CHAPTER XXXI. 



BIG LOADS. 



writer had some little experience as a teamster 

 before he began farming. He drew some sand, 

 gravel, tiles, etc., for others, by the yard or piece, 

 so that the size of the load drawn measured the 

 profit. When he came onto the farm it was with a 

 light wagon, so that he could do nothing in the line 

 of drawing heavy loads. In truth, he did not have heavy loads of 

 anything to draw at first; but when he got a better wagon and had 

 something to draw, he tried to help himself some in this direction. 

 And he has, not a little. About the first teaming we had to do to 

 amount to much was drawing wood to town, two and one-half 

 miles. A pile of eighteen -inch wood 8x4 feet, is called a cord 

 of stove wood here. This was all my little wagon would hold by 

 piling. With common sideboards on my new wagon, I could 

 pile on one and one-half cords. But to do this alone took a good 

 deal of time. I could make but three trips a day, or four and one- 

 half cords. There are farmers in this county who draw no more 

 now. But this was not business enough for me. The price of 

 stove wood was, say, $1.75. It cost about seventy-five cents to 

 get it cut, if hard, and pay interest on the money while it was 

 seasoning. Say the timber was worth fifty cents standing. This 

 left fifty cents for the drawing. Four and one-half cords a day 

 would be $2. 25. Pretty small wages. But it is no use to say wood 

 is too low ; you cannot make it higher. But you can reduce the 

 cost of production in the way of handling cheaper. A little study, 

 after I had some experience, showed me a way out, and I went to 

 the wagonmaker and told him just what I wanted in the way of 

 sideboards, and stood right over him while they were being made 

 and ironed. We got them just right the first time and they have 

 never been changed at all, and they are still in use on my farm, 

 after more than twenty years, this very original pair, and you shall 

 have a picture of the wagon. Now, what was theresult? Why, 

 I went into the woods and threw on without piling two cords of 

 stove wood at once. A little care was taken to toss it in rather 

 straight under and around the seat and place it a little around the 

 outside, and it had to be thrown up pretty high, but I got on two 

 cords and did it quickly. I saved time enough in this way, by 

 not piling, so I made four trips a day. It was a big day's work 

 (and one couldn't stop to talk any), but I did it, day after day, 

 and week after week. Now, how much would I get for team work 



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