458 TwBNTY-FiKST Biennial Rbpoet 



These seventeen had their courage and patience 

 sorely tested. After the plants had been transplanted 

 and were doing well, heavy rains began, the creeks rose, 

 and some of the club gardens were entirely under water. 

 They might have survived this, but the rains continued, 

 the plants scalded, the fruit began to rot, and some mem- 

 bers lost practically the entire crop, and all gardens 

 suffered severely from rot. 



When the canning season opened, the difficulty of 

 travel, because of the condition of our mountain roads, 

 made the work difficult. I did not urge the girls to buy 

 canners this year, but I had two outfits, and the girls 

 had the use of these. I purchased one thousand cans, 

 and furnished them to the girls as they needed them. 

 Miss VanMeter assisted with the work through July and 

 August. All our traveling had to be done on horseback. 

 One carried the cans packed in bags and tied to the back 

 of the saddle, while the saddle pockets on the other horse 

 were packed with capping steel, tipping irons, bottles 

 of flux, hand towels, tea towels, and all things neces- 

 sary for the work. Sometimes we would can one-half 

 day with one club girl, then pack our things, mount our 

 horses, carrying the irons, too hot to be packed, in our 

 hands to the next place to begin over again. It was 

 easier for us to do this than for the girls to transport 

 their tomatoes in sleds over the rough roads, or carry 

 them by basketfuls on their arms. 



One club was particularly difficult to reach, as we 

 could not communicate by letter, the office being remote, 

 and seldom visited, and it was ten miles from our head- 

 quarters by a difficult bridle path across the hills, and 

 seventeen miles by road. This way led up a creek bed 

 some distance across a mountain to Ball Creek, which 

 we had to ford eight times in going to our destination. 

 We were warned to be watchful in doing this, as the 

 heavy rains shifted the sand, and there was danger 

 from quicksand. 



There is always likely to be more or less of adven- 

 ture in mountain travel. Miss VanMeter went out a few 

 miles one afternoon, and was caught in a terrific storm. 

 The creek were roaring torrents. She was warned not 

 to attempt one ford, or she and her horse would both be 



