The Prescott daily news., 1909-05-11
Hesitating SEa He Never Knew Exactly What
 He Wanted.
 By KENNETH HARRIS.
By KENNETH HARRIS.


 toner in the store who had way cred for ten minutes between two grades of draw slaves and had ended by saying that he would look around while and see if there wasn't some thing over at the hardware store which would suit him better.
 He's like Sim Hoisington,' remarked Wash Hancock when he had gone Sin was that kind of a feller. He'd start to build fence around a hawg lot an use up the best part of week figgerin' whether to go to the sawmill an get him a load O eight-inch stuff or to split rails. He'd start in with the rail idea an then a neighbor 'ud come along an allow that by the time he'd got all the rails split he'll wish he'd jest hitched up his team an got boards.
 You get board fence an you've got suthin' that's hawg-tight,' the neighbor'd say. Put up rail fence an mebbe you'll keep your hawgs in side of it an mebbe you won't, an you'll waste more time chasin' 'em than the lumber'll cost you
 Then Sim 'ud scratch his haid an he'd say, By jucks! l reckon you're right. I'll hitch up the team this after noon. I've ben needin bunch O shingles, anyway
 'Erlong about noon Sam's hired man 'ud come along up from the field an Sim 'ud tell him he'd changed his mind about them rails, an he'd fence with boards
 '' It don't make no difference to me the hired man 'ud say, but I hearn tell they're askin' $10 a thousand for rough boards now an you'll need couple O thousand foot. The rail ain't goin' to cost you nothin' but the work O gettin' em an the roads is bad betwixt this an the mill
 Sim 'ud scratch his haid again an study. Then he'd say, dunno but you're right, Bill. If I don't use up that there white oak for rails there aint nothin' I can use it for, lessn it's firewood. I'd halter buy nails, too. I never thought O that. We'll grind them axes an put new handle in the maui first thing after dinner
 Then while they was grindin' the axes the schoolmaster d stop to gas as he went by an he'd nachally ast 'em where they was goin' to chop an what they wanted the rails for.
 Well, he'd say, course I hain't no farmer, but seems like to me that rail fence is the wastefulest kind of fence You take 12-foot rail and lay it at an angle O 45 degrees an then count in the lay an you're wastin' about three foot of it. Three foot morn if you were building straight fence. If you stake and rider 1t you've wasted 21 foot O rail on each panel. Then you count your land Tuth soth- in don't your"
 "'I cert'nly do,' Sim 'ud say Then you've got the jog on each side O the fence to figger in Thatll make a strip O land four foot wide that you can't use. You take the len'th O your fence an see how much that comes to at $30 an acre.
 Sim ud stop right there an send Bill off to harrer or suthin' while he'd go into the house an put in the rest O the day tiggerin'.
 That's how Sim was about every thin'-politics, religion, temp'runce, horse tradin', food for his stock an food for himself, an gals an curing hams, an hail insurance an the race problum an bone fertilizer. Sometimes somebuddy 'ud come erlong an talk to him an he'd change right over an take the op'sit views Finerly he got married"
 How did he make out to settle on the woman that he wanted?" asked Hank Tulliver.
 Well, that's suthin a feller don't allus settle on himself" replied Han cock. Seems like Sims woman done the settlin'. Sim was kind 0 sochuble. an one night he was callin on her an he allowed that he wasn't right sure whether a feller wasn't better off sin | gle than he was married.
 Well, you take my word for it this time she says. There's some that's | better married an you're one O that kind
 'Mebbe you're right says Sim, but who'd marry? I've thought of it. but | dunno as there's any woman around here that 'ud suit me
 "'You don't need to go no further than this place. she says, I'd suit you first rate, an l willin, too so as your buggy's outside an the preacher is over to his house we'll jest hop right in an drive over there
 "Wpll she mt On her hOnnot while