Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-02-12
Old Times.

speaking of forecastiDg the weather
brought to my mind family that 1 be
came acquainted with way back in m,
early married life. All farmers in tn
first settling of the country, before ther
were any iron works, had to burn al
ground, snd it was no small job to clra
and burn the timber off of some of tn
land. After the Madison Iron Minins
Company put up furnaces at the Pilo
Knob, the Company proposed to cn
and make the wood into coal, for th'
wood that grew on :he land to be clear
ed. AS was just married snd had al
of my land TO clear [ accepted theil
bought me big colIier's axe, and com
menced cutting cord word at fifty cents
per cord. While I was clearing my
land | was earning good wages for
made it rule to cut and put up my
three cords of good wood q day. That
was my task. When 1 had three cords
up / would quit, no matter what time
of the dsy it was. Most all wood chop
pers would draw their pay every Sat
urday. They got their money in silver
half dollars or five franc pieces or in
suskins, a suskin was a Mexican dol
lar. All the Mexican dollars were cast
in sand at that time. When you saw
a big lot of old nail kegs come by on a
big mule team, you. if in the secret,
knew that those kegs did not contain
nails, but were just as full of silver as
pay only for each hundred cords. When
had a hundred cords Of wood cut, the
Company would send their receiver to
measure CT "tske up the wood" as it
was called. Every rank of wood re-
ceived would have stick of wood IL id
across the top, add no man would dare
remove that stick after once placed
there by the boss. The first one hun
dred cords of wood [ drew for 7 was
paid one hundred silver half dollars,
which made quite pile. When it was
counted out to me / spread my hand
kerchief on the cashiers table, and put
the money on it and tied the &c Orners of
my handkerchief together as | left
there and went in the Company store.
The room was tull Of colliers and wood
choppers. How those men did eye my
handkerchief. Among those men l
saw an old man and two young men,
the sons of the old man. They were
much excited about something. | ask
ed chopper that was standing near
what the matter was. Just then /
heard the man say, you did not send
the receiver 10 take up our wood ami
we can't draw our money, and we have
nothing to live on. 1t is not my fault
and we must have something to eat"
The manager spoke up very cross and
said, you can't get anything here I'M
/ til you get an order from the receiver"
| stood and heard that man plead for
something to eat. l asked man who
the old man was. The man said he
was an old wood chopper living out in
the claim and told me his name. /
said, II don't care who he is l am 60
ing to give him some of my money"
I called the old man and told him to
put bis hand in my handkerchief and
take what be wanted, and some day
when you have more money than you
need you can pay it back to me.
1t was the next year I think this old
man and his family, Of himself, wife,
two sons and two daughters, then
moved to the Valley. l found then:
good hands to hire by the day. You
could not hire them any other way.
do not think there was money enough
in the county TO hire one Of them to
stay over night away from home, or to
leave home in the morning if they
thought it would storm before night.
/ never saw more affectioDate set OF
people in my life or a more contented
and happy family. Ifyou wanted one
only yon could not begin to getone, but
ifyou wanted all three of the men they /
would come fast enough. if it was not I
going to storm before night; and how
did they know whether it would storm
or not?
T remember one morning / got on |
NV horse and rode out To- their place.
T wanted all of them very much; !
had Job of work I wanted done that
1ay yerv much. The family had just
got I'D and were sitting around the fire
in the fire place. said to the man,
II want you and the boys to work for
ME to-day very much" [ had hired
them a great deal and had always paid
them as soon as the work was done,
and knew all they had to live on was
dailv wages, for they had not foot of
ground undrr cultivation, nor cow or
mig or chicken, nothing but their wages.
Every member Of the family, men and
women, got up and went to the door,
and looked at the SKY. Stood and
pazed all over the horizon, and then
looked at each other; at last the man
said. mo, we can't go to day, it will
storm by three o'clock" As soon as
he said that, 7 said "Come and work,
until twelve, that will help me good
deal.u ,'No.we would rather not go; We
don't like TO get wet" And they all
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