ence to me, so I wrote Mr. Woolington to come 

 down and I would sell him my farm, and on 

 this date he anived. I told him to come m on 

 the night train, gave him the directions how 

 to reach my place so he would not have to 

 make anv inquiries and thus reveal where he 

 was going and what for, so that no real estate 

 agent would get hold of him and possibly tell 

 him what a poor, old, sand farm I had, or in 

 other wavs discourage him, and he followed 

 m\- instructions except he brought a Mr. White 

 w^th him and when I found out that he was 

 trying to interest Mr. White in my farm 1 told 

 him of my contract with the C. M. Smith Bros. 

 & Co. Land Company and how under it I could 

 only sell the farm to him, that 1 would not 

 dPre to let him sell it to Mr. White or any 

 other person and so he went back home to get 

 the money to buv the farm, but I sold out to 

 W. P. Lindley before he was able to make the 

 raise. 



Aug. 30, 1912. — To Matthews to meet the night 

 train and here met Mr. J. McConn and wife 

 with their child that she was taking back to 

 Indiana to try and miss a siege Of typhoid 

 fever. 



Sept 2, 1912.— This day happened what proved 

 to be the beginning of the end of our stay m 

 Missouri. Messrs. White, Cox, Dunaway, Amos 

 and another man out going over the farm. Dr. 

 Dunaway came hurrying to the house for a 

 spade and asked me to help them all I could 

 to get this man Amos interested in the farm 

 and they sure would do right by me. I told 

 hint that I dared not let them sell this farm 

 to anyone as my contract with the Smith peo- 

 ple was such that while I had the right to sell 

 the farm myself, yet I did not dare to let them 

 sell it to anyone for me. Well, they looked 

 the farm over and went away and the next day 

 Mr. Cox of the Hoosiers came by and asked me 

 to go to Sikeston with him as they wanted to 

 tiy and buy my farm. I went along and we 

 partly agreed upon a contract and so I went 

 back" the next day and entered into the foUow- 

 irg contract with Mr. Dindley for the sale and 

 purchase of my farm. 



'Sikeston. Mo., Sept. 4, 1912. 



"It is agreed and entered into this day, Sept. 

 4 1912, by and between Hugh D. Studabaker 

 of New Madrid County, Missouri, party of the 

 first part, and William P. Lindley of Scott 

 County, Missouri, party of the second part. 



"In consideration of Eleven Hundred Twenty- 

 five Dollars ($1,125), the receipt of which is 

 hereby acknowledged paid to Hugh D. Studa- 

 baker by William P. Lindley for the purpose 

 of paying one $500 note given by said Studa- 

 baker to Chas. D. Matthews and interest there- 

 on and one $500 note given by said Studabaker 

 to 'Smith Bros. Realty Co. and interest thereon 

 and other considerations hereinafter named. 



Nine promissory notes of $1,412.80 each given 

 by said Studabaker to Charles D. Matthews 

 June 30, 1909, are to be assumed by the said 

 Lindlev as part payment on the herein de- 

 scribed land (said Studabaker to pay all interest 

 on said notes up to and including December 

 31st, 1912). 



The balance due said Studabaker is to oe 

 paid in a promissory note dated October 1st, 

 1912, and to be due January 1st, 1913, bearing 

 interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum. 

 This note to be less whatever amount said 

 Studabaker owes A. J. Matthews. 



Making a total consideration of eighteen 

 thousand two hundred seventy-five dollars 

 ($18,275.00) to be paid as above set out for 

 215.04 acres of laid, said land described as 

 follows, to-wit: 



All of that part of the south half (west of 

 the Frisco Railroad right of way) of Sec. seven 

 (7), Twp. twenty-four (24), Range fourteen (14), 

 New Madrid County, Missouri. 



In consideration of the above the said Studa- 

 baker agrees to deed by warranty dee(J, free 

 and clear of all liens and encumbrances (except 

 deed of trust notes held by Charles D. Mat- 

 thews, and interest thereon to and including 

 December 31st, 1912. Said Studabaker to pa>- 

 lip all interest to January 1st, 1913. Studabaker 

 to pay all taxes and assessments falling due 



in the year of 1912 and prior years.). Said 

 Lindley to pay all taxes and assessments falling 

 due in the year of 1913 and thereafter. 



Said Studabaker is to furnish abstract on or 

 before fifteen days from date of this contract, 

 showing good merchantable title to the herein 

 described lands, and said Lindley is to have 

 fifteen days after receiving abstract to approve 

 same. In the event said Studabaker fails to 

 deliver an abstract showing a good merchant- 

 able title, then the $1,125 is to be refunded to 

 the said Lindley. 



The said Studabaker agrees to pay to the said 

 Lindley $150 as rent on the herein described 

 land for the year 1912, but is to have all of the 

 balance of crops grown during said year. 



It is fuither understood that the said Lindley 

 is to have possession of all lands not now in 

 corn, on or before October lOlh, 1912, for the 

 purpose of sowing same to wheat. And is to 

 have possession of all of the rest of the farm 

 and buildings not later than the 15th of Febru- 

 ary. 1913. 



The said Studabaker is to execute warranty 

 deed, properly signed by himself and Wife, 

 and place same with copy of this contract in 

 the Citizens Bank, in Sikeston, ]\Io., to be held 

 in escrow by said bank with instructions that 

 when the conditions in this contract are ful- 

 filled then said warranty deed is to be turned 

 over to said Dindley, and whatever balance is 

 due said Studabaker (after deed of trust notes 

 and interest computed to January 1st, 1913, 

 as given in promissory note dated October 1st, 

 1912, and due January 1st, 1913, bearing interest 

 at the rate of 6 per cent, payable annually) 

 turned over to said Studabaker. 



HUGH D. STUDABAKER. 

 WILLIAM P. LINDLEY. 



Now this contract was the source and be- 

 ginning of lots of trouble. I did not want to 

 give that rent of $150, and neither did I think 

 it right that I should be compelled to pay 

 interest on all his paper until the first of 

 January, 1913, but Mr. White told me plainly 

 that they would not make the deal unless I did, 

 telling me that, while they expected to use 

 the farm in a trade with a Mr. Amos of West 

 Lebanon, Ind., wherein they were going to put 

 the farm in at $125 per acre and take an 

 elevator at $10,000, yet they could not make this 

 deal unless I would either give them one-third 

 of the corn or $150 in cash, and pay this interest 

 from 1st of October to 1st of Januaiy next, a 

 period of three months. For, while they wished 

 to buy the farm of me and let me out, yet 

 they were not going to take any chances of 

 losing money on it, and I did want to get out, 

 so I signed the contract, took the money and 

 went around to the Smith Bros. & Co. Land C^o., 

 took up the two notes they held against me, 

 and they turned over the abstract that I left 

 with the Bank of Sikeston, as I explained to 

 you a while ago. 



Now I had my suspicions about that corn 

 rental and extra interest, but was not in a 

 position to gratify my curiosity at that time, 

 as I had my personal property yet to dispose of, 

 but the minute I was cleaned up in Missouri 

 I went straight to West Lebanon and saw Mr. 

 Amos, and the gist of our conversation will 

 give you when I get to that point in my narra- 

 ti\'e. 



September 7th. 1912.— Our oldest boy, "puny," 

 as they say, with chills and malarial fever 

 working on him. 



September 16th, 1912. — In Sikeston and in con- 

 versation with the president of the Hoosier 

 Land & Investment Company, Mr. W. A. White, 

 he told me of the Smith Bros. & Co. Land Co., 

 calling over Dr. Dunaway of their firm and 

 going to whip him for his part in the sale of 

 my farm, adding further that he had adjusted 

 the matter, however, by going over that even- 

 ing and agreeing to pay them a commission 

 if the deal went through, so that I would not 

 need have any fear — that was, if I had any — 

 of the Smith Bros. & Co. Land Co. making a 

 demand on me for their commission under my 

 contract. 



Now. as you possibly have noticed reading 

 along in this' deal, we had not received any 

 real money, just been changing our indebted- 



24 



