French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1916-1919, 1919-03-20
EVOLUTION OF THE FARMER.
by Uncle JOSH

lG" 1 GOT something l want ter tell
you all, with the permission OF the
Editor Of this here paper. Now I aint
aiming ter sell you ali some patent
; medicine, some new tangled fertilizer
nor some farm machinery. But 1 jest
got something in my craw and hev
got ter git it out.
No, Uncle Josh amt my real name
and [ amt going ter tell you all my
real name now cause this here is
going ter be a sort of lecture and I
allowed as how some of you might
not like what 1 hey ter say and tina,
being the case, some OF you all might
decide t o come. over ter my farm
some dark night and tend ter me.
But let your Uncle Josh tell you.
something. I aim ter write another
one or two Of these here lectures. /
| amt much it writing but you all can
understand what I mean, and if any Of
you don't exactly agree with what Z
HSy x SGS , JIAC1 NICh L SCI OCliS
writing and saying I may let the Ed
tor of this here paper tell you all my
real name.
Some of you may know. and agin
some Of you may not know that there
was a time in this here world when
man made his living only by hunting
and fishing. He was satisfied ter hev
just enough ter eat and a hut ter live
in. He didn't care nothing about saw
ing up anything fer his old age or fer
his children after he had gone ter the
Great Beyond. He didn't know what
money was, cause. he didn't need it.
He got both his food and clothing
from the game he hunted. Man was
scattered over the woods and prairies
| and did rot live n villages or towns.
He didn't need them, so he had no
such thing as taxes to pay. He haG
| no schools or churches or public in
situations ter support. He had no
! government or public officials ter
| keep up. Each man was a govern
| ment and a law unto himself. AS
long as there was plenty Of wild game
and fish, and until n earth became
more denseiy populated this way OF
living was GOOD enough. But there
came q time when it was hard TO fine
game and fsn enough ter live on anG
as the population grew and as man
learnt more ne had ter find some 9TH
er ways of getting e living so as he
would hev plenty ter eat all the time.
Some bright man saw that COWS gave
milk and reckoned That if it was good
fer her calf it would be good Ter him
so he up and caught n OF them
wild COWS and tanned her and then
fed and MIXED her. The calves from
these here COWS were used fer food.
Now these here animals what he
caught had ter be 2ed and if he wan;-
ed a tolerable amount OF milk they
| had ter be fed on something besides
nasture SO he had to start raising
! grain. That there was the beginning
of the tribe Of us what they now call
Farmers, filters Of the soil.
Them there first farmers sure nus
hoy had a heep OF trouble. They useC
their COWS ter work their farm with.
They didn't hev any modern raechin-
ru =, Them there days. They didn't
hev no steel plows, no convenient cui-
| tivators what save g heep OF time no
| disk or spike tooth harrows. Nary a
j ono % these here did they hsv. And
them there was days when they dbl :
bev no leather or harness factories ter
make GOOD sets of harness n sell
tor then, farmers. They he'd ter use
vokes on their cattle and do the best
thew could for q harness FsG y pio~
thew all used the yforked fms OF q tree
ond when they run into a rock or the
root oT : tree It probably hr',k2 th"
plow and they he'd ter make aPothsr
In then there days a s"alant?
r.;.a nothing much far froM :Eeir
hut fer if they did thex hss ter carry
it from the field on, their sa"ks. Wei
7 should reckon they diaaE AsN no
wagons, not in them ther days. Key
came along a eenpls of hN1ire' 7A"T"
later.
Yen. them there was ssre TrSat
DAYS but eve-yt IL ing has sat 10 EeV 4
start somewhere, so that IS Na~rs mel
farmer got nte tart and 10 has been
going ever since.
Now some folks what mad lots -
,.a.ns sal: ~: "necess.| j: the MO
ther % inventt IT," That there sure is
.r,e And as the yea vsnt by and
1