The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1893-12-15


and put out large crop of corn and
oats, the bulk Of which crop went into
the maws Of the mortgaged stock. In
the fall of that year, after feeding
corn for three months, we sold a num-
Der of the COWS at All average price of
% per head, and applied the proceeds
on the note.
In 1892 we put out another large
corn crop which went the way of its
predecessor. During the years of '91-
1872 every dollar Of our earnings over
and above the amount necessary to
give us a meager living, was sunk in
paying wages to farm hands and buy
ing feed. Our wife went back INTO
the school room for eight months in
order to help out, when her health
was such that large part of that time
she ought to have been in bed.
In the fall of 1892, by dint of hard
scraping, We managed to put in 14O
acres of wheat, in the hope that a
wheat crop would enable us to rid our
selves of the incubus which was crush
ing out our life and hope.
The next spring we ran. in debt in
order to putin 40 acres of oats, 20
acres of which blew ont land disap-
peared in the sands of tune two days
after it was sowed. The ether 20
acres got up about six inches, grew
discouraged and stopped short. AS our
scraper was dull and out of repair we
passed the crop by and its sweetness
was wasted OH the desert air. OF the
40 acres of wheat sown we cut 65 acres
and wished We hadn't to the tune of $40
in good hard cash wrung from our
reluctant pocket. We also put out 40
acres of corn, which, when the ears
had nicely formed, attracted the atten-
ton of the cattle mortgaged to
Edwards and tempted them from the
nelghboring pasture, and they waited
not till the ears should be husked and
garnered, but awaited themselves of
the nutrition contained therein while
the same were green and fresh.
Finally, after holding the cattle un-
til they had got the full benefit of the
summer pasture and the corn crop
they had appropriated, we luckily
caught Il sucker who needed few cat
tie in his business and we sold them
for the highest market price. The
proceeds of all the cattle that had not
died in the meantime were duly turn
ed over to the bank as fast as realized
upon the different sales that had been
made, and finally the last sale was
made and proceeds turned over the
latter part of October last.
At the time we made the note to the
bank, it was agreed that we should
have all the time we needed to enable
us to dispose of the property to advan-
tage. And tho, the note was made
payable in six months in order that it
might pass the criticism of the bank
examiner, it was agreed the note should
be renewed as long rs we wished till
all the property was disposed of. Ac-
cording to this agreement the notes
have been renewed whenever they be-
came due until this last fall.
After all the cattle had been
sold there remained number of
horses which had not been disposed of,
and when the proceeds of the last cattle
were paid into the bank we offered, in
pursuance of the agreement, to renew
the note for the balance remaining I'M
paid.
The matter was postponed by the
officers of the bank for short time
when we again offered to renew the
note and also offered to turn over the
horses at a price to be. agreed ON.
Edwards took the matter under advise
ment until toward the close Of Novem-
Der, a few days before we started on
our recent trip, when he stated that
he would take the horses, and we
appointed Monday, November 9th,
as the day to go out to the farm and
look at them, for the purpose of agree
ing upon the price at which he should
take them. He failed to keep his
appointment, but later i'll the day we
saw him and arranged to 60 out with
him rs soon rs we should return from
short trip which, rs we told him at
the time, we were about to take.
Nothing was said by him at that time
or at any previous interview to indi-
cate that he vastn any way dissatis-
lied with our co1duct in reference to
the note and mortgage, or that he ex-
pected to bring or Contemplated bring
ing any legal proceeding against US,
and we left on our trip without having
any reason to believe from his manner
or conversation that he contemplated
such a cowardly move.
One of the bank officers stated to US
that he was satisfied that we had done
all that it was possible for us to do to
make the property pay the debt, and
that if it did not do so it was not our
fault This fact was equally we'll