Locating a Homestead 



sion of Joe and Nigger, as Bob told us he called 

 them. 



We now told him we thought of starting with 

 an outfit to find homesteads, and he said it was 

 a good idea, as we could take our time to choose, 

 and added : "If you come our way, drop in, 

 and we'll tell you what we can " ; he also gave 

 us some directions as to trails and roads. 



" Are those sales advertised any good to us ? " 

 asked Tom. 



" Yes," returned Bob ; " you might pick up 

 a wagon or plough. You see, we have had one 

 or two bad harvests, and some poor fellows have 

 fallen into the hands of the sheriff ; however, 

 I must go now and board the east-bound train 



to F , and from there I must get a hft or 



hoof it for some twenty-five miles north. I'd 

 like to go along with you, but we'll be busy on 

 the land soon, and I can't stop." 



Next day at the sale we became the proud 

 possessors of a wagon, for which we paid fifty 

 dollars, also a walking twelve-inch plough, which 

 we got chea'p for eight dollars, and the following 

 morning, after loading up our trucks at the 

 station and buying a tent, we hitched up our 

 new team and started out. Following Bob's 

 directions, we took the road running for many 

 miles near the railroad. On the other side the 



45 



