Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1862-06-04
From the Country Gentleman.
What can be done by Man without
Means in Two Yeara

Means in Two Years.
A few days ago. when returning home
from q neighbOring village, / found that
the waters Of an intervening creek had be.
come 50 swollen during my absence, from
the rain and melted snow. that on attempt
ing to ford it on horseback, both myself
and horse came near drowning. being car
ried away by masses of descending ice, and
lodged against a ~neighbOring fence. After
establishing ourselves again on terra 6rma,
and IN the same place from whence we star
ted. was glad. dripping with wet. to &C
cept the Inequalities of a house near by,
until morning.
During a conversation with the occupant
in the evening. l learned some interesting
facts concerning his history and farm man.
agcment, which | record for the benefit of
such of your readers as may happen to be
poor, as an inducement for them to $50 and
do likewise"
Said he-1 came to this farm go acres)
two years ago next May, and at that time
all the property 1 had in the world was one
hOrse-not a pillow. drag, wagon. sled, hs.-
ness, or anything else except my one horse.
Indeed, had the man of whom | rented the
farm known my condition, he would have
passed me by for a better tenant.
l went to a man who was extensively en-
gagged in the lumber business, told him my
story. and asked him to sell me a horse on
time He sold me the horse, and 1 gave
him security on the horse for his pay.
! went to a harness-maker for a set Of
harness on time, offering to give security
on the horse l formerly owned. and on the
harness itself, but he not liking to sell har-
ness on these terms, l again applied to the
man who had sold me the horse, offering
him the same security. which he accepted,
and got me the harness.
l also told him 1 must have some seed
barley. He let me have forty bushels
agreeing to take security upon my share of
the barley (~One-half,) upon the ground
He would not accept the security, however,
after the barley was sown; but in the fall,
upon statement, charged me five shillings
per bushel and interest for the seed harley,
and took barley of me at eighty cents per
bushel for pay. From the seed sown | har-
vested over five hundred bushels of barley,
which ! sold at eighty cents per bushel-
and this with other grain which l mana
aged to procure and SOW, left me, at the
end of the year, very well satisfied with the
fruits Of my labor.
In the fall / attended an auction sale,
and bid off forty very fine ewes. The man.
supposing that l was another individual of
the same name, did not ask me for an in
dorser, so l gave him my note at one year.
In a few days. however, he aseertained the
mistake, and anne to see me. l satisfied
him by giving security on the sheep. and
STIMULATING that tie proceeds of the wool
and lambs should be applied on the debt
Giving the sheep good care through the win-
ter, l paid the debt with the wool and
lambs, and had ten eve lambs left besides;
so that l now have a choice flock of fifty
sheep, worth at least $500. During the
last summer | kept my sheep Oh four acres
of clover grass, and fed them on clover hay
well cured, besides. during the entire sum-
mer, and l never saw sheep do better.
Last fall l fattened thirteen hogs-the
lightest weighing $50 pounds, and the hea-
West $50.
Now l have been figuring up how much
/ have cleared In less than two years, after
deducting expenses and paying one-half the
products for rent, and placing the personal
property at : low estimate, l find l have
cleared full $1,000.
A few weeks ago, ] took a trip to the
West, and purchased a farm of l60 acres
a short distance from st. Johns, Mich, ma
king a payment quite a number of years in
advance. Before leaving for home, l was
offered $500 for my bargain, but refused.
In the spring l shall sell out my grain on
the ground, take my sheep. team, wagon,
and other m~ovables, and depart for my new
home.
l must confess l was deeply interested
in this statement, every word Of which L
know was true. In the morning he took
me to see his stock, and a finer and more
thrifty flock of sheep l have seldom seen.
while the remainder of his stock exhibited
the sam evidence of their owners care.