The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-01-16


Creek. Mrs. Vance hurried into the
house while I drove the team back
to the barn and left them for the
old man to unhitch. I went to the
house on a run, where | found that
my wife's mother had tainted when
she heard her daughters groans
and realized what was about to hap
pen. There she lay on the floor.
and as Mrs. Vance came into the
room she, too, fell down in faint.
1 went and got dipper of water
and threw it hastily in their faces,
and left them where they fell.
l have confronted many desperate
situations but nothing so serious as
this, and none that required the
same nerve and GOODNESS on my part.
l did not know what had to be done,
and l thought my wife was going
to die, she seemed to be in such ter
rible pain. I said some words of
encouragement to her as she lay
moaning with the increasing pangs,
and l grabbed the doctor book and
hurriedly read all that l could find
on childbirth.
A baby girl was born. / had tied
and cut the naval cord when Mrs.
Vance came to her senses. l was
too busy to notice her until, just as
I was cleaning up the afterbirth,
my mother-in-law also came out of
her faint. At last they were calm
enough to go and heat some water
and wash my wife and the baby,
who was as bright and healthy as
though she had had expert atten-
ton at her birth instead of only
the unskilled help of her father.
My wife came through safely. All
through the confusion caused by the
old ladies' unaccountable behavior,
she had kept cooler than any of us.
While she was still in bed, Old Jim
Horsehead, a Piute Indian, would
come every morning and flatten his
nose against the window pane and
ask:
"How you wife and baby?"
He showed the greatest interest
in the progress of the baby. The
accusation of cruelty is only due to
prejudice against the Indians; l
have known many Indians and have
found them more friendly and more
loyal to their friends than many
other people.
In the Spring | joined a govern
ment surveying corps to plot that
part of the country around Black
Rock and Quin River Sink. Moran,
the surveyor, had taken the precau-
ton to get his men in good shape
for the work. The first month we
were busy preparing stakes, cutting
them the right length, sharpening
them, and running preliminary lines.
In the month of April we did nine
hundred miles of measured work,
an average of thirty miles a day,
Sundays included.
After we were through survey
ing l went to Paradise Valley,
where / worked during the haying
for the Reese brothers. Aaron
Reese was russet-faced, heavy set
Welshman with a red beard. There
was a fine bunch of men on his
ranch who had great store of
good stories to enliven spare mo-
ments.
The way they broke horses to
harness ON this ranch gave me all
the thrill of a Ben Hur chariot
race. We would hitch a gentle,
we'll broken horse on the off side of
mowing-machine, having lifted the
sickle bar and tied it securely.
While the wild horse was being
hitched beside the other, the driver
would seat and brace himself. The
men holding the wild horse would
let go. With desperate plunge to
free himself from the contraptions
that were all new in his life, the
broncho would jump and rear at the
rattle and clatter of the machine be-
hind him. There was nothing to do
but let the horses run. The gentle
horse would crowd when the rein
was pulled and make the wild one
circle in wide rings. After a short
time they were driven back and I'M
hitched. After two or three exer-
cises of this kind we would put the
colt to regular work cutting grass.
| was with threshing outfit that
season after the haying was done.
There were lot of small farmers
who had grain to thresh. We had
good crew of men with our ma
chine and put through more grain
than had even been threshed in tina,
valley before. The boss of the out
fit wanted to pay twenty-five cents
day less than the previous season.
Every man on the job quit, leaving
the threshing machine standing
alone in the field.
Up to this time had never drunk
much, and had gambled but little.
The day we quit the threshing ma
chine everybody went to town. A
dice game was running in Gillinan's
saloon. began to play and before
the night was over / had won every
thing but the key of the front door.
Gilman borrowed money and won
back from me most of his property
but the money had won sent
home.
END PART X. ge