Evening star., 1921-08-21

save her life. He said she could not
live two years in this hard climate. :,
sixteen hundred dollars saved up and
was working hard. working shift
and half every day, and working
for tips. to get money. We talked OF
going to California and buying a little
place. Every night when / got home
how we could get farm.
"One day this man Tierly came into
the restaurant with two of his agents
knew he was real estate man. I
waited on their party and overheard
them talking about some land they
were planning to cut 1t up into farms
and sell in forty and eighty acre
pieces. l was interested, and, apollo
gizing. told them I was locking for
something of that kind in. a mild ell
mate. They said it was exactly what
wanted-f1ne climate, warm in win
ter, not too hot in summer, with fer
tile soil, close to a big city and a
railroad. A fellow could live like a
king on eighty acres of it, and make
big money-three crops a year. I
doctors said that it she couldn't go
to mild climate she wouldn't live
two years. They said this would be
| just the place for her, and they prom
ised to give me more information the
next time tney came
They came again the next day and
brought maps and folders with de-
scriptiens of the climate Ind soil.
That evening my wife and 1 read
them. and we were happier than we
had been in a long time. We had
found just what we wanted. The men
told me I could make as much money
| work up here. They advised me to
buy eighty acres. saying it was the
| chance of lifetime and was going
fast.
"The next day those fellows invited
me to their office. I got of for half
and picked out a choice tract for me.
They took me to lunch, bought me a
big steak. and called me Mr.. King
man. No one ever had called me
| that before.
"I paid them fourteen hundred dol
| twenty-eight hundred dollars and
| rushed home to tell my wife.
I'VE spent half that night studying
maps and planning our farm. 1t was
| fall, and the doctor had warned us to
! get her away before the winter came.
1--WE found our land. 1t was four
| teen miles from the city. three and a
half from the nearest railroad sta
| tion. and IT was sandy loan. Just az
| they said, only mostly sand. We built
a little shack. There were no neigh-
ing few negroes. Those fellows had
advised ME to plant sweet pota-
| "oh" exclaimed. commencing to
, see light.
| l had only about two hundred dollars
left when had finished the little shack:
hut the sweet potatoes were planted and
counted on them, My money was
almost gone by the time they were ready
for market. and I had to rent mule
te wn. When got there people laughed
at me. Sell sweet potatoes? The mar
ket was glutted with them. Nobody
wanted them at any price. I might as
grown them in.
"But ! couldn't give UP. ! had to sell
them. So I shipped a carload to Chi
cago at my own risk. thinking there
would be market here. The railroad
sold them to pay charges-and sent me
a bill for fourteen dollars they said !
"My money was all gone. Our Aour
and bacon and corn meal were gone,
There was nothing to eat-but sweet
potatoes. So We ate those. Ny nick
wife. my babies, lived on sweet potatoes
until I got 80 desperate killed a little
rasorback pig belonging to some negroes
and we ate that.
| "When that was gone thefe vaA moth
| ing but sweet potatoes. except when
stole corn from the negroes yes-l
stole corn. pounded 1t into ceares meal,
and We ate that. :, *,
i. AtyA +
slNFAN. for four months We ate SWEEP
| 1A potatoes! Sweet potatoes foE
breakfast, for dinner, fot supper: and ws
ate practically nothing but sweet Dotas
toes. The babies were starving. and
cried all the time-except when they
were too weak to do even that My
wife was a skeleton; ! was half crazy
One morning I found an old piece Of
newspaper along the road. ana dis