Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1901-05-02

Elnathan, fur, mind you, this wuzn't
no partnership affair.
Through Mis- Haines, who went to
Sally's visitin', I got a lot of eggs:
not jest turkey eggs alone, but of big
chickens, too.
l took jest as good care as common
of the farm fowls-the partnership
ones-yes, nor than common, an it
seemed as if they never done so we'll.
The hens hat sot on my fine eggs,
that / paid my bread money fur, did
well, too ! he'd them out in the or
chard, way off from the rest. Elna-
than didn't know a thing about it
till he saw the little turkeys runnin'
around. Then he didn't object, cause
he thought they would bring in more
partnership money. / didn't say
nothin' to the contrary fur the time.
fur I didn't want an argument lastin'
all summer. One, short an meanin',
wuz enough.
1 he'd good luck all the season., an
the turkeys an chickens in the or
chard wuz somethin' to be proud of.
~Thanksgivin' time I he'd a lot of tur-
keys an big ROSTERS to sell. Elna-
than wanted to take them to town
fur me, but I telled him / would take
them myself. Then he said:
"Iu go with you, Sarah Ann, cause
/ want the money fur the next pay
ment on Bakers land"
"Where's the cattle an hogs you
was goin' to sen?" 1 axed.
"Oh. I'm not quite ready to sell, an
- Ill., H. @ - ~. 1op1y
toward what | am layin' by fur a
rainy day"
The time he'd come. The clock of
Destiny he'd struck, an [ struck, too.
I wuz calm outside, fur l wuz battlin'
fur duty an iustice-duty TO Malviny,
an my wv rights to my own airnin's.
As | said, / wuz calm outside, but
inside [ wuz worked up to the pint
that I felt I could be eloquent ar
convincin'. Leastways. l wuz deter
mined that afore / got through Elna-
than Jacobs should be convinced that
the wife of his buzzom meant bust
ness.
He wuz a settin' in his rockin' cheer,
with the hen-feather cushion in it he
likes so well, while | lowered over
him in my consciousness of right
am meium tall.
"Elnathan," says /, "then turkeys
an chickens in the orchard are mine.
You amt got a lean-to on 'em at all.
Did you make the bread that ARMED
the none that bought the eggs?
Wuz it your back hat ached a knead-
in it, when you wuz all wore out
,-.Rl ~,-u ~ -.I0 JN,,- -
your hands hat turned it out of the
oven, light, an white. an sweet
smellin'? No. sir! | did it all myself,
an whatever comes from that work is
a goin' down into my pocket!
Elnathan hedn't never seen me so
cantankerous. In a soft meachin'
tone, coaxin' like, he said:
"Why, Sary Ann, amt this farm
our'n? Amt your name onto the deed
as well as mine? Didn't we arm it to-
gether??'
"Yes.' L said in a tone hat made
him scringe. 1--WE did airn it together.
1t wuz my hard work along with
YOUR hard work that bought it. But
you alters talk of my farm my cat
tle,' my hogs If I ak you for a cent
over what will keep us barely decent,
or make home pleasant and conven-
lent, you say you can't afford to give
it to me. But you kin afford ma
chimes fur maxim your part of the
work easy. You kin afford fine cattle
an hogs. You see this house is mine
as well as your'n. The money, the
crops and stock brings is mine as
well as your'n, but you keep back my
share. Partnership means both sides.
Where is the COW and the six hogs
my father gave me on our weddin'
day? The calves an pigs hey never
brought me a cent to use as I please.
You claimed them all, an the money
went where you chose to hev it GO"
Elnathan opened his mouth in sur
prise. I couldn't help thinkin' of
how the B~ritishers must hev felt at
the Declaration of independence. I
knew very well how the colonies felt.
But mine wuz just bein' declared, an
I proceeded to GO on.
"This houSe-mine as well as
your'n accordin' to your own telIin'
is goin' to be fixed I'D pleasant an
comfortable. These turkeys an chick
ems will do part of the fiXin' mp.
When you sell your cattle an hogs,
the price of the best steer an six
hogs is comm TO me. After this. /
will hev a share in the profits or know
the reason why"
/ stood there, calm as an iceberg,
an determined as an ron wedge. My
eye pierced Elnathan, fur he wriggled
uneasily. My marble look impressed
him. as / meant it should.
"Hain't I bin a good wife?" I went
on. "Hain't / lone my share? Look
at these hands, all rough, an brown,
an horny. \ woman works more
hours in a day than a man Hasn't
she a right to a fair share of what
she airns?"
I wuz gettin' sorry fur E~1nathan.
He looked as if an earthquake he'd
skaired him an shuk him all Il pieces.
But I dissent give in till I he'd won
the battle. Iswaited a minute or two
an then axed in solemn tones:
"Elnathan Jacobs, air them turkeys
an chickens mine-or your'n?"
It wus powerful hard fur him to
give up. But my eye wuz on him. an
the hole it made in his f~eelin's kept
gittin' bigger an bigger I stood 81
lent, lettin' the idee work in his mind
The stiffness worried him. fur he
wriggled WIS than ever, an the clock
licked 60 10ud If seemed tn he Savins.