THE GENESEE PARMER. 



225 



fahcs' Jltprtmcnt, 



WESTERN AMUSEMENTS. 



Messrs. EntTOR.'': — As all of your readers may not 

 be conversant with matters and thinp:s in the West, 

 or how the wives and daughters of Western farmers 

 dnd arausemeut, I will give you a sketch of some of 

 our doings. Indeed, 1 imagine from the doleful and 

 nh-how-I-pit3'-you faces of some of our Eastern friends 

 who visit US) (particularly those from the cities,) that 

 TFe have no amusements— that " it 's all work and uo 

 fHay." This, however, is a great mistake. There is 

 no place in the world equal to a newly settled coun- 

 try for true social enjoyment It is true, we eschew 

 all that fastidious re'tiQement which forbids a hearty 

 laugh at a good joke, or a cordial grasp of the hand 

 instead of the mere touch of the tips of the fingers; 

 Uut we ei\ioy ourselves none the less for all that. It 

 will never do to emigrate to a new country, and sigh 

 after the " iiesh pots of Egypt,'* or turn back, like 

 Lot's wife— though a pillar of salt now and then 

 would not come amiss ; but if people come West to 

 live, they must take things as they find them, with- 

 without grumbling, and improve as much as they 

 pflease afterwards. 



But I am wandering from my promised sketch of 

 a, fishing and plumming excursion. You mu^t know 

 WB boast of two streets — North and South Yankee 

 street. At such a time, all that are able turn out 

 from both streets to enjoy the trip, and every availa- 

 ble team is put in requisition. On this particular oc- 

 aeion, oiir destitiation was to the m5uth of Honey 

 Creek, a small branch of the Skunk River, where fish 

 are generally abundant. After wending our way 

 through the tall, rank grass of the river bottom, we 

 at last reached the scene of operations. We had 

 neither hook nor line, and I presume your city anglers 

 would be at a loss to know how to get at the fish; 

 but here the oM proverb of " where there 's a will 

 there 's a way," was amply verified. The men lost no 

 time, but immediately commenced cuttiag off large 

 branches from the trees and brush which skirt the 

 creek, tieing and twisting them together, until they 

 had secured enough for a cable (if I may so call it) 

 long enough to reach from shore to shore, and about 

 fi?ur feet in diameter. Thee some fifteen or twenty 

 of them plunged into the stream, dragging their 

 branch rope entirely across, and some distance down, 

 the creek; then, lowering it dowu tx) the bottom, all 

 commenced pushing up again, until they got near a 

 desirable place to land the fish, when those on the 

 apposite shore pushed inward, till they reached the 

 side with the others. Thus the fish were fairly puslied 

 an-shore, though some got caught in the branches, 

 aaid were taken out by hand. Truth compels me to 

 admit, however, that we did not get a very great 

 haul on this occa^'iion; for the merry peals of laugh- 

 ter which resounded from the spectators, joined with 

 ^e shouts of those in the water, must have frightened 

 ■£he poor fish before they were encircled, so that many 

 tdade good their escape to the river. I was told 

 they xvere sometimes taken in large quantities in this 

 vjay, when all v/as done silently. However, we came 

 for amasement, aad we got ir, at least tho^^e of us 

 who were spectators; how it was with the others I 

 oaonot say, only they appeared to enjoy the sport ae 



well as any of us. One or two of the young men 

 who did not volunteer to take the buth, were [dungetl 

 headlong into the stream by those wlio did. 



Leaving tliu workers to change their dripping gar- 

 ments, we preceded them into a grove nt a short 

 dif^tunce, to prepare for our lunch, to which ail con- 

 tributed Here 1 witnessed another Western expt;- 

 dient : a large wagon-box was lilted from its place 

 aivd reversed upon the ground, making an excellent 

 table, which was soon covered wilh clean table liucn, 

 and a gi-eat variety of biscuits, cakes, pies, chees<>., 

 cohl meats, &c., and of a quality to suit even the fas- 

 tidious appetite of Horack (^kkki-kv Inmsc'lf- — for we 

 boast of cooks in this neighborhood who know how 

 to make sweet bread, and boil potatoes. After we 

 all had refreshed ourselves, we prepared to gather 

 our plums, which grow spontaneously in the woods, 

 or "timber," as it is here called; after which we 

 separated to go to our several homes. Viola. 



Clay, Washington Co., Iowa. 



THE WIFE'S INFLUENCE. 



WivKs and daughters, strive to make your home 

 a cheerful and happy one; do all you can to make it 

 comfortable and pleasant. When the husband and 

 father returns weary from his labor, then remenv 

 ber, if you feel for his happines-, that it is you, and 

 you alone, who can soften and subdue the care-worn 

 features, can calm the ruffled brow, lighten his coun- 

 tenance with a smile, drive from his bosom the cares 

 of the day, and give new life and animation to his de 

 jected spirits, burying the fatigues of the do-y in the 

 tide of love and respect. You have the power to 

 make his home pleasant and attractive. 'Tis your 

 smile that sheds a gleam of joy and contentment 

 through his household; or *tis your frovvn that dark- 

 ens his prospects, dampens his brow, makes his home 

 unpleasant and unattractive, destroys the charm of 

 rural life, and drives him from his home, to spend his 

 evenings elsewhere. 



And sisters, fail not to exert your influence (which 

 is great) in keeping your brothers at home. Strive 

 to amuse them, and thus keep them from spending 

 their time in the barroom, imbibing habits of dis- 

 sipation, which grow upon them — which habits, once 

 formed, are hard to shun. It is our op nion, that if 

 you felt the interest in your brothers you should feel, 

 there would not be so many farmers' sons seeking 

 employment in the city. W. 



HOME INFLUENCE. 



Messrs. Editors: — Having seen an article in your 

 valuable agricultural magazine respecting the en- 

 couragement to be given to the sons of landhoidere 

 who labor upon the farm, I must concur in the opin- 

 ion broached by a fanner's sensible wife, that the oc- 

 cupation of a farmer is of a most manly and honora- 

 ble character, and that every possible comfort ought 

 to be afforded them after enduring the fatigue and 

 labor of the day. Mothers and daughters ought to 

 vie wilh each ether in arousing every latent energy to 

 entertain and interest them, so that, in long evenings 

 and incUiment weather, they may tiiijoyilie lei.-ure 

 and freedom from toil which the city clerks and me- 

 chanics invariably si^h for. I have known many 

 families where social happiness is enjoyeil, in which 

 the mothers and siisters of such worthy young me» 



