Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-01-25
FULL OF THANkFULNssS.
The Ranchcr Tells Why His Heart Il
sufru>ed with Gratitude.

The Ranchcr Tells Why His Heart Is
suna>ed with Gratitude.
Thankful oh, yes, I've got a
heap TO be thankful for, I'm just
billing over with gratitude, said a San
JOAQUIN mncher who had just stepped
cut of a lawyers Office OF Montgom.
cry street Look here. young man.
did you even try TO run a ranch with
n pair Of mules and a mortgagea
No. | Supposed not. When took up
my quarter section ! had TO mortgage
il TO start The first year was a bad
one and the wheat crop failed. Then
| had 10 90 into debt for seed and
grub, and the interest piled up on the
mortgage. I've been wrestling with
that mortgage ever since. but it downs
me every time.
Last spring when the wheat come
up il looked first rate, and my wife
and | watched il growing as you'd
watch a youngster, il you had one.
We worked hard, got along without
help most Of the time, and went to bed
plumb tuckered out every night We
hoped to get a little ahead Of the mort
gage this year. but il would have to
be a big crop and a big price to pull US
out Of the hole.
We'll. the crop was just fair. Bags
cost a good deal more than anybody
had u right 10 charge, taxes were
high. and | have got only a middling
price for M wheat. While we were
waiting for harvest time we used 10
figure up once in a while 10 see how
we'd come out My wife would be
tired most TO death with her work, for
| you must remember that a woman's
work on a ranch where she does all
the cooking. washing and mending,
| and takes care Of two or three chill
dren, isn't any picnic, and my back
would be aching like ] was breaking
in two. but we'd just sit down and
figure. II was close calculating. but
we allowed that a good price for the
crop would just about make both ends
meet for the year.
when n letter came up from the
commission man telling in ten words
that all our years toll was going TO
bring us only debt and tough wrest-
ling for grub over again. we Just
looked at our roughened. stiff iointed
hands and wondered whether il was
worth while raising stuff for other
folks to cat, and going hungry our
selves.
1t just meant that our backs had
ached that somebody else might take
things easy. IL meant that the kids
would have 10 get along with the same
old duds for another year. Do you
know, it seemed TO me for a moment
that If / took a shotgun and went out
on the stage road | wouldn't be doing
any more than the chaps who live on
mortgages do, and, mebbe, il would
be just a little squarer and more man
fashion way of getting what doesn't
belong 10 one. Still, as | wasn't
brought up TO that business. | didn't
think of it long.
you work like a Chinaman all the
year, work till you ache all over, raise
wheat enough to feed a small village
for a year, and then find that you've
worked yourself deeper into debt, and
see if you don't have some queer no
tons bobbing about in your head.
Then you go up TO a fellow that sits in
an Office, wears good clothes. and
never does a lick Of work that's of any
use TO anybody, hand over TO him the
money that your wife and children
need, almost get on your knees TO beg
him fof the favor of being robbed by
his mortgage for another year, and
tell me il you feel your heart just
bursting out Of your shirt with pro-
miscuous, all round gratitude. San
Francisco Examiner.