Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-07-16
CHAPTER VI.
BEGINNING A NEW HOME.

CHAPTER VI.
BEGINNING A NEW HOME
Arriving at their destination each
head of family selected his claim and
at once began the work of erecting
shelter.
John Parsons and Bill Richie selected
claims near to, though not adjoining,
| each other, for the country here is
more broken than on the Suscol Ranch,
| much of it being unfit for farming or
even for fruit growing; and very few
quarter sections can be found lying
| wholly in a valley.
Generally, if the sguatter could get a
claim, one-half of which was in the val
ley. he was well contented to take the
remainder upon the broken lands lying
upon the bluffs.
Such a claim was that which John
and Martha Parsons, assisted by Eras-
| tuS, selected.
The boy has been faithful" said
John to his wife. Il don't know wha.
you and the girls would have done but
for him, crossin' the plains, an l mean
to do the square thing by him if ever we
do get ahead bit. Besides, the grit
which he showed back at the other
place ought to entitle him to hev his
advice axed. if only for good manners
sake; specially if it is anything in
| which he is interested"
And thereafter nothing of Importance
to the family was ever fully decided
upon until Erastus had been given an
opportunity to express an opinion of its
| wisdom or feasibility.
The valley in which most of our pill
rms had sought homes was scarcely
| more than quarter of a mile wide; the
stream which watered it keeping nearer
to the bluffs upon the right side the
greater part of the way, but occasion
ally curving outward. near to or past
the center of this level strip of ground
between the hills.
Where the stream made one of its
curves. leaving between its channel and
the bluff handsome piece of ground OF
perhaps twenty-five acres, which wa.
slightly higher than the rest of the val
lev, and so not likely to be overlooked
by the wa ter during the winter freshet
and near to the bluff, which sloped back
gradually for some distance, did John
Parsons begin the erection of his humble
home.
Material for building was scarce ane
high. Lumber could have been OBJ
tanned had the settlers possessed the
means of paying for it; but. lacking
this, they were obliged to do the best
they could with material furnished by
nature upon or near the spot Some
dug into the sides of the hills, thus Sc.
cur ne the walls for three sides of thei1
dwellings, the roof and front being OF
such bits of lumber as they had brought
with them or could purchase; in some
instances the rude front being of lum-
Der which had once composed dry
goods boxes and in which the clothing
or furniture of the owners had been
brought from the States
Mr.. Parsons and Erastus, in prefer.
ence to this style of half dug-out, de-
cided to build of logs, but to obtain
these they were obliged TO go several
miles further into the hills and snake
down the bodies of small spruce trees.
This took much time and hard work.
but willing hands made light of it, and
three weeks from the day OF arrival the
family moved into their new house.
There was but one room, and that not
large; and the floor was the earth,
smoothed and beaten down. There
were two doors, with a window upon
either side: the Latter taken from the
cottage in the Suscol Ranch and
brought through in the wagon with the
bedding carefully packed about them.
The furniture consisted of some rough
shelves in one corner sufficient to hold
few pieces of crockery in daily use, a
table, several chairs and two beds,
which, with the stove, so filled the. sim
gle apartment that there was no room
for another bed, even if they had pos
sesse6 It: and for the time Erastus slept
in the covered wagon, for which there
was little present use, and later on upon
bunk on the dirty floor OF the shanty.
1t was very far from being as COM
Portable as the cottage back on the Sus-
col Ranch. and as for elegance or effort
at ..respectability it made none what
ever; was. in fact. as much below the
log house '.back in the States, which
the family had left as the Suscol cottage
had been above it in that regard, and
this thought kept coming to John Par
sons. and causing him twinges of pain
all the time they were at work on it,
but once fairly domiciled beneath his
own roof, poor though he was, with his
family about him. and with the cheerful
voice of his wife ever bidding him take
courage, he soon ceased to dwell upon
his disappointment; or at least to make
mention of it.
The first thing to be done after tn.
shanty was up and the family safely
sheltered was the securing of prove ndeI
for the teams; for while domestic ami
mails will live all winter on what they
can pick, and in ordinary seasons come
through in good condition; yet they
can not do this If required to work, and
our friends had sod to break for next
seasons crop. So they set about gath.
ering the wild grasses which grow with
wonderful luxurianee during the rainy
months. burn yellow and brown whea
the dry season comes on, curing as per.
fect1y where they grow IS by the pro
cess of hay-making pursued in countria
which lack the pure dry atmosphere q
the Pacific Coast
no BE CONTINUED