The Grant County herald. (Big Stone City, Grant County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1883, 1880-12-04


make it. So | went to the houses amonp
the farmers, and took home their rags,
old coats, and everything they>sad, AID
out in the wood-sh ripped and cut
hem up. Then mother sewed them and
sometimes | sewed some, too, and then
rolled them into balls and took them
back to the owners,all ready to be woven
into rugs"
''But did they pay for your work =
"Oh, yes; we gotso much pound and
| used to teel quite like amerchant W hen
| weighed them out myself with our old
stcelyards. But that was only one way ;
we've two or three old apple trees out in
the back yard by The wall, and we dried
the apples and sold them then some of
the farmers who had good many apples
began to send them to Us to dry, and we
paid them so many pounds all dried, and
had the rest To SELL
But you surely could not do much in
ways like these.
NO. not much, but something, and
we had the knittlng.'
odd you knit
Not at first; but after while mother
began to have the rheumatism in her
hands, and the Joints became swollen and
the fingers twisted, and il hurt her to
move them. Then learned to knit; be-
fore that had always wound the yarn
for her. | had to learn 70 sew a little, too,
Tor my mother did not like to see the
holes without patches"
And he looked half smilingly at the
specimens On his knees.
"But you did not mend thosel' said |.
"Yes, sir; but was in hurry, and
mother said it was not done as it ought
to be- They had Just been washed, and
| couldn't wait for them to dry
"Who washed them -
81 did, and ironed them, too I can
wash and iron almost as well as mother
cam
"But she does not let you do it2''
"She don't mean to let me, but how is
she going to help it She can hardly
use her hands at all, and some days her
feet are SO bad she cannot leave her chair
so | have to learn TO make the beds ana
scrub the floor, and wash the dishes; and
| can cook almost as vel! as glrl.
Us il possibel | shall have TO take
supper with you on my way back to the
city, and test your skill'
johnny blushed, and | added:
Its pity, my boy, that you have no
sister
Il had one, he said, gently, .. but She
died and-if she lived, wouldn't have
wished her to lift. and bring wood and
water, and surub as poor mother always
did. Sometimes | wish | could have
sprung all the way from baby to man.
It's such slow work growing up; and Il
was while mother was waiting for US to
grow up, that she worked so hard.
But my dear boy, you cannot expect
10 be son and daughter and mother, all IN
one You cannot do the work for awhole
family
.Yes, | can: it isn't much, and | am
going to do it, and the work my father
left undone I'm going to pay that
mortgage if live.
"Heaven grant you may ! said, fer
yently, under my BREATH "tor not many
mothers have such son.
.Mother does not know mean to DO
it, and she is very anxious | should 60 to
school, and | mean to 60 sometime; but
| know lust where the boys IN my class
are studying, and | get the lessons at
| home. Mother reads them to me out OF
the book. while / am washing the dishes
or doing her work, and we have great
fun. try to remember, and repeat II
and if we come to anything we can !
make out | take it over to the teacher,
IN the evening she IS very klnd--she
tells me.
yery kind. Who would not be kind
to such boyl | felt the tears coming
to my eyes at such sudden VISION OF
this son doing girls work, while his
poor old mother held the book III her
twisted hand and tried to help him te
learn.
.'But all this does not earn money, my
boy. How can you hope to save II you
give your time indoors
"Oh. don't do girls work all day no
indeed | have worked out our taxes OF
the road. 1t WASH t much, but ! helpee
the men build stone wall down by thu
river: and Decon Ball lets me do a grea
many days work for him, and when
oct a chance to take any one from IN
hotel to ride. he lets me have his team
for almost nothing, and ! pay TO mn
wahtever make. And l work on tn
farm with the men in the summer; ana
have cow of my own. and sell tn
milk at the tavern, and We have som
hens. too. and we sell the eggs And
the fall cut and pile the winters WOO
in the sheds Tor the people who haven
any little boys aud there's good man
neople about here who haven't any boys,
he added, brushing fly from the q
white horse with the tip Of his whip.
After this we fell into silence, an
rode Oh through the sweet New Englan
: / ~ j Il. ric hnt 80 =