The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1897-12-10

him, but they all say that $1,000 is too
big loan on the place; they won't loan
over 81, 800, and he won't take second
mortgage to secure the other $500. Yet
1t does seem hard, when the place
ought to be worth three times 81, 800
| tried every way to sell it, but cam
get no one to give anything above the
| mortgage. Everybody knows it is
mortgaged and are waiting to buy It It
Sheriff's sale. Rhoades knows this, too,
| and now he says it will save us lots of
| trouble and costs if we will give him a
| Quitclaim deed and surrender peace
able possession. l begged him to wait
WHILE, but after he had learned you
had gone out to the mines he said he
would not wait day; that you were on
a wild-goOse chase, and, dear husband,
he even intimated that he believed you
were never coming back to us. That
made me angry, and l may have said
things to him that l should not. but
could not help it. Now, dear husband
/ | can not stay here after having sold
the COW; there is nothing to do here,
you know, except washing and ironing
tsiAA hOuSS NASohAhS, AOl
strong enough for that. Mrs. Simmons
will take Bessie and let her help with
the housework and go to school, and |
will sell the chickens; pigs and furni-
ture and take little Charlie and 60 to
Cleveland to try to get sewing or some
thing. 1t will be, oh, so hard, but it
can not be helped. Now, dear husband,
do not worry; we will get along some
way. Remember the words of the
prophet: Once 1 was young, but now
l am old, but never have l seen the
righteous forsaken or their seed beg
ging bread Now, dear husband, take
care of your health, and if you do not
find anything out there soon, come
back to us. we miss you, oh, so much.
Every night Bessie prays for her papa.
way out in the mines,' and that he may
find something rich. You may be sure
that l echo her prayers. Write as soon
as you get this, dear husband, for can
not stay here long. Your loving wife,
MAGGIE"
This letter was passeC around; two
or three started to read it aloud, but
they broke down, and it was silently
passed from one to another. 1t was
well for Mr.. Rhoades tha he was not in
camp.
''He told me all about it, said Sam.
''They was five acres in the home place
that he got from his fathers estate
close to town, an he bought five more
joinin'. mortgagin' the ten to make up
the balance of the money. He'd a-made
it all right, but times got hard, an first
one, then another of them got sick an
he had to keep on a-mortgagin'. He
see he could never pay out, so he come
out here to see if he couldn't strike it,
leavin' nearly all the money they had
with his wife, an this cuss Rhoades
sayin that he'd let the mortgage stan
anuther year, now-dern him. See that
stain there? That's from bunch of
apple blossoms that was in the letter;
he lowed they must a-been from the
yellow harvest tree back of the garden,
poor cuss. Take l-eer Ct yehr health.
dead husban',' an him a-layin' fiat of
his back up there in his tent, without
money enough for. a months grub.
Come back soon to us'-hum-m. Look
here, pardners, let's answer Bessie's
prayer, an show this feller Rhoades
whether minin' is chasin' Wild geese
ur not Mebbe Sans dern fool, an !
I know he Amt got much money. but
he can rustic. Ill go purity nigh my