The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-06-21

subleased some of them to John Por-
ter. Porter used some of them and
subleased them at times to the TregO
boys. That Is where | come in. At
the meeting of the Commercial Club
last evening we were talking about
| establishing an alfalfa meal mill,
and one of the men present, said we
need place to market some hay at
all times, and stated that q man
down at Thomas hauled in several
loads of hay for him last winter and
delivered 1t In town ten or twelve
miles, for six dollars q ton. Now
1t may interest you to know how we
got hay In the old days when we
boys started to farming out across
Snake river. There was wild hay on
the bottoms below the present town
of Springfield, and each year after
the high waters subsidized the hay
would develop and our method Of
getting 1t was to build one of those
basket hayracks, load q moving ma
chine on the wagon and drive to the
bottoms. We could take our choice
Of gathering up the drift wood and
brush and sticks from the meadow
before moving or sort them out of
the hay afterwards. There was Z
hay rake that belonged to somebody
down there and we used to rent and
borrow 1t all over the bottoms.
Somebody had boy on pony about
all the time chasing on somewhere
to see when somebody else would be
thru with the rake and when they
could get it. The hay was 80 short
and slick we had to haul It in the
basket to keep 1t on the wagon. Our
program was to stack it in August,
and then go to the islands and get
out timber and fence it, take a load
and the mower and 60 home, twenty
five or thirty miles. Then as we
needed hay during the fall and
winter we would haul 1t home, and
this was the process of the Trego
boys.
II have to explain little personal
phase to have you understand about
the mules and the need for leasing
them. My sister and brother and
made the usual mistake of tender
feet, we took too much land. Father
and mother were to sell the farm
in Iowa and join us, but you older
fellows may remember that in '85
and SO there was a something called |
depression in business and things
and farms did not sell well, neither |
did they lease to advantage. You
may have heard of similar conditions
in more recent years than that. Well,
father and mother failed to cash the
farm according to the original plans
and we boys needed team now and ,
again so we leased mules from
Porter. The mode of operation was
that when we wanted two mules for
a day, we went and worked for
Porter one day, two of us to pay for
two mules a day. You see it was
a fifty-fifty proposition. One man,
one mule, one day. Now If we
wanted some hay for the COW or
saddle pony, this is the process by
which we got it. We would decide
which of US was to go-which was to
be it-and II 1t was my turn, I went
up to John POrter's place, afoot, six ,
miles. Then l worked for Mr.. Porter
four days to pay for the use of two ,
mules two days. Then 1 would rig ,
up the hayrack and get up early .
in the morning so l could be on the
road by daylight, headed for the s
haystack on the bottoms below 5
Springfield. 1 would spend the fore1 |
part of the night loading the hay |
On the wagon, and then spend the t
after part or early morning hours S
getting thru with breakfast and get (
ing started on the road for home v
After unloading the hay at home S
would take the team home to Porter, I
md thus by six days of hustling, the a
DAD of hay would be transported the Z
twenty-five miles. q
zone year we were told that Nels t
lust would sell hay at his ranch on t.
he BlackfOOt cheaper than we could C
,et it from the bottoms, so we wrote a
lin and received reply that he would t.
upply us for Sc ton in the rick b
y k, we read it, so we made no ar t;
angements to get hay on the bot
oms that year and went to Mr.. Just
or alfalfa. 1t was not nearly so far n
p there, but we had to double teams
hru the sand belt. When we got
ur loads on and it was time to pay S
re found there was misunderstood n
lg, so we showed him his letter tt
uoting alfalfa at Sc in the ryk, and tt
e glanced at it and said, Kyk. tt
hats the way l spell kock To get al
at that price you have to take it m
ut of the field while we are haying' OIL
81 want to mention something tn
lat existed thru all the early set &C
ements that I regret, because we Ir
i sacrificed by it. Profiting by the SC
d mistakes, l get more out of life m
18th each passing year, worry less pc
Id rejoice more. We early settlers ga
me from many different places in
Id we did not mix well. Too us
any of us came with the idea of XII
aking some money and going back ar
going somewhere else. Whether to
e admitted it or not, we carried re
at idea somewhere in the back of TO
If heads and it affected our ways an
living, to the extent that we did re
It try much to get to really know tic
If neighbors, what few there were. bu
len there was another unfortunate mi
ing that had an influence-people a
Id widely different religious and 10
cial views, and were pretty gener-
Iy prejudiced against somebody he
Sc. 1 know how it was at our bu
use and 1 know how it was at tn