|PS 3515 
 E435 
 
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I heCow-pam 
 
 v_ross 
 
 l/arl lend 
 
 erson 
 

 i^opyriillit 1914 hy 
 J. Darl Henderson 
 
 ©C! .44001 14 
 MAY 24 1915 
 
 TIIK fAl)Mt7S PRKSS 
 i.Al.y.>.BrRU. III.. 
 
 1 Ui t ■ 
 
The Cow-path 
 
 Cross tne Eighty 
 
 Do you remember — away oack tnere — 
 ^A' nen you and I ran everywhere. 
 Without a Durden, or worry or care. 
 Over that jolly old Prairie-land 
 >^e called Xnc Eigfnty, so close at nand? 
 A.nd no\v the breezes our races tanned — 
 As we followed the nooks 
 A.nd tne niUs, and tne crooks 
 Of the cow^-path cross the eighty ? 
 
'Just you and I, and a dog, and a smile;" 
 
A score ana a naif of years since then. 
 But I can see every hill and glen, 
 A.ncl creek, ana turn m tne path ; and -wnen 
 We used to scamper, ah, many a mile ! 
 Just you and I, and a aog, and a smile ; 
 Wnen the whole day long was a bit of a 
 ■wnile — 
 
 As we follow^ed the nooks 
 And tne nills, and tne crooks 
 Or tne cow-path cross the eig'nty. 
 
O wasn't it jolly to pile out o' teJ 
 nV ken tne sun was makin the sky all 
 
 red — 
 And to w^atck tke calves a gettm' fed? 
 And wasn t the w^orld all cheery and 
 
 bright — 
 And didn't a fellow^'s heart get light 
 With a whole day s frolic and fun in 
 
 sight — 
 
 As we thought of the nooks 
 And the hills, and the crooks 
 Of the cow^-path cross the eighty? 
 
^iVitk tlie cows all paileJ, and tne treak- 
 
 rast done. 
 And tke calves penned up — O wasn t 
 
 it tun 
 A turnin tne cows out — one by one ? 
 We sometimes tno t -we could see em smile 
 As tney turned up tne lane in rank and file. 
 To tne prairie-land corner — a Dit or a 
 
 mile — 
 
 \Vnere tney took to the nooks 
 And the mils, and the crooks 
 Or tne cow-patn cross tne ei^nty. 
 
"They passed by the Little Red School House there' 
 
Tkey passed ty the Little Red Scnool 
 
 House there 
 On Fullerton s corner ; don t you kno^v 
 
 where ? 
 ^^ as there ever a campus that looked so 
 
 fair? 
 Or college, or Varsity , any place made, 
 Xnat the little red school didn t lay in 
 
 the shade ? 
 Was there ever such beautiful scenery 
 
 laid 
 
 As we saw m the nooks 
 And the hills, near the crooks 
 Of the CO w^ -path cross the eighty? 
 
Can t you see tne old cows as they took to 
 
 tne trail 
 ^^itk a Kappy side-kick and a s-witcli of 
 
 tKe tail — 
 And a toss of the Kead? And did ever 
 
 tKey rail 
 Xo stop for a ^vmle in tne tall grass that 
 
 grew 
 K.ound the little frogf-pond, don t you 
 
 kno-w, in the slough. 
 And dabole their noses ahout m the dew^ ? 
 Xhen take to the nooks 
 And the hills, and the crooks 
 Of the cow^-path cross the eighty. 
 
Xnere was "Spot, and "Old Qrindle — 
 
 tKe faitKful bell-cow. 
 And "Line-tacK and "Boss ' — I can see 
 
 em rignt now^ 
 Just as plain as can be — and rememDer 
 
 just now 
 The bell used to clatter and clank and ringf, 
 And now "w^c would -whistle, and yell, 
 
 and smg 
 As we -went on our errand at ev ning to 
 
 bring 
 
 1 ne cows rrom tne nooks 
 And tKe kills, ty tke crooks 
 Or tne cow-patn cross the eigkty. 
 
'Where -we fished with a crooked pin fast to a pole ; " 
 
I m wondering, fellow^s, if you can see 
 Xne ]olly ola prairie tnat used to dc ; 
 A.na tne path, and tne creek, and tne pond, 
 
 an, me ! 
 And the strawberry patch — and tne old 
 
 swimmm -hole 
 Wliere we risned Avitn a crooked pin fast 
 
 to a pole ; 
 Where we wearied tne body, out rested 
 
 the soul — 
 
 As we played m the nooks 
 And the hills, and tne crooks 
 Of tlie cow-path cross tlie eighty. 
 
And the tumble bee's nest! can t you 
 
 near the mad buzz? 
 I am sure I could go to the spot wnere 
 
 it "wuz ; 
 And a licKin don t nurt Kali as bad as it 
 
 does 
 Wben a bumble bee catcnes you kind o 
 
 off guard. 
 And bits you so painfully bumble bee bard 
 Xbat you wisb you were bome on tbe 
 
 grass in tbe yard — 
 
 And away from tbe nooks 
 And tbe bills, and tbe crooks 
 Of tbe cow-patb cross tbe eigbty. 
 
Just a ways up the draw from the bumble 
 
 bee s nest 
 Was tne strawberry patcb ; full o berries ; 
 
 tne best 
 Tnat ever w^ent back of a little boy's vest ; 
 So juicy, and sweet, ana ricn witb tbat 
 
 smell 
 Tbat Nature put m era and rubbed m so 
 
 well ; 
 But tbe store-keeper now never bas em 
 
 to sell 
 
 Like we found in tbe nooks 
 And tbe bills, near tbe crooks 
 Of tbe cow^-patb cross tbe eigbty. 
 
"And don't you remember tKat cool bit o* shade 
 A lonely, but good-natured willow tree made" 
 
A.n(l don't you rememter that cool Dit o' 
 
 skaJe 
 A lonely, but good-natured willo-w tree 
 
 made 
 By tne side or the creek, wnere we used 
 
 to wade? — 
 And tne ford just below^, and tne snaky 
 
 foot-log; — 
 And tne loud lonesome croak ox tnat 
 
 impudent rrog 
 Just near where ^ve crossed — you and I, 
 and the dog — 
 
 Gom home rrom tne nooks 
 And tne hills, and the crooks 
 Of the cow^-path cross the eighty? 
 
O it's sweet to loot back, fellows ; sweet, 
 
 tbo' it's sad. 
 To know I can never agfain oe a laa 
 Just like I was tnen ; out tne ^ood times 
 
 •we haa 
 In tne jolly old prairie-land, long years 
 
 ago. 
 Where tne bees used to be, ana tne cro-ws 
 
 used to crow^. 
 Is a part of my life tkat I'll never let go ; 
 For I loved the old nooks 
 A.nd tne Kills, and tne crooks 
 Of tke cow-patk cross tke eigkty. 
 
A few years ago, toys, I strolled back 
 
 agam, 
 A.na saw the same eighty we used to see 
 
 then ; 
 A.nd tne used-to-be hills, and tke used- 
 
 to-te glen ; 
 1 he s'w^iminin -hole, too, and the same 
 
 muddy creek: 
 But my throat kind o cnoked, boys, w^nen 
 
 I tried to speak ; 
 A.nd a tear kind o trickled do-wn over my 
 
 cneek — 
 
 For tbey ve plo-wed up tne nooks 
 And tne mils, and tbe crooks 
 Or the cow-patn cross tbe eigbty.