It was not long till spring now, and Little Crist
was very busy going to sales and buying a few
more horses and cows and some farming
implements.  His specialty was horses and he
said to his father one day, "If I see a horse that
is offered cheap, I'll buy him, feed him up, sell
him and try to make some money."
"It's pretty risky business; you can't see inside
of 'em and sometimes they are pretty weak,"
said his father, "but if you're careful, you make
a little."
Crist studied the horse doctor book diligently
until he thought he knew a good deal about the
age of a horse by his teeth and the location of
the most common blemishes, -- ringbone,
spavin, and eye weakness -- and he believed
he could tell much about a horse's constitution
by the shape and position of its feet; so he was
willing and anxious to make a venture.
He had just heard that Nancy Jake Yoder had a
horse to sell, but he also knew that Nancy Jake
was about the shrewdest horseman in the
whole valley.  There could be no harm in
looking at the horse.  Nancy Jake lived along
the back mountain, and when Crist went back
to see him, Nancy Jake said, "Yes sir, Cristli, I
have a horse to sell."
"Is he sound and all right?"
"I'll show you the horse, and buyers must be
judges."
Jake trotted the horse out, but Little Crist
noticed that he lamed slightly on his left hind
leg.  When the horse came to rest Crist
examined his leg and said, "Ringbone."
"Are you sure?" asked Jake.
"Well, he has a slight limp when he trots and he
has a slight enlargement above the pressure
joint.  He might do me for all the work I need
him, if I keep him off the road, but he is not
worth much money, for he may go bad any
time."
Jake blinked his wise old eyes and said, "You
blasted little jockey; I didn't think you would
notice that, but you are right.  I keep only first
class horses so you may have this one for half
price."
The deal was made.  Crist took the horse
home, laughing up his sleeve because he had
learned how to cure ringbone, a secret very few
men knew.  If he cured the horse, he could sell
him for a fine profit and Daddy Yost would
smile.  The cure was simple -- the application of
a salt and vinegar solution daily and thorough
rubbing three times per day.
Crist applied the horse doctor book remedy
vigorously and to his delight, after a month's
treatment, he saw that the ringbone was
considerably diminished in size.  By
mid-summer the ringbone as well as the limp
had entirely disappeared.
Horses at that time of year were in demand,
and drovers were numerous.  Dave
Mutersbaugh of Lewistown was a horse buyer
and coming to the barn one day said, "Cristli,
do you have any horses to sell?"
"Oh, I have one or two I might sell if anybody
wants them badly," said Crist nonchalantly.
"Troop him out," said Dave.
Crist brought out the bay he had treated for
ringbone.  He was a beauty, had fine knee
action, and as Crist trotted him up and down,
Dave said, "Pretty nice horse; sound?"
"So far as I know," said Crist.
"What do you want for him?"
"Two hundred dollars."
The Newspaper for Plain People Everywhere
www.TheAmishBeacon.com
Vol.  69  Issue  7
July, 2009
Rosanna of the Amish
By Joseph W. Yoder
An Excerpt
I N   T H I S  I S S U E
Rosanna of the Amish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Being Quick to Listen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

The Cheeseman Delivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Growing Good Corn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4

Auction Fever  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Lawsuits That Make You Wonder. . . . . . . 6

Mennonite Fellowship Meal Recipes  . . . . 7
"Oh, you're too high!" said Dave.
"All right, if you don't know a good horse when
you see one, nobody loses but you," said Crist,
leading the horse back into the stall.  Little
Crist's indifference and what he had just said
irked Dave considerably, and after a bit more
parley in which Crist maintained his show of
indifference, Mutersbaugh said, "I'll take him"
and he counted out ten twenty-dollar bills, and
led the horse away.
Little Crist could hardly wait until he got to the
house to tell Rosanna how fortunate they were.
He had bought the horse for one hundred
dollars and sold him for two hundred, after
keeping him only three months; one hundred
dollars clear gain!
Rosanna smiled and affecting a little Irish
brogue said, "Little Crist Yoder, a schmart man
is that you air; someday you'll be the Horse
King of the Kishacoquillas."
He was thoroughly pleased with her comment,
and her last phrase tickled his ear, "Horse King
of the Kishacoquillas!"
Rosanna was just as ardent in getting ahead as
little Crist was.  The chickens were laying well,
and the cows gave a good quantity of milk, --
there were two nice Brindles in the heard, and
she was making two and three nice rolls of
butter per week above their need.  These she
took to the store and the eggs and the butter
more than paid for the groceries; so she felt
happy that she was keeping up her end of the
housekeeping.
One day when Mrs. Roper came over from the
village to buy some cream, she said, "My
gracious Rosanna!  Don't you find this awful
hard work, feeding the chickens and pigs,
cooking and milking cows? Do you ever have
time to play cards?"
Rosanna stopped polishing her tinware for a
moment, turned and looked at Ann pityingly
and said softly, "No, Ann, I do not have time to
play cards and I would not play cards if I had
the time.  I think it is a waste of time; besides,
our church does not allow card playing.  And
this is not hard work.  With a new house and
barn and a sober, industrious husband, new
things in the house, beautiful horses to work
and drive, and a chance to buy our farm when
we wish, feeding chickens and pigs and making
butter and cooking are not hard work, -- it's fun
and pleasant and enjoyment!"
"Rosanna, I envy you; you're a happy woman.
I wish I had your philosophy of life," said Ann,
with a little touch of disappointment in her voice.


During the first half of the twentieth century,
"dumb Dutch" stereotypes appeared in a
large number of popular novels that depicted
Amish and Mennonites. Helen Reimensnyder
Martin's 1904 book, Tillie a Mennonite Maid,
received notice in the New York Times, was
reprinted more than twenty times and made
into a silent film of the same title.
The exaggerated characters in these books
were often loutish or greedy men and dull,
subservient women who have grotesque or
comic surnames and who speak a distorted
dialect.
Joseph W. Yoder was disgusted with these  
unflattering and inaccurate representations
and, at the age of sixty-eight, felt compelled
to correct this injustice by writing Rosanna of
the Amish.  It also marked the beginning of
Mennonite literature in America.
Though Yoder always claimed the Rosanna
was not a work of fiction, scholars have called
that claim into question.  One Mifflin County,
Pennsylvania, genealogist and historian, S.
Duane Kauffman, searched public records to
find evidence of the people and places
depicted in the book.  His research has
revealed that although Yoder may have
claimed everything mentioned in this story is
the actual life of Rosanna, this is quite far
from the case.  Most of the material in the
early chapters is fabrication.
Two people mentioned as Rosanna's
brothers were more likely her uncles;
landmarks incorporated into the story did not
exist until later and the U.S. Census records
that Rosanna's parents were born in
Pennsylvania, not Ireland.
There have always been suspicions. In 1940,
one review mocked Yoder's idyllic account,
comparing Yoder's version of the Big Valley
to Eden before the Fall.  Still, by 1957,
twenty-three thousand copies had been sold,
despite the fact that it was self published and
self-promoted.  It is currently approaching the
half-million mark.
Today, Rosanna of the Amish is still admired,
remaining in print largely due to readers  
esteem for these people who seem to
embody American virtues: strong families,
sustainable communities, care for the earth
and religious faith.

Rosanna of the Amish: The Restored Text is
published by Herald Press and is available for
$15.99. Reprinted by permission.
The History of Rosanna
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