It's almost certainly a re-ordering of 'did feed beside / next to / by him'. This particular terminal preposition usage is non-standard nowadays.

@Edwin Ashworth

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See also the later question 
> [Who is being fed in "Did hourly feed him by" from Walden, or, Life in the Woods?](https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/609675/who-is-being-fed-in-did-hourly-feed-him-by-from-walden-or-life-in-the-woods)