28 Old Bays on the Farm 



o' that meal go in the pot an' after breakfast said 

 to me: 



" * Joe, you an' me '11 have to get to the village. 

 Ain't goin' to have no starvation in this shanty 

 with two able-bodied men around and besides to- 

 night Santa Glaus is due. Yoke up the steers, put 

 the long-handled shovel an' a whole lot of pea- 

 straw in the sleigh.' 



** *An' say, Joe,' he called after me as I started 

 for the stable, 'guess ye'd better put a new buck- 

 skin cracker on the whip. Them consarned crit- 

 ters '11 do a lot of crowdin' in the deep snow an' 

 we'll have to kind o' take up their attention from 

 behind.' 



"There was nary a horse-team in the settlement 

 then, but jest contrairy horned critters an' home- 

 made jumpers an' long sleighs. Brave hearts 

 didn't beat under coonskin coats nor feet keep 

 warm 'neath Arctic robes in them times. Well, I 

 guess not. Fulled cloth, homespun an' pea-straw 

 were the materials in use when Dad an' me piloted 

 that yoke o' steers along the blazed trail and 

 over the roads lined with brush an' snake rail- 

 fences. 



"I've gone to dances 'way back in log-shanty 

 days when we had to carry the girls in our arms 

 through snowdrifts 'cause we couldn't get our 

 teams through with the load on, an' I've passed 

 through a good deal o' strenuous weather at one 

 time or another, but that trip Dad an' me made 

 for Santa Glaus an' oatmeal for the kids stands 



