Threshing Day 139 



prise" him and it was a surprise, indeed. They 

 didn't know he had a threshing outfit on his hands. 

 There were fiddlers, lunch baskets and girls with 

 the invaders and our noble sixteen stole into their 

 clothing in haste and joined in the jubilation. We 

 made a night of it. There was, likely, chaff in our 

 hair, and I know there were no frills on our cloth- 

 ing. I know, too, that there was no chaff left on 

 us after that dance. We shook it all off in our 

 efforts to see which of us could hit the lumber 

 hardest with our leathers. All the dances had 

 corners on them and the fiddler "chawed" tobacco. 

 The old boy who ** called off" the dances was our 

 ox-driver and he'd yell out instructions as if he 

 were guiding his horned critters. As a social func- 

 tion in the ''wild and woolly," it might properly 

 have been termed ''an enjoyable occasion." 



THE DANCE AT THE BANCH 



I never think of that festive evening without 

 recalling to mind the following lines entitled, "The 

 Dance at the Eanch": 



Git your little sage-hens ready; 

 Trot 'em out upon the floor — 

 Line up there, you cusses ; steady 1 

 Lively now ! One couple more. 



Shorty, shed that ol' sombrero; 

 Broncho, douse that cigarette; 

 Stop that cussin', Casimero, 

 'Fore all the ladies; now set. 



