Chapter Sixteen
The Grange Hall was closed to exhibitors as well as visitors as was the tent with the rabbits and poultry. Both men from Laramie turned up their noses at the thought of watching the sheep judging so they all agreed they'd head for the cattle judging.
"What he heck are those?" Jess asked pointing at some cattle that were mostly black but with a band of white around their middle. "Funniest looking cattle I ever saw."
"Those are Belted Galloways. They're a Scottish breed new to the U.S.," Gordon McAllister explained.
"I'm with Jess," Slim said. "Funny looking critters."
"You haven seen anything yet," Cam told them. "Mr. Campbell raises Highland Cattle. I'd tell you about them but you'd think I was putting you on. You have to see them to 'appreciate' them. If you think the Belties are funny looking wait 'til you see the 'woolies' as I call them."
So saying she took Jess by the hand leaving her cousin to see that Slim and Mike followed.
"See? Aren't they cute?" Cam grinned at the look on Jess' face.
"Those are cattle?" The Texan pushed his hat back on his head. "You're joking right? Somebody's playing a trick on the poor unsuspecting fairgoers. Right?"
"I'll have you know, Jess Harper, that these cattle thrive in winters worse than our worst Wyoming ones. The Highlands, of Scotland, are pretty rugged territory - even in good weather. The Highland Cattle survive just fine."
"With coats like that they should." Slim and Gordon came up behind them at this point.
"I like them!" Mike exclaimed.
"Oh, you do, do you?" Slim laughed
"Yeah!"
"The boy shows good taste," Gordon quipped. "However, I think the Herefords are more to your liking right boys?"
As he spoke a fine looking Hereford bull was being led into the show ring.
Slim whistled. "If that bull is as good as I think he is he'd be great addition to our herd."
'Herefords are good sturdy cattle," Gordon McAllister agreed. "They stand up to the sever winters of Wyoming, Montana and the Dakota territory very well."
"For a lawyer you know an awful lot about cattle," Jess said.
"My brother, Duncan, raises them on his ranch near Yankton. He swears that Herefords and Black Angus are the best beef cattle he's ever raised."
"He wins prizes with them and gets good money for his stock when he sells," Cam added.
Mike was getting bored listening to the men discuss the cattle and the possibility of buying a good bull while they were there so Cam took him and they wandered off to see more of the fair.
As they walked they saw many families enjoying different displays and sampling different foods. Cam bought Mike a pickle and a popcorn ball for each of them.
"Corn husking contest starts in the field in ten minutes. Children twelve and under in ten minutes."
"Come on Mike. Let's get you into the corn husking contest so you can win a ribbon to show Slim and Jess and your Aunt Daisy."
"Okay," the boy was amenable to the idea.
""Here. Sit in this circle. That's where you'll put your ears of corn as you husk them," Cam explained.
The organizer of the event was in charge of the chicken barbecue. The corn was to be cooked and served as part of the chicken dinner. Making a contest out of husking it gave the children something to do and saved the cooks a lot of labor - or the cook's helpers as the case may be.
"Everybody take a seat on the ground in one of those circles." He waited for the dozen or so children to take a seat. "Okay. Everybody see that pile of corn in the middle of the field her? The way this contest works is that you will run to the pile of corn and bring an ear back to your circle. Husk it as fast as you can, put it down and run back for another one. The contest will end when every ear of corn is gone from the pile and has been husked and put in your personal pile. The winner is the one who husks the most ears and wins a blue ribbon showing them to be the champion."
He grinned at the eagerly waiting children. "Are you ready?"
"Yes!" They all yelled.
"Ready. Set. Go!" he shouted.
The race was on. Each child ran to the enormous pile of corn to grab an ear. The smart ones, like Mike, were husking them as they ran, thus saving time. They returned to the pile, and their circle, over and over again while their families, and friends, cheered them on.
"Come on, Mike! Faster! Faster!"
"Dave - speed it up!"
"Carrie, love, don't dilly dally. Strip that corn faster!"
Finally, fifteen minutes alter, every ear of corn had been husked and the counting began. Five volunteers from the fair committee counted each child's pile.
Cam stood next to Mike, fingers crossed, hoping her young friend had won. It was a close contest, but finally Mike was declared the winner and given a big blue rosette printed with the words "Winner Evergreen Fair 1872." The boy's face beamed.
"Come on Mike, we have to show your brothers your ribbon." She hugged the boy and then took his hand so they wouldn't get separated by the crowds of people.