pages 145-146

Pages 145-146

                When she came in a little later, she said it was a little early in the day to shut the turkeys up but a few hours out was better than not letting them out at all.  The turkeys had to be watched almost constantly to prevent coyotes from carrying them off.  They liked to run and devour the grasshoppers.  I have seen a dozen of them running and jumping and grabbing the hoppers and gulping them down.

                Looking out of the window I could see some neighbors had come calling.  They were very nice folks.  Mother liked visiting with them.  They had lived out here for some time but originally came from the state of Washington.  They were the third people to have a place up above us.  We learned they came to this dry country for the husband’s health.  They had ridden horseback and I was always interested in horses so I went out to look them over.  While out there I watered and fed Beauty.  Then Jim was working.  I rode down the creek bed road.  I had more gates that way but I liked it better than the road over the hill.  There were chokecherries, Sarvis berry, wild currant and gooseberry bushes loaded with fruit that would soon be ripening.  The old magpies chattered and scolded when I rode by.  I was not in a hurry so I held Beauty down to a walk.  A few feet ahead sat a cottontail on his hind legs.  When he saw me he darted into his hole along the bank.  In fact several others scampered away too.  A little father on a bunch of sage hens, seemed to be a mother and five young ones, beating their wings taking off in flight with quite a noise.  And around the bend stood a white face cow and calf.  They belonged to our neighbor east of us.  The calf wasn’t more than a few hours old.  She stood her ground with head and horns lowered over the calf.  She had no intentions whatever of letting us disturb that calf.  I tried going around one side and then the other but no go.  She turned every way I did.  Our neighbor’s dog heard the commotion and came bounding and barking down where we were.  The cow then took after the dog with an awful bellow.  So we galloped on to our destination.

                Jim was working on the cistern.  In that country it was too expensive to drive a well.  You had to go so awfully deep to get water.  Then too we had a spring on the northwest part of our place in a small canyon.  Jim could haul water from it.  You dug a very deep hole, then cemented the sides and bottom, leaving it sloping and egg shaped at the bottom so it could be cleaned easily.  This one was around twenty feet deep and would hold a good many tanks of water.  Like you put on the running gear of your farm wagon.  He was down in the hole digging when I rode up.  He was surprised to see me.  He had a ladder to come up out of it.  As he did he said, “you know we must have water.”  “Just so it doesn’t cave in on you,” I replied.  “Oh! No danger of that,”  he answered.  He came over to where I was and helped me from my horse.  “It’s a different soil” he said, “more solid and compact.”  “Since you are here I’ll knock off for the day.”  He took my hand, gave me a kiss and then we went in to see how well the house had been finished.  The cupboards still had to be built.

                When we got home.  Father promised he’d get at the cupboards soon, as they had only a few more days on the job they were working on.

                Mother had supper ready. And sister was helping. After the meal was over.  I did the dishes and sister got ready for her date.  Soon the dishes were done with Jim drying them.  All the men seemed tired that evening.  It had been a rather warm day.

                July was fast slipping by.  Jim had planned to go to Rupert to buy furniture for our home several times but found things that had to be done first.  He also found the fruit trees he set out on the slope of the hill had been eaten by the rabbits.  They seemed to like to nibble the bark.  He had to put a wire netting around each tree.  He had plowed the valley by our home and planned to seed it to fall wheat the first of August.

                That evening as we sat talking in the living room he was admiring my diamond again.  He also had the band or wedding ring but I wasn’t to wear that until we were married which he hoped wouldn’t be too long.

                Thus the days went by and time didn’t seem to hang heavy on anyone’s hands.  The girl that worked for my sister-in-law had a sadness in her life that summer.  Her father died.  They lived on a homestead in the flats.  They had a small two room home and had very little of this world’s goods.  They had come to this dry valley for health and a homestead from the Kentucky hills along with a lot of other kinfolks.

                When we arrive for the funeral, just the close relatives were there.  We sat on the only two fairly good chairs there.  There were benches next to the wall.  The folks were sad.  We said words of condolence as best we could.  The corpse was lying on a long wooden table next to the wall.  As we talked we noticed an odor like rags burning.  We saw in a corner two small cans with rags, perhaps soaked in oil, just smoldering enough to let off an odor.  We never did find out why this was done unless to destroy any odor that might come from the dead person.  The distance to the nearest undertaker was fifty miles.  These people didn’t have a horse to go get the undertaker.  This way of burying was customary among these people.  They were waiting for some of the relatives to make and bring a casket.  As we prepared to leave, relatives began gathering for the funeral.  I learned later the fellow had to go to a distant town to get the lumber.  It was late before he got back so he was late getting the casket made.  So it was the next day before the funeral was held. 

                As my sister and I drove home I had a profound sense of feeling for those folks.  Even the colored folks’cabins in the south lands had more furniture and looked better.  When we arrive home and walked through our nicely furnished home with axminister carpet, nice chairs, overstuffed set, piano, curtains, guest room suit and on and on.  I felt sorrier than ever.  I felt the good Lord had more than blessed and prospered us.  When we told mother of the situation, she could hardly believe it.  “They are good people at heart.”  She said.  “and God’s children like the rest of us.”  She then went on about her work of tending her turkeys.  But had meat roasting in the oven for the evening meal.  I opened the door and basted the meat.  Wilhelmina prepared the potatoes.  I whipped up a burnt sugar cake, poring it into a long dripping pan, slipping it in beside the roast.  Then I went to change to a house dress.