The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1881-10-08

could not manage it, all their work
would be thrown away; and Bob passed
many anxious hours thinking and plan
ming, but with no other result than to
make him sleepless.
Still it did not rain, but one morning
Ned came in from observing his water
marks, and reported that the river had
risen about three inches during the
night This puzzled Bob, and he care
fully watched the water. At noon it
had risen two inches more. During the
night it rose fully a foot. Then Bob
began to suspect the truth.
II have it, Ned he said
"Well, how is ftp Where does the
water come from?"
From the Mississippi River. That
river is high from rains in the north,
and it has broken through one of the
passes into the Tallahatchee. Wen
have steamboats, here yet"
"Well, l hope they'll come soon,"
said Ned. "rve fried our last slice of
bacon, and we have only few pounds
of meal left"
1--WE can eat the mule" said Bob,
rather than starve; but we'll wait on
short rations and hope"
There had been a great crop of cot
ton grown on the Tallahatchee that
year, and the dry fall had enabled the
planters to pick it more thoroughly than
usual. Knowing this, the owners of
steamboats, at Vicksburg were watching
the reports of the water in the Yazoo
and Tallahatchee as eagerly as Ned and
Bob were watching the water itself,
each anxious that his boat should be the
first to go up the river.
On the 18th of December Ned cooke ed
the last of the meal. The bows went to
bed that night out OF food. The next
morning they had no breakfast and had
begun to think of killing the mule, or
making a journey to the nearest plan
tation, when about noon a boat APP
peared She blew her whistle and
stopped her engines.
"What do you ask for your woodP"
shouted the Captain.
Three and half answered Bob.
"Give you three and quarter, and
take all you got,' said the Captain.
"Will you throw in a decent dinner?"
asked Bob.
Yes"
And with that the boat made her
]
cords, was measured. Then the boys
went on board to dinner. There they
! learned that in consequence of the pro-
longed dry season all the people along
the river had been too busy picking
cotton to cut any wood, and hence the
boat had been obliged to send her own
men ashore twice to chop wood for her
engines. Knowing that other boats
were coming, the Captain of this one
had made haste to buy all of Bob S
wood, meaning to take part of it at
once, and the rest on his way down the
river. He had driven sharp bargain,
under the circumstances, but Bob was
well satisfied when he received $204. Is
for the pile. His first care was to buy
of the Captain a good supply of provis-
ions; his next to write letter to his
mother, inclosing fifty dollar bill,
and, without telling her where he was,
giving her news of his own and Ned S
health, and promising to write again at
the next opportunity. This letter the
Captain took to post at Vicksburg.
The mule was saved, and the problem
which Bob and Ned had set out to solve
was in fair way to be worked out.
They had money enough now to buy
necessary plows, ETC., which they or
dered from Vicksburg by the next trip
OF the boat, and some cash to spare tol
emergencies. They went to work with
a will at their clearing, and before
spring opened they had a field prepared
which was two hundred yards long anC
one hundred and fifty yards wide. IT.
area was therefore somewhat greater
than six acres, and it was land of the
very richest sort. Bob made Journey
to the nearest plantation, and brought
back a cart-load of cotton seed, to
gether with the seeds of variety O
vegetables, for which beds were made
around the hut.
The summers work was very hare
and very hot. The rich land produced
weeds as we'll as cotton, and Ned re
marked that "Weeds never 90 to pic
MICS or take Saturday afternoons off. >
In this the boys initiated the weeds
working early and late in their crop
barely giving themselves time to hot
out their kitchen-garden occasionally
They had distinctly overcropped them
selves, but that was better than the op
posite mistake. In August the boil
began to open and the boys to picl
cotton. 1t was not long before the,
discovered that they had grown NOR,
cotton than they could pick, and tina
they must either have help or lose
part OF their crop. So one day Net
mounted the mule and rode across tn
Yalabusha River, and out of the swami
into the poor hill country. There tn
scanty crops were easily picked, and a
he was able to offer money wages h
easily secured some half-grown negr
boys as piokers. Their wages amount
ed to comparatively little, and thei
} holm Secnred the whole OF th e hoYs' cron