Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-11-17
a Rough Ride.

want 400 more cedar posts to finish up
my fence. and l wish you would take
the horse and buggy and go down to
the saw mill on Rock Creek and at the
Silver Mines and see if you can find
what | want at either or both of the
mills" As the day was fair and love-
ly with clear skies, and the foliage
on the trees was at it's best, and /
felt as though I would love to get out
into the mountains once more, and !
thought, as had seen John Brewers
working the road down on the road by
the Henson farm, l thought the road
must be in pretty good order.
You see on the first day of July, ]
went to see my old friend. Isaac Smith,
and when got past the Henson place,
| saw man sitting right in the middle
of the road; his back was toward me
and, as I rode toward him saw it was
John; with one hand he was throwing
out stones; with the other, he had a
piece ot bread, which he was eating.
As rode up to to him hailed to him.
You see he had not seen or heard me,
and as he got up he got choked with
his bread. I said, land what are you
doing?" He said, 'sTm wor- wor-
working the ro- road" said, '.are
you working by the day or by the job?"
He said, ..by the job; Jim Dixon hired
me to fixed this road, but he don't give
me enough money, so I am taking it
easy like
Well, as said. thought as John
had been fixing up the road could get
along pretty well. So when the horse
and buggy were brought for me, l
said to myself, Il guess I had better
put in few feeds of corn for the horse
and lunch for myself for we don't
know what may happen" And it was
we'll I did, for when got to The Fish
er school house my troubles began, for
| found the road in a most miserable
condition; ruts way down deep; mud
holes when the horse would go down
with a plunge and the wagon after
him; then one wheel way down in a
deep rut on one side, the other up on
rock. So it was a constant roll from
one side to the other, with feet broad
out each way and constant lookout
where to GO so as to not be spilled out.
When 1 came to the Grassy Noun
tain I met long row of teams just
turned down the mountain, and there
we met, the road so deep and narrow
we could not pass each other. The
drivers all came to see how we were to
get passed each other. Finally, with
their help, I got my horse up on top of
the bank on one side while they all
drove past; then they all helped me
back in the road.
When got over to the side going
down, here [ met another lot of big
teams loaded with lumber for Arcadia.
One side of the road it was almost
straight up the mountain side; ON the
other as steep down, and here we stood
and the teamsters all came to see and
help me past. AS one took the horse
by the bride and the other picked
way right up the side of the mountain,
and way along over rocks down so
steep as to almost stand up straight,
we at last reached the road again.
Some places the road had been aban-
doned, and they had cut new roads,
which were full of stumps. At last
when l reached the first mill, l could
get no posts or find any. When | ask
ed how far it was to the next mill they
said, s.five miles," l asked, lis the
road beyond as bad as what | have
come over?" They said, s'worse, and
the further you go the worse it gets.
almost felt like turning around and
going no further. But that's thing l
never do, to back out. IL others can
go l can, so drove on.
Now, 1 have always loved to ride
over this part of the country for this is
in the heart of my old hunting grounds
and love to live over in my mind the
good old hunting days of long ago.
But as l drove it took all of my time to
keep my horse in the road, and myself
from falling out, but l said to myself,
81 will not come back this way; I will
cross over on to the Fredericktown
road when / go home. I will never
come back this way" 0. such mud
holes, such deep ruts, and no way to
get around them. At last, just as the
whistle blew at the mill for noon, /
drove up to the mill yard. and such a
sight of logs, and teams unloading
logs. I stopped my horse and sat and
looked about me and such sights of the
largest logs. At last I saw where /
could drive in between some logs and
hitch to wagon bed that was lying
on the logs and feed my horse. As
did so, a man, an old friend, came out
and said, s.come down to the mill and |
l viii divide my dinner with YOU