The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1883-03-31

| for while living there. for he has no Othe
abicing place: He would take the farm 9
for sale, would buy 1t II the price were no
too high and pay for il ~ soon and a. fast q
II am the young man above referred to. am
CHARLES EPHRAIM wINDsER.
| A fortnight later received the follow
ing characteristic letter from Mr.. Smith
'weIl, Charles Ephraim, have received you
| rather odd letter. That farm-which you seen
to havetaken possession of-has cost me owe
But any man Who viii nav Tan me h " s sn'
hfty dollars for 1t may have 1t. do not sup
pose you have cent TO pay me. But IL Is no
much use for me to order you on, for you viii
stay II you have mind to. unless take tn,
trouble to come up, or send up, and drive y9l
on. add shan't do that. So go ahead Charles
Ephraim; plant and SOW aud reap to you
can raise the hundred and fifty the old farm {
yours. And II you are In earnest (which dom
believe), wish you sncc IS.
bAvID C. SMITH"
Whenever felt blue used to get Out
that letter and have laugh.
MY SPRINGS WORK.
The farmers about were now doing
their springs work-planting and sow.
ing-and l borrowed a neighbours OK.
team to pillow three acres Of the old
stubble ground. paying for the use of the
team by my own labor.
1t was all hard work. Every fair day
was day of toll used to sleep like q
log there in my straw. But, somehow,
began to enjoy it; the world looked
brighter. After my crops were in the
ground l mended the fences about the
fields and the house; and worked out
and got new glass panes for the broken
windows. These l set myself on rainy
days.
By June the people about had begun
to treat me as friend and neighbor.
Indeed, they commenced, laughingly,
to call me their new neighbOr." At
first, coming among them as I did, they
distrusted me. But when they saw that
Twas not afraid to take hold and work.
and that really meant business, they
turned about and treated me like fell
low.citizen. Twas shown a great many
kindly favors.
HoEING AND HAVING.
1t was no great task to do nv own
work in hoeing, and / was able to work
out enough to purchase q set of haying
tools, consisting of scythe. snath, fork
and rake. For there was q tolerably
good crop of grass in the fields and
down in the meadow, which resolved
to secure to the last straw. began NV
haying on the first day of july. For
three weeks worked early and late. I
had no team for drawing the hay into
the barn. Every pound Of it 1 hauled
in myself on a little crack which l
rugged upon pair of old carriage wheels
that found abandoned beside the road.
In these three weeks got in about nine
tons. Seven tons of this hay sold thu
following winter, in the village nine
miles below, for seventy-six dollars.
did every stroke of the work alone and
unaided; and after that l worked out at
haying eight days at q dollar and q quar-.
ter per day.
My oats were now ready to harvest.
This occupied me week; and when the
threshing machine came into the neiph-
borhood about fortnight later had my
crop threshed out. After deductin9
thresher' s toll, l had sixty mine bushels.
then made . trade with Mr.. Cum
mings and traded sixty bushels Of oats
for one OF his cows; and Mrs. c.
threw into the bargain . milk. pail and
four tin pans. This was my first invest
ment in live stock. After that / had
plenty of new milk and also butter
which l churned myself in twenty-cent
earthen pot. But / did not let any one
see, nor know of, my dairyinp process
On the twenty-fourth day Of Septem-
Der, began digging my potatoes; and
from my well-dressed field, I dug q hun
dred and seventy-one bushels of as hand
some EARLY Rose" potatoes as one would
wish to see.
| picked out q barrel of the yerv best
and sent them to 'sOld Man Smith,"
in Boston.
BUYING THE FARM.
In January l chopped ten cords of
wood for Mr.. Cummings, and in nav
ment had his ox-team to draw INV hav
down to the village, where marketed
It. After receiving the money, I wrote
again to Mr. Smith, telling him that I
was now ready to make payment of
seventy-five dollars on the farm. The
OF doing the writings,'' as thew |
call 1t in the country. was entrusted. on |
ms part, to q lawyer in the village, named |
Robertson. To him paid the money
and received . deed of the farm. but |
gave my note. secured by q MORTGAGE
lor the second payment Of seventy-Sve
dollars, in one year.
l have motive in writing this plain |
little narrative. In New ENGLAND -
New York State and in the West. there
IRE scores, yes, hundreds and Thousands |
u abandoned farms like the one / came |
o my first night in A.. To the HIM
lreds OF homeless persons, young and
I'D, in the cities, these deserted farm
'fier homes, and they may be improved.
During the second year paid my note
or seventy-five dollars, with the inter.
St. and took up the mortgage,<C =.
Ft1tfer. " YoNih'e CbmpQ1jQH,