Boy life on the prairie . ens, caiu^ caiuing^ in a mounting ecstasy of greet-ing to the spring, voiced something he had never feltbefore. As the woodpile took shape, Mr. Stewart calledupon Lincoln and the hired man to help fan up theseed wheat. This the boys hated because it was adusty and monotonous job. It was of no use to cryout J the work had to be done, and so, on a brightafternoon, while Jack turned the crank of the mill,Lincoln dipped wheat from the bin into the hopper,or held the sacks for his father to fill. It seemedparticularly hard to be confined there in the dust and The Coming of
Boy life on the prairie . ens, caiu^ caiuing^ in a mounting ecstasy of greet-ing to the spring, voiced something he had never feltbefore. As the woodpile took shape, Mr. Stewart calledupon Lincoln and the hired man to help fan up theseed wheat. This the boys hated because it was adusty and monotonous job. It was of no use to cryout J the work had to be done, and so, on a brightafternoon, while Jack turned the crank of the mill,Lincoln dipped wheat from the bin into the hopper,or held the sacks for his father to fill. It seemedparticularly hard to be confined there in the dust and The Coming of Spring 57 noise while out in the splendid sunlight the duckswere flying, the prairie chickens calling, and the icewas cracking and booming under the ring of theskaters steel. It was about this time, also, that Lincoln becameconcerned in a series of informal cock-fights. It isdifficult to tell how this came about. Probably be-cause the roosters fought more readily than at anyother season of the year. Anyhow, the boys were. SS£:b , savage enough to enjoy each battle that broke out intheir barn-yard. Lincoln yielded readily to Miltons banter, and, witha rooster in a bag under his arm, trotted off one Sun-day to Neighbor Jenningss barn-yard, there to arrangea bout between his rooster and a chosen warrior ofMiltons flock. The actions of the roosters were amazingly boys understood every note and gesture, and couldtell what each bird was thinking about by the slantof his head, and by the way he lifted and put downhis feet, as well as by the tones of his voice. Some-times the strange bird would be so disheartened by his 58 Boy Life on the Prairie surroundings and by the savage aspect of his challenger,that he would drop his tail in dismay and run underthe barn. This was considered a disgrace, and broughtshame upon the owner of the fowl, which he mustforthwith return to its own yard, and bring a betterand more valiant warrior. In this case, however, the long confinement in t
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