The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1883-10-11
Martha's Experiment

NIafCf1a S hXperlrnent
zone cup of butter, two cups of sugar,
three cups Of -four and four eggs. Dc
you remember teaching me that rule for
making cake when I was ten years old,
grandma ?"
"Did I? Well, it is q good rule
one you can remember easily. Are You
baking cake this morning p
eyes; am all done now but this one
cake. have worked fast, for want to
be ready to visit with cousin Martha
She said she would come over early.
Uncle and aunt will wait till afternoon.
There she is -
Cousin Martha had returned home
only the day before, and had not vet
seen her grandmother, who had come
from her Eastern home to spend the
summer with her two sons and their
families in Iowa.
$50 you really have farm of your
own in Dakota, said grandma to Martha,
when the two girls were seated by her
in the parlor after dinner.
eyes; / made q claim next to Ned's
when we first went out there together,
and took up a timber claim. After we
had pre-empted them we took up our
homesteads, and are now living on
! them"
"You talk of pre-empting like a man.
Did you live in q shanty of your own ?"
| "Of course I did; / have as good n
| shanty rs Ned's, and we lived in it part
of the time, until we were ready to pre-
empt. Now we live on our homesteads. I"
Susie's fingers flew with her crochet
work, and she bent her head to hide the
amused look in her eyes rs grandma
ventured another question.
What did you have to do to pre-
empt?"
"When we first went there we filed a
notice Of our intentions to have and
hold those particular manifestations of
land. and after six months residence
on them we went to the land office and
proved that wo had complied with all
the requirements of the law, paid our
two hundred dollars each, and took our
deeds. We had selected our home
steads, and now paid the fee of fourteen
dollars each on them, which secures them
to us without further payment if we con
tinue to live on them five years. The
timber claims are the same. If we shall
at the end of eight years have ten acres
of growing timber, with six hundred and
seventy-tive trees to the acre the land is
ours.
"Well, / don't see what your fathc,
do it."
Possibly Martha thought it q little
hard that they and all avoided telling
grandma about her plans and work il
the two weeks she had been with then
before her arrival home, knowing hel
prejudice, and that her ideas on sucl
subjects differed SO enterely from theirs
but she was too glad to be with then
again to be easily annoyed, and went or
pleasantly explaining to her whatever
she thought would interest her about it
"Why, grandma, | am going to make
me farm i'll Dakota as soon as am ole
enough" laughed Susie; "won't I
father?"
"Silas Hartwell, hopc you and Sybil
won't encourage that child in any such
unladylike scheme [ am surprised
that you, James and Alma, should have
, allowed Martha to do it,"
"Ill tell you, mother" replied Silas,
"the land will bo all taken up in that
part of Dakota before this young lady
of ours will arrive &C the mature age OF
womanhood, and her brother, being
younger, will nct aid and abet her ns
Ned has Martha"
perhaps some other girls brother
may" said Martha, peeping ro8uishly
INTO her little cousins face. She was
surprised to see the color mouat i'll rosy
Pushes to her face for mn instant, rs she
replied to her father without appearing
to notice her banter.
"I shall be twenty soon; old enough
to aspire to o 3hanty OF my own in one
land when you came to Iowa, didn'tyou,
father?"
eyes We have the deeds Of our homes
here from government. We were among
the pioneers Of our county here, and be-
cause we prospercd here is probably the
reason why our children are so ready to
do pioneer work fPrthcr on. You re-
member. mother, tits was q long way
from home when we came here, thirty
years ago, in our Hooyier wagOrs. You
hardly expected then tc ever visit us by
taking two days ride and lind us sur
rounded with so many comforts, did
you ?"
"No; l must say it turned out better
than expected and it does not look
badly to see the children going farther
out to new places, as things are now,
but L must say it 1oes look out of place
for girl like M4rth9 to take up such |
manniSh ways"
"YOu saw AnnNHolland when she was |
here last week, how tired and worn out
eAe !O9kSdr" ssla Susie shelssshoaAs