Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-03-30

our stacks. The cattle didn't like it;
If they ran out of timothy they'd eat
it. But they didn't fancy it.
When the spring rain came, the
water would spread out over the
slough till it was a quarter of mile
wide; sometimes the cattle would
be caught on the other side; some
times calves would be caught. Some
times foaling mare.
Pa had set out a row of stakes
and we began to run ditch through
the thick, matted million-year-old
roots. The cattle came up and
shifted the black earth and the
birds fiocked down and feasted. We
worked close enough to visit, but it
was hard, grueling labor. At noon I
would be SO weary I would fall
asleep on the floor; it seemed to
me my eyes would hardly close till
Pa would be calling me, and Mr..
Shannon would be at the pump. Day
after day we worked. At last it was
finished, and there it was, like a
cash in human body. Little did I
realize what. later, would happen.
Every so often there would be an
important event in our ives-our
visit to see Wadley Brothers, our
harness makers. Pa would 60 in
and say, "Tom, do you suppose you
can turn me out a set of rope har-
ness?" which was his humorous way
of asking if Tom could make him
good set of harness. Tom would
say, Have you got the money to
pay for 'em, Amos?" which was his
humorous way of pretending that
he wouldn't even trust Pa for a set
of rope harness.
He sat on a stool without any
back, but also he had a rocking chair
and now and then he would move
over and rock. He smoked pipe
as he worked; when he finished
bowlful, or got tired of smoking, he
would knock the pipe and hang the
pipe on a rack he had made. The
store had delightful leathery smell
is there anything in the world
like such a pleasant, stimulating
odor as fresh-cut leather? On the
floor around him were the cuttings.
from his work, like hair around
barber chair. When he had great
many of these he would sweep them
up and mould them into horse col
lar. On the walls were the most
fascinating pictures in the world, it
seemed to me; the famous rae
ers and trotters and PAGERS of their
day-Maude S., Dan Patch. When
he spoke of them he spoke tenderly
and reverently.
IT would like to 60 an see them
run sometime" he would say.
Pa would glance at me and wait
a moment because horse racing was
wicked, $50 would l." he would say,
almost with a sigh.
There would be a little silence,
then Tom would say, How're the
roads out your way, Amos"
Tom had much to be thankful for.
He took Unreasonable pride in his
work and he and his brother were
their own employers. Tom wore a
leather apron, like blacksmith's,
except it wasn't burned full of holes.
He was an artist in his line, and
was proud OF his handiwork; farm
ers would say, "That's a set of Wad-
ley Brothers harness." and there
was no higher praise. He had sur
prisingly few tools, but in some
amazing way he got results. On one
end of his workbench were sheets
of leather from which he could
quickly and skillfully cut off the
pieces he needed. delighted to see
him take his knife with it's sharp
curved blade and draw it through a
piece of leather and get exactly the
kind of piece he wanted. He loved
his work and took great pride in
doing it well and he loved to have
the farmers come in and discuss
with him the kind of harness they
wanted. "What about the britching,
Amos? What kind of britching you
got in mind?"
II want good heavy britching,
Tom. I don't need it so much in the
fields, but when get out on the
hard roads with load of corn, then
l need heavy britching."
"I'm getting more and more calls
for heavy brtching," Tom would
say, and then they would discuss the
details as carefully as tailor and
client making decisions on suit.
"You want any money down,
TOMB"
mot from you, Amos! You come
in in about week and have first
look at the harness."
Pa would 60 in from time to time,
watching the progress of his set of
harness. "What about white gutta-
percha rings, Amos? I'm gettin' lots
of calls for gutta-percha rings"
"They look all right while the har-
ness is new. but they crack in the
sun. Then they peel and show
the iron. Give me plain iron rings,
Tom. After all, you can't beat iron."
At last would come the day when
the harness was done. There it
would be on a great frame, black