The Jasper news. [volume] (Jasper, Missouri) 1898-1924, 1919-02-27
CHAPTER VI-Continued.

One day in December of that year,
| had my first trial in the full respon-
sibility of mans work. I was allowed
to load and harness and hitch up and
go to the mill without assistance. My
uncle and Purvis, our hired man, were
busy with the chopplng and we were
out of flour and meal. 1t took lot
of them 20 keep the axes going. So
l filled two sacks with corn and two
with wheat and put them into the
box wagon, for the ground was bare,
and hitched up my horses and set out.
reached the mill safely and be-
fore the grain was ground the earth
and the sky above were white with
snow driving down in cold, stiff
wind out of the northwest. loaded
my grists and covered them with
blanket and hurried away. The snow
came so fast that 1t almost blinded
me- There were times when / could
scarcely see the road or the horses.
The wind came colder and soon 1t
was hard work to hold the relns and
Keep my hands from freezing.
Suddenly the wheels began jumping
over rocks. The horses were In the
ditch. ! knew what was the matter,
for my eyes had been filling with snow
and had had to brush them often. OF
course the team had suffered In like
manner Before l could stop I heard
the crack Of felly and front wheel
drnpped 10 itS hub. checked the
./Af"rscs and jumped out and went to
their heads and cleared their eyes. The
snow was up to my knees then.
How the thought of that broken
wheel smote me! 1t was our only
heavy wagon, and we having to pay
the mortgage What would my uncle
say? The query brought tears to my
eyes.
l unhitched and led my horses uI
into the cover OF the pines. How CRATE
full it seemed, for the wind was slack
below but bowling in the treetops!
knew that l was four miles from home
and knew not how / was to get there
Chilled to the bone, l gathered some
pitch pine and soon had fire going
with my flint and tinder. l knew thai
could mount one of the horses ant
lead the other and reach homo prob
ably. But there was the grist. WI
needed that; ] knew that we should
have to go hungry without the grist
IT would get wet from above and be
low If ! tried to carry it on the bacl
of a horse. warmed myself by the
fire and hltched my team near 1t so a.
to thaw the frost out of their forelock:
and eyebrows. felt in my coat pock
cts and found handful of nails
everybody carried nails in one pocke
In those days-and / remember tina
my uncle's pockets were a museum o.
bolts and nuts and screws and wash
ers.
The idea occurred to me that woult
make Il kind Of sled which was called
jumper.
So l got my ak out of the wagor
and soon found couple of small tree
with the right crook for the forward
end of runner, and cut them ant
hewed their bottoms as smoothly al
could. Then made notches in then
near the top of their crooks and fittet
stout stick into the notches and Sc
cured it with nails driven by the ak
head. Thus got hold for my evener
That done. / chopped and hewed al
arch to cross the middle of the run
ners and hold them apart and use,
all my nails to secure and brace II
I got the two boards which were fas
tened together and constituted M
wagon seat and laid them over tn
arch and front brace. How to max
them fast was my worst problem.
succeeded in splitting a green site
to hold the bolt of the evener just un
der its head while / heated Its lowe
end in the fire and kept its head coo
with snow. With this burnt hol
in the end of each board and fastene
them TO the front brace with withes O
mOosewoOd.
It was late In the day and there wa