The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1922-01-20

new, or fallow land, and such land
had to be sown one year and left
fallow for two. in order thar the
grass might grow again. True, he
had as much soft land as he wanted,
but it would only bear rye. Wheat
required hard land, and hard land
found many applicants, and there
was not enough for all. Moreover
such land gave rise to disputes. The
richer peasants sowed their own, but
the poorer had to mirtgage theirs 20
merchants. The first year. Pakhom
sowed his allotments with wheat,
and got splendid crops. Then he
wanted to SOW them with wheat
again, but they were not large
enough to admit both of sowing
new land and of leaving last years
land to lie fallow He must get
hold of some more. So he went to
a merchant, and took a years lease
of some wheat land. He sowed as
much of it as he could, and reapcd
magnificent crap. Unfortunately,
however, the land was a long way
from the settlement-v-in fact, the
crop had to be carted fifteen versts;
so, as Pakhom had seen merchant
farmers living in fine homesteads
and growing rich in the district
where the land lay, he thought to
himself; "How would it be i'll took
longer lease of it and built a
homestead there the same as they
have done? Then | should be right
on the land" So he set about ar
ranging to do so.
Thus did Pakhom live for five
years, continually taking up land and
sowing it with wheat. All the years
were good ones, the wheat thrived,
and the money came in. Yet just TO
live and live was rather tedious,
and Pakhom began to tire of leasing
land every year in a strange dis
trict and removing his stock there.
Wherever there was particularly
good plot of land there would be
rush made for it by the other peas
ants, and it woul be divided up be-
fore he was ready to lease and SOW
il as a whole Once he wentshares
with a merchant in leasing a plot Of
pasturage of some peasants, AMI
ploughed it up Then the peasants
lost it in a law suit. and his labo';.
went of nothing. If only it had been
his own land, absolutely. he need
have given in to no one and been
put to no trouble
SO he began to cast about where
he could buy an estate outright. In
this endeavor he fell in with a GER
tain peasant who had ruined him
self and was ready to let him have
his property of 500 dessiatins cheap
Pakhom entered into negotiations
with him, and, after fuch discussion
closed at 1000 roubles-half down,
and half to stand over. One day
after they had thus clinched the mat
ter, a merchant drove up to PAX
hons homestead to bate his horses.
They drank a teapot empty and
talked The merchant said he had
come long, long way-from the
country of the Bashkirs, in fact
where $50 he said he had Just pur
chased 5000 desiatins for only 1000
roublesi Pakhom went on to ques-
ton him further, and the merchant
to answer "All I did" said the
latter, "was to make the elders
there a few presents (khalats IL
sort of long coatl, carpets, and a
chest of teal, to distribute about o
hundred roubles, and to stand vodka
to anyone who felt inclined for it.
In the result l got the land for
twenty copecks a dessiatin," and ne
showed Pakhom the deed. THE
he concluded. fronts up
on a river, and is all of it open,
grass, steppe land Pakhom ques-
toned him still further
'You would not went on the
find such land as that
in year. The same with all the
Bashkir land. Moreover, the people
there are as simple as sheep You
can get things out of them abso
lutely for nothing"
Well" thought Pakhom, what is
the good of my giving 1000 roubles
for only 500 dessiatins, and still
leaving a debt round my neck, when
there / might become proprietor
indeed for the same money!"