The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1915-07-16
"Uncle Henry" and His
Hired Men Have
Busy Times
NO WORK FOR
WEAKLINGS
Something Like $780,
600, 900 Loves in State
Harvest

(From eur wheat Correopondone)
ON A KANSAS wEAT FIELD.
July 16.-Here I am somewhere In
Kansas" getting close to Kansas
wheat. picked Kansas because
Karsas is THE wheat state Of these
United States of America. That's
why l came out here to help Uncle
Henry do his harvesting. (Next va
cation l will spend elsewhere. OF
wait until the wheat L. out Of the
way.)
Yesterday morning I got up early.
that Is / thought 1t was early. but
Uncle Henry and his gang Of hired
men had already begun work. So
I hustles into farm uniform. which
is to say, blue shirt and Q pair Of
jeans.
Then pitched In on the Job.
As chose my own Job I ought not
to kick, but do, or rather did some
million times during the day. All
I had to do was to load and I'M
load the wagon that followed the
header" AZ the heads Of wheat
rolled over into the wagon I had
to place them around and trample
them down. That sounds easy
and It looked easy. too. for about
ten minutes.
Along about the 18th minute
n to notice that the sun was
shining. II was blisteringiy scorch.
ing! The perspiration rolled down
and trickled on my nose. And It
kept right on getting hotter and
hotter. am sure that II my shirt
wasn't blue 1t would have started
burning.
Two headers were being used.
Took four horses to q header. Two
wagons followed each header ~
1t pushed through the ripened grain.
drops out to unload its cargo
OF wheat, while the other IN being
filed from the carrier that brings
the heads out Of the machine. Two
drive and the other to unload.
Uncle Henry did the stacking him.
self, taking care OF all the loads
from the four wagons. Usually he
has a man to help him. but this
day he went 1t alone. I don't see
how any flesh and blood man can
keep at job like that from sun to
sun.
There wasn't any loanng; there
wasn't time for that. The teams
were pushed to the limit. The boys
driving the headers set the pace,
shouting and sweating but never
except to change wagons.
When a wagon was loaded. the
team hurried II to the stack, and
there the rush continued until It
was unloaded, and then we rushed
right back to begin rushing along
with the header again.
At ten o'clock decided that
didn't want to be a harvest hand
any longer. had achieved the
same love for a head OF Kansas
wheat that a British trawler has
for one of the kaiser's Ill oil sub
marines.
l struck; I quit: ! resigned las
we city folk like to put it) my 20
sition as chief loader for wagon
No. 2.
Then I went back to the house
and hunted up shady spot
Here II was that I began to fig.
ure about this wheat harvest.
You know. this isn't 80 much Q
wheat harvest a. 1t IL . bread har.
vest!
These bushels OF wheat that I'm
Gle Henry and his boys are sweat.
ing. working, smiling over down
there in the big wheat field mean
to Uncle Henry and the boys
that they are going to get . new
auto this fall to take the place of
the other which isn't a self starter.
But to you and me and all the
rest Of us. It means-each bushel
of wheat equals 70 loaves OF bread,
each loaf weighing 16 ounces!
Then I began to see bread In