Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1900-09-05
Continued from First Page.
Old settl ers Reunion.

COW we were all right, but when tray
cling through the mining portion of
the state, where provisions were scarce,
we often Jared poorly and found out
money could not buy everything,
neither in this world nor the next.
We could not eat green corn nor rel
ish corn bread and flour was a scarce
article. remember camping near o
small house Tour provisions had given
OUT so we asked the woman of the
house to prepare supper for us all and
we would pay her. She said she had
nothing in the house to cook but some
shorts and she would make us some
biscuits In the morning and we could
make coffee; 30 those of us who could
not eat green corn went to bed supper
less The next day we reached the
diggings near Galena and laid in good
supply of bread, etc.
AS we neared Dubuque father was
taken sick and the hired man drove his
team and mother and helped Allan
drive the cattle. We were trying to
reach Dunleith for the last ferry and
were some distance ahead of the teams
The hired man came and told us my
youngest brother had fallen out of the
wagon. When we got there he was
|.insensible, so they carried him into &
house. Two men in buggy who were
passing stopped and we told them to
send q doctor from Dubuque as soon as
possible. The people were Germans;
could not speak English. My brother
died that night. The next morning
when we got to the ferry the doctor was
aboard, but too late to render any aid
at Dubuque he was laid out and coif.
ined and two days after we brought
him to our new home; bnt oh, what q
sad homecoming; all the JOY and happi-
ness seemed gone out of our lives. 1t
was after shutdown when we arrived
the house was vacant; SO after supper
and making arrangements for the
night, mother took the Book for family
worship and read the portion of scrip
ture and the prayer for those in special
aflliction. The hymn we could not sing,
our hearts were too sad. The next
morning tho neighbors heard of our
Henry Acres and some families from
Spring Branch came. They dug the
grave in the garden now inside the
railroad track and we laid away the
lamb of the flock. The neighbors were
very kind, very sociable and showed us
how to do many things we needed to
learn.
Mrs. Henry Acres used to come once
week and show us how to make bread
and pastry, also how to make soap and
candles and other things. Our log
house had rude porch over the door
and it was covered with morning glory
vines. They were the first blossoms we
had ever seen. They helped to beautify
the log house and I have loved the
morning glory ever since.
The work must be done and there is
much to do. Uncle and his hired man
staid with us three weeks, helped build
sheds, etc. We dug our potatoes and
put them in our Iowa cellar-we did not
know potatoes froze, SO we lost them
all. There was quite patch Of beans
and we harvested them. Deer were very
plentiful and they often came up to the
haystack and fed that winter. We had
no dog and no firearms, 80 they were
perfectly safe.
One of the neighbors, Mr.. Adams
shot deer in the grove and sent us a
quarter which was our first venison.
Father hired two men to chop down
trees and split rails that fall and winter
and he hauled them with the OK team
They worked for 80 cents day and
their dinner and supper. He had a
quarter section that ran across the riYer,
with q heavy belt of white oak timber.
1t took in the brick yard, the goose
pond, depot grounds, mill power, the
spring that supplies the city water and
the west side OF Franklin street up to