24 Old Bays on the Farm 



time, stumps at irregular intervals in tlie back 

 fields, also snake fences and some trees. The snow 

 was two or three feet deep on the level, with many- 

 drifts, and the horned steeds were headed towards 

 the tall timber. My recollection is that we just 

 hit the high places — the crests of the snowy bil- 

 lows — besides, of course, colliding with numerous 

 stumps and missing many trees by the narrowest 

 of margins. Talk about the speed of an eight- 

 cylinder seven-passenger automobile with a limou- 

 sine top, on an asphalt roadway, with no hostile 

 policeman to hold up a warning hand — those oxen 

 and that sleigh were sure travelling faster 'n that 

 and then some more. Snow was flying, the young 

 oxen were snorting, when they weren't bellow- 

 ing, and we children were all shouting, except, 

 perhaps, some who were stricken dumb by the ex- 

 citement and novelty of the situation. 



A Chinaman is said to have described a trip 

 on a toboggan slide in these terse words, ''Zip, 

 walkee, hackee milee ! ' ' But we didn 't walk back. 

 After an exciting and flying-passage we collided 

 head-on at the edge of the woods with a large 

 tree and the outfit came to a very sudden stop with 

 an ox on each side of that tree. The animals were 

 panting and had their tongues hanging out, but 

 they had learned their first lesson and actually 

 were agreeable to standing still. The man at 

 the helm — he with the whip — got out and pat- 

 ted the creatures and whispered words of 

 love. 



