes; what is it?"
Well, Swatty knew just what we
were going to do; and so did l. alter
he told me. We were going to go TO
the Judge where he was fishing and.
tell him not to divorce Bonys iolks.
And that was all right because BonyS
mother was afraid of the water anu
wouldn't ride in n rowboat, ana SO
even if she wanted to get divorced
Quick she couldn't be until the judge
came back from fishing. SO then
said:
saw! there amt no fishing when the
water is so high in the river! ~.
"AW! s who tSia you so you R Know
YOU? Well, l guess you don't!
guess me and the judge knows more
kinds OF fishing than you no.
So we walked down to the river anu
Swatty told US. 1t was buffalo fishing
YOU do with a pitchfork. l guess you
know what kind Of fish buitalt is.
At first nobody ate buffalo fsh, nut
pretty soon the fish market men got SO
they shipped buffalo fish to Chicago
and everywhere just like they shipped
catfish. But nobody in our town ate
them because they tasted OF mud.
Maybe the Chicago people hked 10
taste mud.
Well, anyway, the buffalo FISH eat
grass or roots or something ana III
the spring when the river Is high
fish swim up to wherever the edge of
the river has gone in the grass and
weeds and sometimes they SWIM IN SO
close that their backs stick out OF =
bellies in the mud-dozens and hun
dreds of them, big fat fellows. So
then the farmers can't pioW yet, be,
cause it is too muggy in the fields ana
pitchforks and drive down to the
river. Then they separate apart ana
wade out and come together again .
when they are out about waist deep
and they wade in toward toward shore iSa,e, and ,
the shore. Then the farmers go with
a rush and the buffalo fish get scared
Some of them get SO scared they try
to swim right up on shore on their
bellies and some try to swim out into
deep water, but whatever they try to
do, the farmers just pitchfork them up
onto shore. Wagonloads of them!
So, before the Chicago folks got to.
like bufalq fish the farmers chopped
the buffalo fish into bits and plowed
them into the ground to make things
grow better, but now they mostly
hauled them to town and sold them
to the fish market men for one and
one-half cents pound. SO that was
where the judge was. He was over to
a farmers named Shebberd, in Illinois,
because he had never pitchforked
buffalo fish before and he wanted to
do like
Me and Swatty and Bcny knew
where Shebberd's was because when
you We're over in Illinois you could
get drink of water there.
l guess it was almost mile across
the river and then it was almost five
miles back to Shebberds bottom land
cornfield. We got skiff at the boat
house and me and Swatty and Bony
rowed across the river. The water
was mighty high and the current was
everywhere and not just in one place.
and it was strong. Bony sat in the
stern and me and Swatty rowed and
we had to row almost straight up
stream. 1t was hard work. My wrists
swelled up and got hot and tight, but
we kept thinking about the diorce we
didn't want Bony's folk to get and we
kept on rowing. Even with the boat
pointed almost straight up stream we
were about half a mile below where
we started when we reached the H.
linois side and rowed among the trees.
1t was easier there; not so much cur
rent.
1t was fine rowing through til -
trees, seeing everything and nothin g
looking like it usually does. We cam
to. the First Slough and it was jus 4
water-like a road of water betwee y
the trees-and we kept on rowing ant
came to the Second Slough and the
Third Slough and they were like that,
too, and then we came out of the trees
and we were in a whale of a lot of
water. Bony said "Ohw and Swatty
looked over his shoulder and said
"Garsh" and stopped rowing. 1t
looked like miles and miles of water
water we had never seen before
and all at once you felt little and lost
and sort of frightened.
"Garsh" Swatty said. II was never
here before"
Where is it?" asked
Swatty looked all around
II don't know" he said. II never
heard Of place like this"
."sswatty!" said.
Lets go home!
l guess I sort of whined it, and so
Bony began to cry. Swatty stood up
and let his oars rest and looked all
around. He looked anxious and
when Swatty looked anxious it was "
time to be frightened. Anyway, I
thought so.
When Swatty had looked all around
and didn't know any more than he did