The Bessemer indicator., 1893-04-29


Whitson, the proprietor of the Beck
farm. sued for her hand in marriage.
The man was ten years older than
Mary, but the girl accepted his suit
with favor and they became betrothed.
Two weeks before they We're TO be
married Il tree fell on Whitson. while
he was in the woods chopping and
killed him outright. The blow tenn
porarily affected Mary's mind, but she
eventually recovered.
Among Wilson's effects will was
found bequcuthinE to Mary Beck all OF
his real and personal property. There
were no relatives to oppose the Will.
but there was mortgage of $4,000 Oh
the farm that must be satisfied. Per
haps one reason why Mary so readily
promised TO become the wife of Whit
son was that she had always had an
ambition to some day return to her
old home. This desire She frequently
expressed to her acquaintanccs.
When Whitson died, it looked as ii
the girl would fail to accomplish her
purpose: but she rose equal to the
emergency. She arranged with the
nortgagec to assume the payment OF
.he obligation, and tool; up her resi-
dence on the farm. The Young woman
had no ready money to carry out her
plans so she placed second mortgage
on the place and by that means se-
cured $500. With an Indebtedness OF
So, 500 on her shoulders she went at
work to redeem the old homestead.
For two years She burned charcoal and
sold it in the towns in the county ac-
cessible to her with team.
Charcoal burning is work that has
very many unpleasant features. Miss
Beck employed choppers to cut the
wood, and, under her uperintcndeucc
they built the coal pits. When the
coal pit is fired it requires attention
day and night until the wood is all
charred. The coal pit cannot be lett
to itself longer than four hours with.
out great danger of its being rendered
worthless through the charcoal and tn /,
wood getting ablazc, in which case it
is burned to ashes. Miss Beck en-
ployed boy to attend to the stock and
do the chores. She went into the
woods two miles from any habitation
and watched the coal pits,
1t requires from week to ten DAYS
to burn the average coalpit, and She SO
arranged it that as soon as one was
finished another one was ready to be
fired. In the spring, when the roads
become passable she took the charcoal
to town and sold it for Is cents n
bushel. The average coalpit yielded
100 bushels of coal, for which She re-
ceived Sl5.
On last New Years Miss Beck paid
the last dollar of the encum brances on
her place. In three years she had. by
her own energy, redeemed the Beck
homestead and now holds it free of
debt in her own name.
1t has cost her Il good deal of hard
work, and her face shows signs of the
battle that she has fought, but she is
still an attractive woman, not vet
twenty-five years old, with head fall
of plans for the future that, If carried
out, will make her Independently
wealthy within ten years.
Miss Beck has had repeated offers
from men to marry her and conduct
the affairs OF the farm, bht She frankly
says that she believes herself capable
of conducting her own business better
than any man that she ever saw. and
has no idea of taking unto herself a
matrimonial partner.
The woman has fad. She is pas
si,nately fond of iron working, and IN
this shows great deal of skill and in
Gcnuity. She has n forge and large
variety of tools used in the working of
iron. She does all the necessary black
smithing for her farm excepting the
heaviest work.