The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-06-08
CONFINEMENT REIGNS,
Character Sketch of Squatter
Life in the Unpeopled
West.

The "Hines Place" as it. was called,
was a squatter's farm. That is, Tom
Hines had dumped his wagon load of
household goods down by, the highway
at a certain spot, built q brush shanty to
shelter his family for a few days, and
eventually erected a rude log cabin, and
there he had stuck for the last fifteen
years. He had ssbrushed" over two or
three acres of land around the house and
raised a little corn and a few bushels of
potatoes, and l found him sitting on his
doorstep as good natured and content as
a house cat after a full meal.
Powerful glad to see yer-powerful
glad" he said as weshook hands. 'The
stage driver was a-saying you'd be along
today, and I was sorter on the watch.
You thar, jenny"
A woman appeared in answer to the
call, and the man said:
"Jenny, this is he 'un. Stranger, Jen's
my ole We've got a boy named
Moses, but he's off arter roots. Now
come right in and feel home made"
The cabin consisted of one room about
sixteen feet square. There was a fire
place, two beds made of poles, a rude
shelf on which were a few dishes, an old
clock which did not go, a rifle resting
on deer horns, a few garments hanging
to pegs and a photograph of Cleveland
tackled to the logs. The cash inventory,
outside of the rife, would not have been
SIS. expected to hear the woman begin
the usual s.nagging" after a bit, and the
man to start off with excuses, but moth
ing of the sort took place. On the con-
trary, as soon as l had been furnished
with a bite of cold bacon and corn bread,
and washed it down with a summer
tonic made of roots, we went out for a
smoke, and Hines inquired:
"How ar ye fndin' the people along
the road?"
"Much discouraged"
"Over whaty"
"Oh, the weather and SO on"
""That's jis' like 'em, the emery, fault
indersl When it isn't one thing it's an
other. Stranger, kin ye expect to find
better weather than this outside of
heavenr'
Hardly"
'eThats what / say. Ye found most
of 'em lazy and shuckless, I reckon%
eyes" rzw
"Well, its nobody's fault but thar
own. Things don't look very peart
around yere, do theyr'
"Well, no."
'sThar's reasons fur it. In the fust
place I'm a squatter. Can't tell when
I'll hey to pull up and git. Tharfore, ye
can't expect me to rush things. In the
next place we hev huff to eat and war,
and that's all we want. We is pore folks,
and we is satisfied to be-"
"There are very few that way"
"'Zactly, stranger, and that's what
ails this nashun. Thar hain't huff phil
osophy about common folks. Now, then,
s'posin' the president should pint me
postmaster down at Red Bridge? I can't
read no write, anil can't talk grammar,
an I'd jist feel ouery mean all the time.
S'posen that Jay Gould should send me
down a kerridge an bosses as a free gifts
Hev I got airy place to stable them bosses
an put that kerridge? How would /
look ridin' round these yere parts in a
thousand dollar rigp 2
"Then you don't want to be rich?"
'Yes, / do, but faint fur me. When
/ got growed up to 81, an found myself
pizen pore, an homely, an long shanked,
an ignerent, / knowed figures an riches
wasn't fur me. I cut my sticks acordin'.
That's jist the way with Jen, too. Jen,
come out yere an talk"
The woman came out, lighted her pipe
and sat down, and her husband con-
tinued:
"Jen, he'un thinks it mighty quare
that we don't yarn fur bizness an riches.
Tell he'un how you feel about it,"
"You was pizen pore an ignerent,"
she said as she looked over to him, IAN
I was all that billed down an mo-, too. /
knowed right off that riches wasn't fur
us, an 50 I didn't yarn fur EN-"
"Aud you are content to live as you dor
"Pooty nigh, stranger-pooty nigh. If
I had a hull pound Of sixty cent tea an
five pounds of brown sugar in the cabin
all to once l wouldn't trade places with
any woman in the state"
"Ye see, it's like this" said the hus-
band as he dug up the soil with a stick.
eff we was wantin' we'd hev to hev a
fine house. Then we'd hev to furnish it
an git hired help. Then we'd hev to hev
watches an diamonds an SIGH, an good
clothes, an go to the theatre, an travel
around, an keep dressed up, an talk
sweet, an so whar' would the comfort
come in? It's too much to put or q pus-
sons shoulders"
HE 'un is jist right" added the wife.
yves pore an can't git no better off.
What we's got we's got. What we
heven't got don't hurt MOI help US"
A couple of men, going to mill with a
few bushels of corn in a cart, anne along
just then and stopped to get drink of
water and 'chitter' with us.
"How's Mandy, Jim?' queried Hines
of one.
"Pore-very pore"
slows craps?'
Powerful bad shown fur craps this
year."
Flows yer own feelin's, Jim%
"Only sorter. Hav been chilling Qhav'
ing chilly mo- or less"
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