their farm about six miles southwest from 

 Sikeston on Pharris Ridge — places are located 

 in this country by ridges and ditches; there is 

 Sikeston Ridge, Big Ridge, T^anders Ridge, 

 Couters Ridge, Round Ridge, Hurricane Ridge, 

 etc. etc.; and ditches either go by their num- 

 bers either east or west of the Sikeston Ridge 

 or the particular slough that tlicy were dug to 

 drain, as Ash slough, Otter slough, etc. Had a 

 pleasant Sunday with the boys talking over the 

 farming possiliilities of the country, etc.; then 

 the following morning across the country to 

 Matthews and through some very wild and new 

 country — up the Frisco railroad to Sikeston — 

 and wrote home of the fact that I had not as 

 yet found an occupation and my views of what 

 I thought would be profitable to work at In 

 connection with prospective showing of lands 

 as outlined with i\Ir. Markley; and as one of 

 them was keeping a hotel, and knowing that 

 Mrs. Welshans would sell her hotel at Lilbourn. 

 I decided to ro back there and visit a few day§ 

 more. So on the 17th of .June, 1909, I went back 

 to Lilbourn and wrote Mrs. Studataaker what it 

 would cost us to buy this hotel did we decide 

 to do so. I was much pleased when I received 

 a letter from her telling that we could get the 

 money to buy it, and as it figures largely in 

 our experience in Missouri — the fact that we 

 were operating on borrowed capital — I will just 

 explain here that Mrs. Studabaker's brother, 

 H. D. Cook, secured for us what money we 

 needed. I insisted that Mrs. Studabaker pay 

 the country a visit and see the country — look 

 over our prospective occupation — so on the 23rd 

 of June, 1909, she came to Lilbourn and we 

 stayed here till afternoon of June 24th, when 

 we went to Sikeston to look over the farming 

 country in that locality, as Mr. Cook had ex- 

 pressed himself as though he would feel we 

 were making a safer investment if we were to 

 buy a farm; and although the amount of ready 

 money we had — $2,800 — was small to think of 

 buying and operating a farm, yet he assured 

 Mrs. Studabaker that he would see us through 

 if we went to farming and needed more. At Sikes- 

 ton I arranged with the C. M. Smith Bros. & 

 Co. Land Company to take us out and show us 

 some of their land they had for sale; so on the 

 morning of June 25th Mr. J. P. Cox, of the then 

 C. M. Smith Bros. & Co. Land Company, but 

 now of the Hoosier Land and Investment Com- 

 pany, of Sikeston, Missouri, with a carriage 

 and two mules started out to show us the 

 country and the lands they had for sale. We 

 drove out to Pharris Ridge, then south along 

 Ash slough ditch to a point about one and a 

 half miles south of Matthews, then we came up 

 out of the wilderness onto Couters Ridge, and 

 here he showed us the farm of 215 acres that 

 we afterwards contracted for. It was such a 

 joy to come up out of the uncleared land to 

 this almost cleared farm, with a new 6-room 

 PAINTED house and a great deal of growing 

 corn that we sure thought we had found the 

 spot, and when we learned that we could buy 

 this with a payment of $2,000 down and ten 

 annual payments on the balance, and that if 

 we would purchase it before July 1st — this was 

 June 25th — that we would get this year's rent 

 (Mr. Cox said there was 200 acres of it in corn 

 and rented at $4 per acre), we were interested 

 at once and did not look any further. Mr. Cox 

 wanted to show us some lands in the EAST 

 .swamp not so far out from Sikeston, but we 

 had heard that the east swamp overflowed 

 every time the Mississippi river came up and 

 we would not go and look at them; so we 

 drove back to Sikeston without looking any 

 further. To the hotel, and the next day Mrs. 

 Studabaker started back for Indiana to send 

 me the money to close the deal, and I went to 

 our friends, Mosers, and Sunday afternoon 

 Mr. Ben Moser and I drove over to the farm 

 and took another look at it. We found that at 

 least half of the farm was the much sought for 

 black land and the other was higher land with 

 some sand and between 10 and 20 ^cres of 

 white oak ridge clay. About 160 acres of it 

 was in corn; the rest was not put in, the rent- 

 ers said, because they just could not get to it 

 to do it. I took it that they meant they had 



too much work, but I afterwards learned that 

 it was on account of it being too wet. Well, I 

 still had the idea of buying the farm, for here 

 \\as a farm witliin a mile of an elevator — 

 adjoining the railroad right-of-way on the east 

 — half black land and half ridge — a new house — 

 rented, so I was informed, for $4 per acre cash 

 rent — could buy it on ten years' time with 

 small payment of $2,000 down and, as the real 

 estate men held out, it was soon to go to $100 

 per acre — and who would want for anything 

 better. To Sikeston, June 2Sth, and on the 

 29th I received draft from home for $2,800, so 

 on June 30th, 1909. I signed up contract for the 

 200 acres land at $75 per acre^$2,000 down and 

 the balance in 10 annual payments at 6 per cent 

 interest, making an annual payment of about 

 $1,300 and interest. Looked like a person ought 

 to make it, but as we go along will show you 

 how far short I fell. Now to show you how 

 important it is to look after all the little things, 

 will right here make mention of the fact that 

 on or near the southeast corner of this land 

 there was a cemetery — I say on or near at this 

 time, for land was to be surveyed and I was to 

 pay for just what it measured, and I made 

 mention to the land company that I did not 

 want to pay for this cemetery if it fell within 

 the lands when surveyed. I did not have it 

 written in the contract and there was where I 

 fell down, as will be shown later on, although 

 I had it understood — verabally — with them. 

 Now I had the land bought — an abstract was 

 to be given — the lands were rented and I bought 

 subject to the rental leases, none of which ex- 

 pired until the first of the following January, 

 1910, and it was up to me to get possession. 



For the next several days I was busy writing 

 home folks and sending them circulars prepared 

 by the land men; also wrote the home papers. 

 Glad to say from reading these articles over 

 that I confined myself to things I had seen, 

 such as the raising of two crops and the long 

 time for planting corn. I learned more of the 

 country, as a farming country, from being here 

 and trying to make crops; also of the people 

 from dealing with them and seeing them deal 

 with other people. Down to the farm and saw 

 the renter and talked buying him out, so as to 

 get possession. In this country there seems to 

 be a rule if you want to get man off of a place 

 you must buy what junk, mules, etc., that he 

 has to get him to move, and sometimes it is 

 pretty expensive. Again on the Sth of July I 

 went down to the farm, saw the renter, Mr. 

 Dover, and wife; visited and talked buying 

 them out, but nothing doing this time; he 

 hadn't found a place to go to yet and he wanted 

 to know where he was going before he would 

 talk sell. 



On the 11th of July Mr. Moser, some of his 

 folks and I went blackberrying, and here was 

 where I became acquainted with one of the 

 worst insect pests, as. far as humanity is con- 

 cerned, known to this or any other country, 

 and that is the chigre; most people call them "jig- 

 gers," and they sure are. They are a little red 

 Insect and they bury into the flesh and start 

 an irritation that is hard to stop. I sure caught 

 my share of them that day, for I was most 

 laid up from the swollen and irritated condi- 

 tion of my limbs around my ankles. Should 

 you go to this country on a prospecting trip in 

 the spring, summer or fall of the year, you will 

 do well to be careful and take all precautions, 

 especially if you are easily poisoned. 



.July 12th, 1909, we measured the land — 

 215.04 acres — and it was HOT enough for me to 

 ever remember it, if for no other reason; but 

 there was one other, and this leads me up to 

 the snake question of this country — one not to 

 be laughed at, for you know swamps breed 

 snakes, and for a truth these swamps sure do 

 their share. I do not expect that I would have 

 paid so much attention to the reptile question, 

 for you know I was born and reared in Indiana, 

 said to be one of the greatest snake countries 

 other than India, had it not been for the sur- 

 veyors, but they being "Swamp-East Mis- 

 sourians" — "Wampus Cats" — as all natives are 

 sometimes called, and side stepping the snake 

 homes like they did, rather bred a feeling, not 



