Handsomest bucket on the Virginia frontier

Tired of replacing the rope handle on the fort’s “old oaken bucket”, which tended to fall back into the water when not being used and was thus prone to rotting, Blacksmith Bray recently smithed and mounted a splendid little iron handle for this lucky bucket. Never mind that liberal streams of water still pour from half a dozen rifts in the old moss-coated wood to roll down your leg and fill your moccasin as you carry water to the sheep. That is just a minor detail, and none but the most quarrelsome quibbler would be so uncharitable as to even mention it. The point is, this bucket now possesses a truly handsome, durable handle which will still be around a hundred years after the rest of the bucket has rotted to dust. So never mind that the bucket is still three-quarters empty by the time you get to the sheep-pen, it is nonetheless and indisputably the handsomest, proudest bucket on the Virginia frontier.