1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



989 



without trouble or g-etting- tang-led in the 

 whitfletrees. When they pulled in the new 

 direction some of the roots snapped, and 

 the\' knew as ivcll as he did that the stump 

 was comingf. After he had rested them a 

 little he tried them in the direction they 

 went first, and the stump was out. Now, 

 it would be better for the team to let them 

 succeed, even if it did take considerable 

 time, than to have the horses see we tried 

 the stump and g-ave it up. Horses easily 

 1-arn to lose confidence in their driver. 

 They take his "dimensions" about as 

 quickU^ as he takes theirs. Now, suppose 

 that driver had called his horses fools, and 

 scolded them, and may be whipped them 

 unreasonably because he g^ot angry. It 

 would have spoiled the enjoyment and hap- 

 piness of the horses as well as their driver, 

 perhaps, for all day. Do you smile because 

 I sug-gest that a horse may be made miser- 

 able all day because some incident of the 

 morning has broken his spirits or spoiled 

 his peace of mind? Why, I have seen a 

 horse that started out in the morning with 

 head up, eyes bright and ears erect, catch- 

 ing in every word that was said, and every 

 thing that was going on. I have seen such 

 a horse hang his head in a sort of listless 

 despair that was almost pitiful to behold, 

 just because the man who happened to be 

 over him for the time had whipped and 

 scolded and sworn at him until his ambi- 

 tion was all gone, and he did not take any 

 more interest in the work being done than 

 the plow he was laboring to pull. The man 

 who has the love of God in his heart so 

 that it overflows constantly, even in the di- 

 rection of his horse, will find a thousand 

 things to indicate to hiin day by day that 

 his horses know more of what is said and 

 of what is being done than anybody gives 

 them credit for. I have seen a driver, just 

 because he was tired, fly into a passion, 

 and yell at and jerk his horses when they 

 were doing the best they knew how, but 

 made a mistake. On one occasion I had a 

 team that worked for me two days. A dif- 

 ferent man drove the team the second day. 

 These two men had a different phraseology 

 in talking to their horses. The first daj' 

 the horses had been taught a peculiar way 

 of operating to do their work best. When 

 the new man got hold of the lines he did 

 not know about this, and so he whipped, 

 cursed, and yelled at them just because 

 they followed the custom of the daj' before. 

 I remonstrated, and explained matters; 

 but as soon as I got out of sight this fellow 

 was abusing the horses in just the same 

 waj'. Why, I think the horses were entire- 

 ly right and he entirely wrong. It seemed 

 to me that day, froin every point of view, 

 that the brutes had more sense, and ever so 

 much more of a human spirit, than the man 

 who was trying to drive them. 



I have not handled horses much for many 

 3'ears; but I told Mrs. Root I was begin- 

 ning to want a horse. I wish especially to 

 show the world there is at least one man 

 who appreciates this wonderful gift that 



God bestowed on his children when he gave- 

 them such a bright, strong, kind, intelligent, 

 brave animal for a helper.* 



Horses, above all other domestic animals, 

 seem to have a sort of dignity about them. 

 When I see their noble traits, and their 

 willingness to endure almost any thing in 

 the way of toil, even when not properly wa- 

 tered and fed, it touches my heart. When 

 somebody confesses to me that his horse has 

 not had a bit of water all day, and yet he 

 is required to keep on with his unremitting 

 hard work, I feel like losing my Christian 

 courtesy and denouncing the man and de- 

 fending- the horse. Oh how I should rejoice 

 to see every hard-working horse in our land 

 in charge of a Christian driver — a driver 

 who administers correction lovingly when 

 it is needed, and who loves his horses, and 

 loves God more because he, in h's loving 

 kindness, has given us this grand and noble 

 domestic animal to minister to our wants ! 



NOTES OF^TRAVH 



SOME GLIMPSES OF THE GRAND TRAVERSE 

 REGION. 



On the next page are two kodak views of 

 that "cabin in the woods" I have told you 

 so much about. 



While my daughter Carrie was looking 

 at the picture she wanted to know which 

 one of the above views shows the front door. 

 Well, I rather think we shall have to call 

 Fig. 1 the front door. There is not any 

 highway within a quarter of a mile ; but 

 my bicycle-path that leads from the high- 

 way runs up to the open door. So I think 

 this must be the front door. In the fore- 

 ground you g-et a glimpse of the lawn made 

 of lawn grass and white clover, that I 

 made before Mrs. Root would consent to go 

 there. The two large stones at each side 

 of the peach-tree in the foreground were 

 too heavy to get away handily, so we left 

 one of them for a seat, and the other one 

 goes down into the ground. The peach-tree 

 was very handsome before the foliage 

 dropped ofi", or most of it, and the same 

 with the other one down in the corner. 



When Mrs. Root came on to the ground 

 she insisted on a platform in front of the 



* Some of you may get the impression that I would 

 let a horse run over me, and that he would soon get to 

 be the master ; but I assure you you are mistaken. I 

 have remonstrated with my men frequently because 

 they would start out to work without a whip ' I would 

 always let a horse see that I had a whip in mv hand, 

 or one where I could get hold of it. even if I did not 

 use it. One man made himself hoarse in veiling at 

 his horses to ^et them to .start. After a while they 

 learned to wait till he told them to go ahead about 

 three or four times, and then they would slowlv begin 

 to move. I cut a whip for him ; and after they saw it 

 in his hand they started up promptly at the first word 

 of command. I believe the horse "loves the master 

 more who makes him obev orders than one who lets 

 him get into the habit of having his own way. 



