WINTER WORK
The new year opened full of all sorts of interests and new projects.
There were so many things to plan for and to commence at the farm that
we often got a good deal mixed up. I can hardly expect to make a
connected narrative of the various plans and events, so will follow each
one far enough to launch it and then leave it for future development.
Little snow fell in January and February '96. The weather was average
winter weather, and a good deal of outdoor work was done. On the 2d I
went to the farm to plan with Thompson an outline for the two months. I
had decided to make Thompson the foreman, for I had watched him
carefully for five months and was satisfied that I might go farther and
fare a great deal worse. Indeed, I thought myself very fortunate to have
found such a dependable man. He was temperate and good-natured, and he
had a bluff, hearty way with the other men that made it easy for them to
accept his directions. He was thorough, too, in his work. He knew how a
job should be done, and he was not satisfied until it was finished
correctly. He was not a worker for work's sake, as was Anderson, but he
was willing to put his shoulder to the wheel for results.
"Wait till I get my shoulder under it," was a favorite expression with
him, and I am frank to say that when this conjunction took place there
was apt to be something doing. Thompson is still at Four Oaks, and it
will be a bad day for the farm when he leaves.
"Thompson," said I, "you are to be working foreman out here, and I want
you to put your mind on the business and keep it there. I cannot raise
your wages, for I have a system; but you shall have $50 as a Christmas
present if things go well. Will you stay on these terms?"
"I will stay, all right, Dr. Williams, and I will give the best I've
got. I like the looks of this place, and I want to see how you are going
to work it out."
That being settled, I told Thompson of some things that must be done
during January and February.
"You must get out a great lot of wood, have it sawed, and store it in
the shed, more than enough for a year's use. The wood should be taken
from that which is already down. Don't cut any standing trees, even
though they are dead. Use all limbs that are large enough, but pile the
brushwood where it can be burned. We must do wise forestry in these
woods, and we will have an unlimited supply of fuel. I mean that the
wood lot shall grow better rather than worse as the years go by. We
cannot do much for it now, but more in time. You must see to it that the
men are not careless about young trees,--no breaking or knocking down
will be in order. Another thing to look after is the ice supply. I will
get Nelson to build an ice-house directly, and you must look around for
the ice. Have you any idea as to where it can be had?"
"A big company is getting ice on Round Lake three miles west, and I
suppose they will sell you what you want," said Thompson, "and our teams
can haul it all right."
"What do you suppose they will charge per ton on their platform?"
"From twenty-five to forty cents, I reckon."
"All right, make as good a bargain as you can, and attend to it at the
best time. When the teams are not hauling ice or wood, let them draw
gravel from French's pit. It will be hard to get it out in the winter,
but I guess it can be done, and we will need a lot of it on these roads.
Have it dumped at convenient places, and we will put it on the drives in
the spring.
"Another thing,--we must have a bridge across the brook on each lane.
You will find timbers and planks enough in the piles from the old barns
to make good bridges, and the men can do the work. Then there is all
that wire for the inside fences to stretch and staple; but mind, no
barbed wire is to be put on top of inside fences.
"These five jobs will keep you busy for the next two months, for
there'll be only four men besides yourself to do them. I am going to set
Sam at the chicken plant. I'll see you before long, and we'll go over
the cow and hog plans; but you have your work cut out for the next two
months. By the way, how much of an ice-house shall I need?"
"How many cows are you going to milk?"
"About forty when we run at full speed; perhaps half that number this
year."
"Well, then you'd better build a house for four hundred tons. That won't
be too big when you are on full time, and it's a mighty bad thing to run
short of ice."
I saw Nelson the same day and contracted with him for an ice-house
capable of holding four hundred tons, for $900. The walls of the house
to be of three thicknesses of lumber with two air spaces (one four
inches, the other two) without filling. As a result of the conference
with Thompson, I had, before the first of March, a wood-house full of
wood, which seemed a supply for two years at full steam; an ice-house
nearly full of ice; two serviceable bridges across the brook; the wire
fencing almost completed; and eighty loads of gravel,--about one-third
of what I needed. The whole cash outlay was,--
300 tons of ice at 30 cents per ton $90.00
80 tons of gravel at 25 cents per load 20.00
Fence staples 19.00
------
Total $129.00
The conference with Sam Jones, the hen man, was deferred until my next
visit, and my plans for the cow barn, dairy-house, and hog-house were
left to Nelson for consideration, he promising to give me estimates
within a few days.