14 Our Farming. 



from town often and worked around some, building fences, etc. 

 Wife and I talked it over and thought it would be well to move 

 here for a time so I could work steadily at the job. 



I have written more fully about this than I otherwise should, 

 because one often hears people say a man will never succeed at 

 any business he does not take to naturally. I have no doubt I 

 should have done better if allowed to follow the natural bent of 

 my mind ; but still force of circumstances rather compelled me to 

 take up with a business I knew nothing about and had not the 

 least love for. I had to rather hold myself to it at first, but with 

 success came interest, until now I would not care to leave the 

 farm for any other occupation I know of, and several good offers 

 have come in late years. The last was last summer, when I re- 

 fused to consider an offer of a highly honorable position in the 

 city with a salary of $2250 a year and the privilege of writing as 

 much as now and having the pay. The whole family sat in 

 council over the matter. Not one of the cnildren wanted to go. 

 This gave me pleasure. Perhaps before this book is done I will 

 give you some of the reasons why we thought we could not afford 

 to leave tbe farm for a salary that some farmers would consider 

 quite a fortune. 



Soon after I made the trade with Mr. Ellsworth he failed, 

 and it was long before our money matters were settled. So it was 

 a very poor, almost discouraged, boy with a wife and two babies 

 that moved his few effects onto the farm on that winter's day. 

 His debts were about $3700, but one good thing his credit stood 

 high. The money was borrowed of one friend in the city mostly, 

 at seven per cent., on as long time as was wanted. It was secured 

 by a life insurance policy and a deed of the farm. But this was 

 not recorded, as the friend had full faith in me, and so aside from 

 this friend and my wife, no one knew how hard up I really was. 

 Of course it was quite a little help to have good credit, but it was 

 precious little that I dared to use. Perhaps you may think it 

 was unnecessary to enter into details as to how poor we were 

 when we came onto the farm. It was done with an object in 

 view. My old friend, Rev. E. D. Vance, of Kinsman, Ohio, was 

 once riding with a young farmer and they were talking about my 

 little success. The young man said : "Oh, yes, it is easy enough 

 for a man to make money farming when he has lots of capital. 

 Terry was rich when he went on the farm." It was not unnatural 

 that one should have that impression from my being in a large 

 business before beginning farming. We often hear in substance 

 that a man with money to do everything can make money on the 

 farm. This has often been told me at institutes by men who 

 were hard up or just starting, and who thought there was no sort 

 of chance for poor men like them. This is not true. Of course, 

 with capital one could get along much faster, but a determined 

 young man can work his way up from the very bottom, in this 



