Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-03-15

Where my hat hangs" 1&5s
He moved away toward the barn,
and the woman returned to the house.
When the husband and the other
men came In at supper time, the stran-
ger was asleep on the hay. At bedtime
he was still sleeping heavily, and they
did, not disturb him. But in the morn
Ing, early as it was, they met him COM
Ing up the rocky path from the direc-
ton of the cS,ek, where he had made a
much needed toilet. Rogers, the farm
er, readily struck n bargain with him.
and after breakfast he went away to
the harvest field with the others. He
proved. an industrious workman and
staid not only through the wheat cut
ting, but during the stacking of the
grain and while the other fall work
went on, after the other hands had
gone and only the farmer and his son,
a lad Of some IS, remained. He had
said that his name was Brown. Once
he. was away at Hawks Landing for
three days, and on his return slept in
the barn for the best part of "a hours.
IL was the OlQ enemy.
October had come, and the long wind
ing ravines when looked down upon
from the bluff edges had become like
valleys Of fire with the red Of the ma
pie and the sumac and the glorious,
flaming yellow Of the trembling pop
lars. The thrashing Of the wheat was
going OF everywhere. From before the
sun. rose in the morning until darkness
came there foated from the fields the
low, monotonous hum Of the thrashing
machines, and at night the sky glowed
stacks. One day, somewhat earlier,
perhaps in the latter part of Septem-
Der, q small steamboat bound north
had momentarily thrust her nose into
the slate colored sands Of the Hawks
Landing levee. The gangplank had
been hastily lowered and something
carried down. and left on the long wind
row Of driftwood. Then the steamer
backed off and,-with a cloud Of black
smoke pouring from her chimneys,
plowed away up the river. The some
thing left On the bank Of bark and
chips was a sick man. He was carried
to a neighboring barroom to await the
return Of the only doctor from a visit
to the country. When he came two
hours later, he said the man was near
unto death with the smallpox.
This was the start-small enough
but soon the disease appeared here and
there in the neigllborhood and began to
spread, especially among the thrashing
machine crews.
One day the oldest Rogers boy, who
had been away down the river a few
miles with a machine, came home, COM
planning that he was i'll. The doctor
took but a moment to decide that he
was suffering from the dreaded dis
Then, kindly, but firmly, the doc
tor said that he must be taken away,
SO as not to endanger the rest of the
family and suggested an isolated wood
choppers cabin, a half mile away, on
the other side Of the coulee.
And some one will have to be found
take care Of him." went on the doc
tor. His mother started to speak, to
say that she would go, when Brown
got up from his chair and took the sick
boys hand, at the same time saying:
"Tl go, if it's agree'ble to all con
cerned. I've had it-fve years ago
down at Natchez."
In 20 minutes the doctor and the pa
tlent and the nurse rode away across
the gulch and up the narrow trail to
the cabin.
Many anxious days followed for the
Rogers family. The doctor went every
morning to visit the cabin, but no one