EARLY MANHOOD IN THE MIDDLE WEST 151 



out of the fact that in those days we sent nearly 

 everything we produced to distant markets and a 

 large proportion of our necessary supplies came 

 from the far east or from Europe. Another idea 

 of that paper was : " Improve the highways by 

 underground drains laid with hard-burned, round 

 drain tiles." The summer had been unusually wet 

 that year and it was hard for us to get to town and 

 harder for us to stay at home. Our reapers would 

 sometimes mire down in the grain fields ; and often 

 had to be left there half-buried for want of ful- 

 crums on which to place levers. Thus much of the 

 harvest had to be cut with grain cradles a very 

 laborious proceeding. 



The following year we made a visit to my old 

 home in New York and I brought back with me 

 two drain tiles, hoping to get some brick-maker 

 interested in manufacturing them. It is probable 

 that these were the first drain tiles carried beyond 

 the Mississippi river. Since then, in many places 

 both in Iowa and Illinois, the public highways have 

 been underdrained with tile to carry off the rain, 

 for water is a greater destroyer of dirt roads than 

 all other enemies combined. 



A man may set out on a definite track but he sel- 

 dom anticipates the switch which may shunt him 

 off onto another thus it has been with me. I 



