TO DOT AND MER LITTLE EOLKS

Otago Witness, Issue 2289, 13 January 1898, Page 51

TO DOT AND MER LITTLE EOLKS

FROM THEIR FRIEND IN AMERICA. Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, November 14-, 1897. Dear Dot, — I wrote to you some time ago, bub nev<ir saw nay letter in print. I think ifc taust have gone astray or perhaps was never pos-ted, so I am guing to write to you again. Whiter is just coming on now, but we have not had any very cold weather yet, and only a very little ice. lam looking forward to the skating and coasting, as it is such fun. We have a fine place to coast, right in front of tho house. We start from the verandah steps and go right down to tbe cornfield. The wild geese and all the birds are beginning to fly south for the winter. This laet month there has been quite a lot of prairie chickens and quail about. The other day some little quail came right up to the door, and they did not seem to be frightened. I go to the school here now, and the children are always wanting to hear about New Zealand. One day one of the girls asked me where I came from, aud I pointed to a map of New Zealand. She looked very surprised, and said : "Do you come from that little place away out in the ocean ? " Another lime one of them asked me what language they spoke "away down there," and when I said English, she said '•Well, I have been wondering how you learned to speak English so quickly." She thought I had jus!, learned to apeak since we came here. I have such a funny little mule. I used to drive him to school, but he got so muan that I . am not allowed to drive him now. He is so mean they won't have him in the barn — he breaks 80 many halters. When I drove him to school we used to have great fun with him. He waa very lazy, so would not go very fast, but if he took it into his head to walk off with ua, we could hardly get him stopped at all. He would just go at a slow trot, and it would lake three of us pulling on the reins to stop him. But; it wa3 very seldom that he wanted to go at all, and we had to go along one driving while the other whipped. Ifc was about the only way we could geb him to go. Bub how ever bard we whipped he never seemed to feel it — they say a mule's skin is thicker than a pig's, and I think it is true ; they don't seem to feel anything. One day just before I stopped driving him he disgraced hiniselE. I went into Cedar Rapids with him, and I tied him up while I went into a shop ; but I atayed in there too long for his liking, and he got lonely and tired of waiting. Tho minute he ' saw ma corns out of. tlw dew lie was bo pleased

to ccc me that he began to bray — bray as only mules can — aud he brayed and brayed, and there waa no stopping him. Everybody in the street was laughing, and I did not koow what to do. He never sopped braying until I untied him and started home. Now don't you think that was mulish of him, Dot ? Sometimes when I was alono and got tired of driving Joey (my mule) I would get out and tide him and let the cart run along behind.

We went; to the Boone County (that is the county we live in) annaal fair this year. Ifc wai very good, but we did not enjoy it very much on account of the dust, which was something terrible. Oqo could hardly see for it. The fair was held at Albion, the county seat. Ifc is about 18 miles from here, so we had a long drive to get there. Going over the road ahead and behind us was just line 1 * with buggies, and the dust was dreadful. One of my sisters got two prizes for fancy work.

I did nob go to the Nance County Fair, but all the resb of the family did. I did not; want to go. I brought two of my friends homo with me from school, aud we had great fun with the house all to ourselve3. I think I had a better time at home fcb.au tho rest did at the fair.

A short timaago our windmills were broken, ann we had no water for the horses, so they had to b9 taken to the river. Thsie ia a broken bridge half way across the river, and ifc is very shaky. The horses (about 30 of them) all started to go across ib as hard as they could go. When the front one=s came to the broken place they began to back off; then they all had to geb off the best way they could. I think it is a wonder the old bridge did net break down ; anyway ifc is a good thing that ifc did not. There were so many Bkuuks aboub here a sLorb time ago that* we were always seeing them. Ode day I nearly ran over the top of one, and when I saw what it was I turtel aud raa as fa?tas I could in the other direction. They arc (errible things: you can smell ths-.m a I qaarUr of a mile off. The puppies someritnes eh^sa them, and then we cannot touch the pups for two or three days, they j smell so naofcy. Skanka are ia!,her j preMy ; they are black F.nd white There is an old woman lives down in the valley aud she has a few flowers in her garden. Ones she gave one of the girls a bunch of flowe-s, and s=iid that she always liked to raise a few flowers as they were so handy if anybody died. Was not that a funny idea ? lam afraid my 1- tter is gelling too l.'ing', so I will stop for this timp. — Yours truly, Vida M'Kfxtah. [Fancy your letter nvscarrjing or not bsiog posted, Vida ! I think I regret ib as much as 1 know lots cf little folks will do when they road of the mishap. Your account of Joe^'t< delinquencies will remind many of the little f011r.3 oE a mule we had here a few months ago called Denver. Whenever his trainer told him tv do aiiythiDK he used to tio ths exact opp:)G;ta ; but he was had once or twice, for the tra>ncr told him sot to do something which he was waoted to do, suid, of course, he did ib ab onco. Perhaps if you had told Joey to ke^p on l:r*j»ug he I might have estopped. It Is a'pity the sktuik hss I such a dreadful odour. Poor old woioau, it was j a peculiar idea for growksg flower.?, bay sho derived beneSt from !hem as well »•? tho fuendri of the deceased. — Dot ]