The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1913-08-28

lions. but just an everyday experience
of wrestling with adversity and the
elements.
In the fall Of 1878 i gave up tie
farm in Iowa after series OF mis-
fortunes aggregating loss of $1,000.
i then rented the farm for three years.
AT the end of the first year the farm
was sold again and the purchasers
demanded a cash rent. which
couldn't see ON Is cent corn. So in
the spring of 1850 l hitched up two
old teams and struck out for the
homestead country. / drove into
Mitchell. South Dakota. at noon about
the goth OF May, camped for dinner
and soon two families from Minneso-
Ia drove in and camped. They had
taken homesteads the fall. before-22
miles further west ! went out with
them and concluded 10 stop for
awhile as l was out Of money.
We found another Minnesota man
ahead of us had put up a shanty
1ox12. Then the problem was to find
something to do to earn some money.
That little shanty was all the i'm
provement there was west OF Mitchell
to the Rock Mountains After few
days Mr.. Harvey found job of break
ing prairie of nifty acres. He told me
l could come in with him and break
what could. ! supposed he thought
/ would break from a quarter to a
third OF It.
We drove out to the place Monday
morning. ! had taken breaker with
me from Iowa. but there we're too
many of the Devils shoe strings in
Dakota-it wouldn't work After los
ing a day trying. lost another day
going to Mitchell to get another plov.
On Sunday Harvey ran his team all
day while my team cropped the rich
ground grass and rested--msking
three days he had the start Of me. yet
when we measured the ground / had
broken 20 al acres OF the nifty. After
that had no trouble in finding work
They thought there was something in
the boy If he did look like singed
cat. -
In August they started extending
the road west from Mitchell. Ishired
n driver for one team and went to
work on the road After working
awhile / pulled out and went to break
ing on tree claims. In September /
got a Job of three claims but IL was
so dry and there were SO many rocks,
] couldn't break them, so l built
stable for the teams. that could load
on the hayrack in three sections. took
my covered wagon and went twelve
miles west. to work on the railroad.
The night OF the 18th OF October
there came n good rain and l left the
boy and one team to work on the
road and took the other team and
went home to break out those claims.
i loaded my plow and everything nec-'
essary for an early start the NEXT
but before we-were through
breakfast we had raging blizzard on
hand. It roared for two days and
nights and we had nearly three feet
OF snow. Hundreds OF horses perish
ed along the line of the railroad. After
the snow settled started out to see
what had become Of my other team.
When within about i've miles Of the
place / met them all coming down.
My stable had saved three teams be-
sides my own
The snow went on and took my
tools and feed and put a load Of hay
on one wagon and started out TO
break out those claims. There had
been a blacksmith in Piankinton, y
little station that had to go through.
but he had fled to Iowa, scared out
by the blizzard. So had to go on