MILLING WITH THE NIGHT HERD 



"Weel, some o' the boys remarked that I was sort 

 o' quiet the next week, as though I was thinking aboot 

 somethin' an' I was. Weel, I decided I'd just tell aboot 

 the wor-rk while the great combine was a-r-rollin', and 

 bring in the wor-rk of the four men which for-rm the 

 crew and make it a bit o' a play on the character of each 

 — not fur-r-getting the horses, thir-r-ty-two o' them. 

 You see, the crew is made up of the header-r punch- 

 er-r, the separator-r puncher-r, the skinner-r-r and the 

 sack sewer-r-r-r. Thaire was Oscar-r-r Nelson, — he 

 sewed up the sacks. Oscar-r-r traveled a' la side 

 door-r-r Pullman, a 'bo-socialist was Oscar-r-r and a 

 Wobbly (I.W.W.) forby. He'd be happier-r-r in the 

 jungles than in the Waldor-r-f Astor-r-ria. 



'Then thaire was Floyd Smith, a healthy wee lad 

 frae the 'Valley.' He was the long-line skinner- r-r-r, 

 although only eighteen he could drive thir-r-ty head — 

 and he could eat like a bear-r-r-r. 



"Then there was meself header-r-puncher-r-r. I had 

 to run the ootfit and tend the knives and had char-rge 

 of the wheel that raises an' lower-r-s accor-r-ding to 

 the height y' wish tae cut th' grain. So, I set my song 

 tae th' tune o' Casey Jones, but said nothin' until I 

 sprung it at the next big party. The combine crew 

 wer-r-re all thaire. Some of you hae hear-r-d it I've 

 nae doot, so y' can all jine in the chorus o' Working on 

 the Big Combine. All right wi' the ivories thaire, 

 Mister-r-r Pianer-r-puncher-r-r yer-r-r-r foot off the 

 soft pedal and hit 'er-r har-r-r-rd." 



Now come, all you rounders, if you want to hear 

 The story of a bunch of stiffs a-harvesting here. 

 The greatest bunch of boys that ever came down the line, 

 Is the harvest crew a-working on this big combine. 

 9 129 



