Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1870-04-22

VIC Rilkcu ONtI NY PURPOSES DOIl-
aid advised me to invest all / could I'm
cattle. You can't get much ground
clear, nor many trees girdled this sea-
son, though I'vo picked up two first
rute hands for you. Cattle don't cost
but their salt to keep, for you'v got a
plenty of range round you-lots of
peavine coming-and when the dro-
vers come they give fair profit, and
it's cash down. Pm going to Kentucky
to buy some cattle myself, and you can
20 long as well as not"
j couldn't leave the family so long,
In new place. Couldn't you buy me
some, and l will pay you for your
trouble with pleasure?
We'll don't want any pay for OBJ
liging neighbor. All you'll have to
pay, III be for an extra hand to help
drive.
SO 1t was arranged that 1 should
give him the money, and he would
buy the steers. My wife came I'm, and
we soon retired TO rest.
We got to our cabin the next day
somehow" rs M'Donald had "allow-
ed" The house was nothing more
than a pen Of ys, rooted with long
split oal1en shingles, fastened by tim
bers laid crosswisc, with q door at one
end, and n chimney, curiously COM
pounded of sticks and stones, ut the
other. 1t was floOred with hewn logs,
or puncheons, and looked new and
clean. The bedst, ad and table were
rather rough ofiairs but Mrs. NJ Dom
aid, who had gone before, had din
ner ready, the cloth spread, and had
managed to put sort of hOme-likc
look about the the place. Still it was
frightfu,ly rude, and l looked at my
wife to see how she would bear 1t. She
was radiant, took off her shawl, and
turned to assist with will; while,
between the chickens, the COW, which
was waiting and chewing her cud pa
tiently meanwhile, and the clear
spring few feet from the door, the
children were wild with delight. The
two hired men, Ace Stollings and Bill
White, who were at work fixing a
worm fence around the clearing, nod
| ded their heads at me, by way of own
| ing my right of possession, and we all
sat down merrily to dinner.
/ will pass over the next ten months.
| M'Donald, to whom l entrusted q
thousand dollars, and who seemed to
think it huge sum, brought back
| eighty-four cattle, mostly two-year-
olds in return fot IL. l added pigs and
more poultry t. my store, got up a
small flower garden for my wife's de-
| location, and by autumn had twelve
acres of gne corn growing among my
girdled trees, divers pigs fattening in
their pens, and my wife, under the
teutelage of II stout country girl, who
condesccnded to help" in the house
work, quite the farmers wife. She
bore it bravely, as woman can, when
she makes up her mind to 1t.
Well, l prospered. There was q
good deal of rocky and billy ground
on my tract; but the ground that can
grow tulip trees, three feet or more
through the butt, and black walnuts
and white oaks nearly as large, can al.
so produce good corn. My cleared
ground increased / bought more cat
tie each year, selling Off the old stock
always at good profit; and was con
sidered already "a wealthy man.
Among the blind the one-eycd MAI
Is king" and when | could count five
thousand dollars In hard money
among men none of whom ever own
ed thousand, was thought to he /;
Crnsus. Then my force of five hun
dred books seemed to them a NOR,
than Bodlcian library my fruit trees
and the improved farming and garden
ing implements that L imported tn,
stone wall which | had erected, in
stead Of the crooked rail fence; an,
above all the fact that had Obtainc'
an order from court for three-ro'
road, fifteen feet to he worked, an6
made road at my own expense
road which in its roughness woult
have shocked Tellair or Madam, bu
which was passable to wagons during
all seasons-all these made me tn
wonder, though not the envy, of m.
neighbors. They first wondered, the
sneered, then began to abuse me Iii
tie; but as l bore it all calmly, an
; was always ready to do them a KIND
ness, they fell TO liking me. / eve
grew popular as well rs prosperou,
and they talked of making me IL jui
4 tice of the county court but 1 had n
3 ambition, and told them 30 as gent
rs possible.
= My wife used all this while to &,
letters from her mother, mournin
a over her hapless fate, to which she n
y turned merry answers. Still, thong
. we had added new pens to the prim
= pen, adorned them with windows, an
= capped them with shingle roof
% though we had even achieved coar
. ingram carpet for our best room !;
il "kivercd it with a green an yall
- kiverlid," as the neighbors said, cou
I; see that my wife did not exactly iii
, our quarters. SO TO please the lit
:, woman, which / could well afford
- do, set about building a new hous
~ M'DOnald had originally located u
~ house I'm the low ground, partly Il
Al. IsaNFA lott
:, party because IL was the custom of Il
~ country not to build In any other kin
W of place. selected for the new spot
~ rising piece of ground about two hu
4 bred yards OFF, sort Of mound tn
80 stood in the entrance of wide hollo'
~ from which the hills on each si
no sloped up gradually. On one side
m this there ran n never failing branc
-, or rivulet. which, damned short d
!! lance below by some rocks, formed
~ clear pool, well stocked with bla
bass and rcdeye, where my boys,
IA their return from school, excrcis
themselves frequently in the gen
|" art of angling. On this knoll l exc
o. waited n cellar tan apartment not know
4. | To the natives, who built on [
o ground, or OH a shallow foundatiO
-. and it was dug out ten feet, until =
~ reached the bed rock. This was wa
w ed up with the cream-colorcd san
ri stone, of which huge blocks lay In
al bed of the stream above and on
:" banks, and which II was easy to clca
T. and rough-dress with the hammer.
gave me cellar thirty-cight by fol
i, In width and length, and nine Il
I deep in the clear, with two divisi
H. walls half way to the centre. As sa
nj surrounded 1t, and the bed rock sloI
H. slightly TO the river, the drainage v
he perfect.
no On this foundation, bcdded in 80
mortar made with II bushel of lime
/ half peck of white ebay, prevlou
is burned to redness and powdered, a h
peck of sifted wood ashes, aud I
lr- and a-half bushels of sand, l laid
w mense logs, cut square, and with not
n es that made them fit edge for edge
each other. They were still fart
- | aa,,,ra1 NTH nina nj tho ..ntnla ~ IA