Year: 1876

lftif w. w. STROHS.
MEN 1 MEET.


rar-l Helar8 i4I Hsl


,-,.a 80. Ilh BY II. d. -.aier7e as
34sa Ola lo sau" i f''f ss


He is a grumbler-I never meet him
but there is something wrong. 1t does
not matter what the subject of your con-
versation is. or under what circumstances
you may be conversing, he is, forever
grumbling and finding fault. lie is a
farmer and OWNS eighty acres OF land up
in the country. He has got a good block
house, nicely put up, which is really an
aristocratic one for so new II country. He
has fifteen acres of land well under culti-
vation, and good log barn. His crop
last year was an abundant one and he
ought to be contentcd and even happy
compared with his situation three years
ago, when he first moved OIL to that farm.


such habit has he got OF grumbling,
finding fault ami looking sour and mo-
rose that Il scowl, which is not at all nat
ural, has or ,wn upon his face to such an
extent that smile will not remove it,
i'm fact it is fixture, and his friends all say
when they meet him, swhy, how fast
you are growing DID," and he rep'ies,
mo wonder, living in such country as
this" You ask him what is the trouble
with the country, and you will be aston
ished to hear him say, "colder tnan bla-
yes one day and thawlng the next"


The other day we met. 1t was very
pleasant day. 1t seemed as if the sun
never shone more beautiful. A young
friend from another state was visiting
me. lie II come here with the intention
of buying Il piece Of land. clearing it up
and making for himself home. lie wa
every way pleased with the country, the
inhabitants, the soil, the timber, and
more than I'll with the apparent chances
for q rapid Increase OF immigration. thus
causing the country to become quickly
settled.


My friend and had talked it all over
and he had finally decided to purchase g





had finally decided about where he
would locate, and that happened to be III
close proximity to the farm of our grum-
bier. Of course when we met that morn
ing, our grumbler began in his usual
way to find fault. He never saw such a
country. The weather was so cold and
the snow so deep that it was as much as
a mans life was worth to live in it. He
bo1 20
town all winter. He couldn't get any
thing for wood, and when he did it was
all stOre-pay. He didn't exactly see how
he was going 10 get along. He could but
barely get living and he had to work
every day to do that. .~ra g


lie hadn't done anything towards clear
ing up any land this WATER: AS tor
farming in this country it was no use
fact it was next to impossible to clear it.
The stumpS must stand there until they
rotted out and he didn't expect to live
long enough to see them near gone, and
when the land was cleared, the season
wasn't long enough for crops to mature;
and above all the rest he added a clincher,
and that was,- that he couldn't lay up
anything he couldn't get ahead any, and
90 he went ON going from one thing to
another. Ills tongue run as if he was
wound up to run until he run down. 3


My friend listened in fstonishment.
He came near getting discouraged about
buying farm here after all, but upon
taking a common sense view of things,
he concluded tOpay no farther attention
to what our grumbler said, than this,
that on no account would he settle down
and try to make a home with him fer a
near neighbor. lie has bought in anOth-
er locality, and our grumbler has succeed
cd in driving away prospective increase
in the value OF his own farm by his ever
lasting grumbling. ,cf v..-.


Now would like to ask what is gained
by constantly grumbling and finding
fault. We are here and have started
in to make home. There is no doubt but
We have hard work and great deal of il
to make that home, yet contend that il
we get our living and no more. the in
crease in the value of land, both from the
improvements We are putting on oul
farms in order to get that living, is
making surer money than many who
have large capital invested in what ap
pears to be prosperous business You
experience the trials and peculiarities OF
this country, and read of the beauties oil
Texas and Nebraska, but you don't read OF
the disadvantages Of those states. Oh
no, by no means, that is left for you tC
find out when you shall have fancied
this the worst place in the whole world
and grumbled about it until you have
worn yourself out in grumbling and made
yourself believe that what you fancy, is
really so, and have sold out piece OF
property rapidly increasing in value
moved to the EldoradO of which you have
read so much, to find when you get there
that you can get land cheap enough, thai
the climate is warm enough, but nothing
will mature because of dry weather OF
perhaps, you are far from a market, OF
the very ground is filled with a species O
vermin, death to you as well as TO the
crop you put in the ground.


Better by far cease your grumbling an(
do just what you intended to do whel
you hrst came here, and that is to sticl
to it until you accomplished the end.


never yet knew man to fail in an,
undertaking if he persistaptly stuck to it
no matter how great the obstacles in th'
way. Another thing. do not grumbl
any more to strangers, but tell them o
some of the advantages to be obtained il
this country, and do not lay much em
phasis upon its disadvantages, for ever,
time you retard the growth of the eoun
try, and as consequence depreciate tn
value of your own possessions. sl ri