Litchfield enquirer., 1875-02-04


 sist them while they wait; we must have something to sell right away
 Slfe took mp the slip again, and looked over tue items. s.How much the small l things cost! those which reople who have 1 them never count among the expenses Of living milk and eggs and batter ana veg etables. l was thinking of only meats and four. Dear me, Dolly, We couldn't. for We should have nothing in the world left after we bought any sort of plaee. accomplish anything, we ought to have all such things without buying. Why don't you say somthing, Dolly" she ask ed me at last.
 'I can't. Not now. I'm thinking. I'll come again in three days. Then, be- lieve, shall have plenty to say"
 Lou caught me by both hands. ''You mean things when you look like this. Dol ly Shepherd; what is it?"
 But broke away from her, not letting too much hope creep into my smile either l 1 felt, indeed. that now had seized upon what Castelar, calls -''the Saving Idea. !" But l always like to dissect flash. Un- til I had studied it in detail I could not tell. My mind was in confusion, with my thoughts all circling round a central idea: Could we go West and buy farm, real | laTlu, a maQ 18fm! It was startling thought to me-a girl; who never had planted hill of corn or 1 hood TOW of potatoes in her life, ard who had hacking cough, and a pain in her side. Still I felt strangely daring. Out-of-door life was what I needed, and home, and freedom from anxiety concern ing my daily bread. For the first time I could find certain good in the fact that 1 ' oil oIono fv, fIo xvOr16 nobody, either for Lou or me, to interfere with our devoting ourselves to the solu- tion of problem. If we failed. therewas l nobody to be sorry or mortified. Louise did not wait for my mysterious three days t" expire. The afternoon of the second she came down to the school- house. It was just after had s.dismiss- | ed." r ''Now!" demanded she
 We'll, l had gone through the new plan in detail, hsd thought and thought, read and read, had found there was no sex in brains; for out of the mass of agricultu- ! ral reading saw that even I, had the strength, could reduce whatever was per- tlnent to practice. I resolutely. cast mon- ey-making out of the plan. but believed we could raise enough for our own needs, and thought, .Oh. Lou Burney, if we should be able to establish the fact that women can buy land and make themselves home as men do, what ministry of hope even our humble lives may becomei"
 In my earnestness I had tried various absurd little experiments. In my out-oh door strolls think l, had managed to come upon every farming implement up on the place. Out of observation had lifted. dragged, turned, lfourished, and pounded. l had pronounced most of them as manageable for feminine muscle as the heavy kettles, washing machines, mattress ses, and carpets that belong to woman's indoor work. I had hood few stray weeds back of the tool house, a mNllein and 8 burdock ewhich thfove finely there aftero, and found Sik asL easy as sweeping, and far daiatier, ,te do ,thaa dinner-dish-
 felt prerparfsd r to ,1talil talk. wen, Lon, I said, Eve will try it very much as we talked. We will even have some berries. Qqly we will makaours hsead and sbntter: can meanwhile We will take our mon- eys'- had three hundred of my own ''and go mp into the great Northwest and make the best bargain we can for Q little farm, which, however, shall be as big as possible, for even at first we must keep a horse and q CON, and pig and some hens. Keeping COW, you know, will enable us to keep the pig, and therefore it means smoked ham and sausage for our own ta- ble, lard, milk, cream, and butter. As you said, We must have something to sell right away. There will be as I have planned it, a'surplus of pork, butter, eggs and poultry with which to procure groce- ries, grains, and sundries. We shall also raise our fruits and vegetables. We can grow corn to keep our animals, and for brown bread for ourselves. We will Set out an orchard and grape arbor, and have TOW of bee-hives. Meanwhile, hay ing secured the means of daily life, I have other and greater plans for comfortable old ago."
 These disclosed She made no com ment upon them, but reverted.g .gravely to the animals. II should think we might, Dolly, only the horse; do we need a horse? Be sure now Dolly, for it would be great undertaking. You know we would have to keep nice one if we kept any, not such an one as women in comic pictures always drive. Be sure, now"
 'FeS, l am. We must cultivate our small farming hiring labor would cost all the things would come to. Besides, how could we ever get to mill, or church or store? Only by catching rides; our neighbors would soon hate us. ''
 ''Well, then" said Lou, ''let us go."
 Accordingly, we came up into Michigan to cousin Janet's. Making her hospitable house our headquarters, we proceeded to ''1ook land" like other Eastern capital ists: that is, cousin Janet's husband took us ln his light wagon to see every farm that was for sale within ten miles. And 1t was such fun-we little midgets to go tripping over magnificent estates of two or three hundred acres, and spying about with only thousand dollars in our pock- cts
 Of course, we could not buy them; and we did think, so long as we were 'sonly two girls, there was no need for such widespread consternation when we finally made our choice. However, Lou and I were of one mind. We had resolved to keep ourselves to the plan of ''mived farming" and when the whole of that rubbishy, neglected thirty five acres was offered to us by it's nonresident owner for sum quite inside our means, intead of turning up our noses at it, we felt it to be bit of outspoken friendliness on the part of Providence, and to the astonishment of the neighborhood we bought it without delay.
 Bnt we have been obliged thus to rely, almost wholly. upon our own judgment from the beginning, so many things which we lack are necessary in order to carry out mans advice: money, strength hired men, horses. Still we believe that these very lacks, compelling us as they have to certain closer economies and calculations. have helped us to our suc- cess. Our scraggy acres were a contrast, to be sure, to the handsome orchards and wheat fields'we had visited. But from the day on which we "drew writings" Lou and I never have looked upon Che spot without seeing it, not only as it is, but as what it is to become, and is becom- ing. Every stone picked up, every fence corner cleared, every piece of thorough blowing, every rod of fence built, every foot of trelhs. every rose bush and grape vine and sha6a trea nlanta1a hoe haor, fo