The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1909-02-24
WHY CHAS. WEED
LIKES IOWA
c. H. WEED, ONE OF THE ORIGINAL SET
TIERS OF COUNTY WRITES.
EXCITING POLITICAL ELECTIONS
The Career Of an Ambitious, Industrious New
York State Boy Set Forth Most
Graphically.
&c. H. Weed in Charter Oak Times.)

l have often been asked, "Why
\ don't YOU move to California to avoid
I those long dangerous trips across the
mountains and deserts, /" and the
! thought comes to me, How can I
leave dear old Iowa, where I have
spent my manhood days, where l have
: lived for nearly fifty years. where
4 my home is, even for this land of SUM-
4 shine?
Many years ago my father died in
1 the village of Phoenix, Oswego coun-
ty, New York. leaving his family in
\ nearly destitute circumstances. l
was then only thirteen years old. My
mothers people, who were wealthy
1 farmers of Fenner, Madison county,
New York, came and moved us to
their homes. My youngest sister was
! given away to people who could edu-
4 cate and care for her. My oldest sis
/ ter and myself had to go out to work
to support ourselves and our widowed
mother. | worked for an uncle on
} the farm for some FIVE years. going
i to school some three months in the
! winter, and | remember how | used to
1 study nights to make up for the many
monJl.a | lost in summer. At that
time 1 was eager for an education.
\ l. did not like the idea of working
! out for $40 month. That is all
4 good man got then. Further. was
1 ambitious to work for myself.
! had heard of the boundless west
and its possibilities for young man.
Fortunately, I had wealthy bach
! elor uncle residing in Keokuk county,
Iowa, who used to visit US and had fired
/ my imagination by his stories of the
1 great west. l resolved to cast my
fortunes there, SO one morning l babe
good bye to my weeping mother and
4 sisters 1.-TWO of my sisters l was de-
I stined never to see again) and started
/ for the then far west, which was a
! trip of no small proportions. Arriv-
ing in the western city in the spring
\ of '6l, | found it full of soldiers
marching and countermarching. 1t
was then headquarters for wounded
1 soldiers. and the hospitals were full.
l was green country boy, and things
} looked strange to me. felt my de.
\ pendence.
4 I soon got job clerking in large
hardware store. l remember of see
/ ing Gen. Be,knap, afterwards secre-
tary of war. He was commander of
an Iowa regiment at that time and
\ was home on furlough recruiting his
regiment. He was every inch
soldier. One day as l stood behind
! the counter he came into the store and
wanted to buy pair of spurs. after
looking them over he did not find any
\ that suited him, and he walked out.
4 That was the nearest ever came to
being secretary of war.
/ always wanted to be farmer
J and own farm of my own; so at the
! close of the war; with little aesis+-
\ ance from my uncle. l determined to
4 push on up into the central part of
the State, then very sparsely settled.
went up the river to Clinton and
] took The Northwestern Railroad. de.
} termined to go as far as the road
\ went. which was then to Nevada, the
4 seat of Story county-the jumping off
1 place-in company with man I had
! become acquainted with on the train.
! We pushed on out into the western
part of Story county. After spend
\ ing few days looking around | found
4 a man who had an S0-acre improved
/ farm with five acres of timber.
found l could buy this for SD an
, acre, and, after some dickering 1,
bought it. That was my first intro
I duction to Iowa farming.
bought me team, harness and
1 wagon and went to work. and for five
years l worked on this farm as never
man worked. The country was set
thing up fast. and land was rising in
= value. l had begun to think that
Z eighty acres was not enough for my
Dae dies moiiian, and when l got
y a chance to sell at $50 an acre, an
3 unheard of price at chat time. as it
was all cash, l sold, and at once got
4 on my horse aud started farther west
!. to look for cheaper land.
: | had heard Of Crawford county
, and its cheap lands. l remember
when got to Denison how small and
cheap the place looked to me. IL
4 was an old town then. | had heard of
the Soldier and Maple valleys and
what a good place it was for raising
, stock, and the lands were cheap. so
D went out to the East Soldier and
D found but one house in the township.
1t was the house where Scott Jones
and his mother now live. 1t was
i then owned by TIE American Emf
grant Co., and there was real estate
J office in it. They were selling lots