great rough leaves and many branches which
bore dozens of blossoms. They made a gold
ribbon across the prairie. Occasionally one of
the horses would tear off with his teeth a plant
full of blossoms, and walk along munching it,
the flowers nodding in time to his bites as he
ate down toward them.

The Bohemian family, grandmother told
me as we drove along, had bought the home-
stead of a fellow-countryman, Peter Krajiek,
and had paid him more than it was worth.
Their agreement with him was made before
they left the old country, through a cousin
of his, who was also a relative of Mrs. Shim-
erda. The Shimerdas were the first Bohemian
family to come to this part of the county.
Krajiek was their only interpreter, and could
tell them anything he chose. They could not
speak enough English to ask for advice, or
even to make their most pressing wants
known. One son, Fuchs said, was well-grown,
and strong enough to work the land; but the
father was old and frail and knew nothing
about farming. He was a weaver by trade;
had been a skilled workman on tapestries and
upholstery materials. He had brought his
fiddle with him, which wouldn't be of much

[[22]]

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v?