Homesteading 



So the days rapidly passed, and then the real 

 warm weather seemed to come with a burst, 

 and we were rejoiced to note our seeded ground, 

 which had shown so dark against the bleached 

 prairie, rapidly turn to a bright green in the 

 course of a very few days. 



Stoning on Tom's homestead proceeded this 

 season as last, except that we did a much smaller 

 strip and did it more thoroughly, breaking after- 

 wards with the bulls ourselves, as we could not 

 afford to pay for the engine again. As the crops 

 progressed, a somewhat unpleasant job had to 

 be undertaken, namely, waging war with the 

 pretty, frisking, but destructive gopher. This is 

 done by the judicious distribution of tempting 

 but poisoned grain, preferably barley, which is 

 placed in their holes, also in the badger-holes, 

 which the gophers frequent, taking care that 

 it is deep enough to be out of the way of grazing 

 stock and horses. To encourage homesteaders 

 in the destruction of the gopher, it is not uncommon 

 to allow a rebate on the taxes, according to the 

 amount of poison used, which is a decoction of 

 strychnine. So for a couple of days we tramped 

 through and around the edges of our growing 

 crops, armed with old meat-tins containing the 

 deadly stuff and a spoon each. Necessary as 

 it was, the destruction of such natural life by 



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