DANVIS FARM LIFE 55 



used here by one man (one handle being taken 

 out) for cutting the ice, which is then drawn out 

 of the water with ordinary ice-tongs and carried 

 home, a regal freight of a dozen or more great 

 blocks of crystal at a load. 



The hay for market is hauled in bulk to the 

 large stationary presses on the line of the railroad, 

 or pressed into bales by portable presses set up at 

 barns or stacks and the bales then drawn to the 

 point of delivery. This is the work of fall, winter, 

 or spring, as the case may be. 



The laborious pastime of breaking colts is now 

 in order and the younger ones are broken to the 

 halter, the older to harness, often in the shafts 

 of a primitive sleigh commonly known as a 

 "jumper," each thill and runner of which is formed 

 of one tough sapling cut halfway through, with a 

 wide notch at the point where runner becomes 

 thill. The boys may take a pull at the long halter 

 of the stubborn youngster, but a stronger hand 

 than theirs must give the two-year-old or three- 

 year-old initiatory lessons in his life of labor. 



On Saturdays, when there is no school, the boys 

 sometimes have a jolly time breaking a pair of 

 steer calves. A miniature yoke couples the stubby- 

 horned, pot-bellied little cattle together, and the 

 boy's sled is their light burden. A runaway of the 

 baby oxen is not unlikely to occur, but only adds 

 to the fun of the affair. 



