Typescript Of Uncle Jefferson Hartill Maine History

where Pop kept what he called his bloody helix. story wa s a porch with pillars to the ground.

On the front of the second

On the thrrd floor there were

four bedrooms and then the attic where flying squirrE:Is used to play stored all kinds of n;.tts for I

C[ln

remember

S88il1",

hen I was born

y()un~jest;

LhE:n

111':,

I

th(~

wnter.

I

a:1d tv'-('

There was a cellar and the only thing

there was Pop's three barrels or cIder.

two of my brothe rs and one

:';L:,

ter i1ed died.

Tho ~r

then fJEus, then Mary; then I eonard; then Roland; th8n

- :2 -

\

He made it awful hard on Mom and us kids. After living in Huntington a few years

I

Len went to work for a rich lady who had a beautiful estate between

our place and the village. She sent him to school and he had it soft I think. I

Jack soon went to live in the city and we did not see him very often. The family at home was getting smaller and a little easier to provide for.

My Sister,

Elizabeth was teaching school in New York and during the summer vacations came to live with

US - -

she paid board and that helped out that way.

Mamma K

\

and Papa K

hel~oo

-- they were my Mother's Father and Mother.

Pop was a

brass molder and had a little foundry about one and one-half miles from where we lived.

V"hen any of us boys got big enough to be of any help there I we

had to work after school.

VI. hen I was about 10, I had to pound the charcoal

and rumble the castings while standing on a big iron pot. charcoal with a big iron ball with a long handle toe and flattened it out.

I

'v\hen pounding

I came down on my big

Pop got the whisky bottle and poured some on.

Mary

hauled me to school for about a month.

-/;/~/

Pap~

a sailboat and the one I remember the best he named after

me, the Jefferson. He used to drop his work at the foundry and be gone up to two weeks in the boat. He used to take me on some of these trips, other times some of his friends.

Once or twice each summer he would take the family and

stay for a couple of days. At that time there was wonderful camping grounds on the north shore of Long Island.

"ve

had the whole beach to ourselves. I must

have been about 8 or 9 when Roland built a nice little log cabin up in the woods. It was a shock to me when some months later, Rol came from the city, Jack had fire torn it down and ha uled it to the house forAvood. Jack and Rol did not get along too good in their younger days

I

and this did not help matters.

- 3 -

{71

Roland used to like hunting and he took-te the sportsman shows. He came home once with a new hatchet and I see him put it under the bed. When the coast was clear, I got it out and beir e long, I cut my hand -- I have the scar to this day. He used to bring home hunting and camping scenes -- pretty nice pictures, I thought. They worked on my imaginations and I thought some ,I{~'-( day I would~ some of those pictures. No one can imagine the wcrk Mom had to do -- all the wash that had to be done on a scrub-board, all the sewing, cooking

I

baking, and so little to do it with.

became suddenly full 01

COWS,

I remember once the yard

so we drove them in the barn, and I think it

was Rol who milked them before turning them loose, - was that a helpl out in the country we had to have a horse.

Living

Pop wasn't the best judge of

horses. He once brought one home at night and the next morning he took Mom out to see it, and discovered it was blind. He said to Mom, "get my doublebarrel twist" - that was his shotgun and he wanted to shoot it. Another time he had a cribber that would eat the crib and stall.

He took me with him one

day after pepping up this cribber to another old horse trader. He had almost made a swap when I threw a monkey wrench into the deal.

I said right out loud,

"he eats the crib up". All the wa y home I we s told a thiny or two. At a tout this time I remember Rufus and I Singing in the choir in the Episcopal Church.

I

always knew that when I got home Mom would have a big batch of horre-made candy waiting fer us. At Christmas one year she was called to the city by her Mother who was sick. Christmas Eve came and no Mom. in an awful way.

would show up.

\t\ e

knew who Santa wes.

V. e kids were

v\e were sure wishing she

At the last moment, when we were about to give up and go to

bed, in she came with a big bag on her back. She hed carried that over

- 4 -

two miles from the railroad station.

When I was eleven years old, Ed and I were both in bed with the measles. Mom was the only other person in the house.

The house caught fire.

Mom

got some clothes on Ed and me and sent me in one direction and Ed in the ')ther fer help.

Help came and a few things were saved, but the house burned

to the ground.

By the way my hood and veil were in the City at Mama K's at the

time.

V, e stayed at the neighbors for a couple of days, and then rented a

house at fair grounds about three miles away.

There was some insurance

money Mom received fer the furniture loss, but Pop took that and bought a motor for his boat.

One da y when we were out in the boat, he decided to go hard cIa mming • \tVe took the row boat and started off.

V"hen we got to the spot he wanted, the

water was about waist deep so he took off his pants and went over the sides hanging on the row boat treading with his bare feet. All at once he sprung into the boat and sale! to me 'Little Buck" - that was the nickname he gave me. I stepped on something I thought was a hawser, a large to w rap around my legs

I

~~but when it started

I knew it was a giant eel.

In the fall of the year Pop took the spars out of the boet and us kids had to scrape them clean with glass.

y,,'f.;

-X~7"<)/~qua ff.Long

and we moved to Messel

did not live at the fair grounds very long Island, New York quite near my married

sister, Heddy. At first I didn't like it at all, 1t was right in the City and soon I learned to play marbles,

to~shinnegers,

skating, etc. The boys were rough

and tough and I guess I became that way too.

Many

~d

tricks we played on

the China man, the peanutman, and lots of others. I went to a city school and - 5 -

did not like it.

HoI and _en

~ivt

Jack got a job es a motorman. got a job at a brass iJundr-y;

Mary and Rufus were gOing to college.

Fop

fliL.:abeth had been married and then JaCl< got

Jack was a pugilist and I listened to . . many tales of gory tignts

ffic,rried. once

jobs as conductors on the trolley cars.

savin~

Pop from being beaten up. A t the present time I think he is 80

and he is still full of fight.

Once I had some pigeons in the backyard and

one day I let them out thll1king they w,)uld come back, but tnat was the last I set; ot them.

By this

tim~~,

I belonged to a gang of boys they called the

Sunshine

Gan~

,•

One day in a stone U',;,ht c L.ey ;jot hurt real bad andwas taken away in the ambulance. S;c."n0ed

That broke up thrc gang.

on me one da y and I

Ufi

Cll

Two boys whose father had a s<::doon

me home w 1t11 a black eye and some bruise s.

\ hen Pop seen m':: and hffird the story, tE marched me to the ordered

thf;

work on.

Soi0011

and

saloon-keeper to trot out his boys one at a time for me to go

1:0

But he kept th€m hid -- if I remember rigli;, I tnink I was glad of

it tor I had enough for Ont., day.

V hil(~ skating on a pond covered with all kinds of cultch, I tripped and fell, cutting my wrist very bad -- I fell on a broken milk bottle. right hand ever since. reaSons, I guess.

I've had a crippled

The family started callin", me the calamity for <;ood

I used to go barefoot and once I hopped into the house with

a board nailed to my foot - that was another job for Mom.

I had a lonS! ttdn tube

called a putty blower -- 1 would flatten out some putty on my hand and stick the end of the tube on it and blow -- t would on the face.

;:;0 G

lony wayr and hit someone

I hit a men going by and he cha sed me and I ran into a trec wah

- 6 -

the putty blower in my mouth -- it stuck in the roof of my mouth -- the man sE!:ing this gave up the cha se.

After a few months as a conductor Rol left for the \I, est -- he came back with glowing accounts of Oregon and the claims that were being taken up, but instead of going back, he and my sister Heddy's husband went to Maine and made arrangemencs to buy a farm four miles out of Brunswick.

V'.,1th the

Hnancid help from some of the family, the farm was bought and Rol, Ed, Mom and I left for Maine to be followed in the summer by the others. Ed and I started to go to the one-room school and Rol waf: supposed to make a fortune growing potatoes. going to town.

v'e had one horse named "Butternut B111" and we were

I tried to get him in a comer and get on his back, but he had

other ideas. He turned around quick and let me have both feet and knocking me for a loop, breaking my lower jaw and cutting my face very bad.

I managed

to walk home and when Rol saw me coming, He took me to the pump to wa sh off the blood.

Mom saw me about this time and thOU\:.lht it was the end of me.

They caught' B111" and we went to town in a hurry to

SEle

the doctor. He

worked on me off and on for weeks -- a good old country doctor. I had a support under my chin and around my head all summer. The only food I had was what they could pour between some teeth that were kicked out.

In the fall I started to go to school again. The next spring Rol decIded he did not have capital enough to buy a herse and equipment to make a go of potato growing, so we just locked up the place and went back to Brooklyn.

After a while I started to go to school again. Rol started to look around for

- 7 -

someone to finance him for another go at the farm. back to Maine taking Ed with him. Brooklyn.

He found one and went

My mother and the rest of us stayed in

Rol then bought horses, potato planters, potato diggers, harrows I

cultivators, sprayers, etc.

In a couple of months, I followed them to Maine.

Mary, knowing I was determined to go, went to the toat with me and carried my suitcase.

I had my fare to Maine and this is about aU, so I decided to sleep

up on the top dack that night.

I curled up around a smoke stack and went to

sleep, but m thE; middle or the night, I was awakened by a man and he was bound to take me down below and put me in a berth. and he couldn't do

enou~;h

for me.

He had a wife and 3 or 4 children

Be had me toke pictures with their camera

of the whales we sa'N and of ·::;ach Gther.

., hen he left me 11.1 Portland, he 9ave

me about $5. 00 and tola me if I ever get back to NeW York to hunt him up at his office there and hn

Rol dld the

cookhl~i

yClVC

me hls address, but I never saw him again.

ond J:d and I did the outsid.e ::horGs Lesides washin;;: the

dishes and wash.l.n;; our C1Ct[186 and

keepin~

the

\'vvx;j)o~,:

wasn't too much work, Ed and I went to school in On the way there, we passed the Clark farm and

is

,I/hen there

little one- room school-house.

rV~[s.

passed and put an apple or cookie in our lunch-box

full..

Clark would call us in as we

B:1d

mend a rip or two in our

clothes. It. was tough living and I guess it was making me tough.

In the summer, besides the potatoes, Rol cut the hoi

C>11

3 other farms, and

I turned and pitched a lot of hay. Rol was never too good at working for himself and was

~ett1rlg

9: 00 P. M.

behind.

He was a hard boss too.

Ed and I hod

tli

be in {Jed by

On a farm abo Lt two miles through the woods and fields from our

farm, there was a boy about our a<;e who came from a boy's home in Boston.

- 8 -

He

had to work for his board untH he was 18. and

helpin~

On Sundays' BftAr doinq our chores

him with his, we would hunt and trap t0gether.

To beat the 9: 00

o'clock deadline before going to bed some nite, Ed and I would put up the long

pole from the qround up to our bedroom window and aiter saying goodnight to Rol, we

W:')kld~

id.e down the pole and yet the home boy and spend half the mght riding

horses in the pasture or ing abuut the luture.

our rG,)fi'1.

,(01

rowin~

1nen

Wi:..:

the boat down the bay, or just tclkin;J and dreamw'A.dd come back home and climb the pole back to

never did (;et wise to this -- of course, I told him about it years

later.

An inctdent I must reiate --

c

~lfl

al;;:;.ut Rol's c:.Qe !r.om t:1e next farm was t.o our

house one Sunday. 1\t the end of the house were two big treE'S and Rol had put up a swJ.n<" there.

H~ WiJ:,; swinS.ul~

skip out with my air nile

0110

as 1

her

~v'ent

d::;;

hi0h

uut the

dS 11e

0dC,i(

coula.

1

',V6S

plann.i.o s to

find around the shed, I could

not seE R..:.·l but every so often I caucht a glimpse of the, .,,;ir1' E, Dottom a s she swung hi9h in the air.

Mter o.i.mins a couple at t.une s, I pressed the triY\Jer and

I heard her say 'ouch

and I ran to the wooos.

The summer I was 16, Rol called me down ior somethlny that was not my fault.

I told him where to get off and left, and I went over to sc-.: the home boy. had been ta lking about running away and this brought lt up to decided not to tell Ed. That night when he was supposed to slipped out the window and joined me.

G

~o

e

h(:ad, 1..);'.1t "v'-'

to bed, he

I had $10.00 and he had no money.,\e

walked to Brunswick and on the way we planned to go north and tried to .;,;et a job in a logging camp.

V" e thought there would be a freIght train

- 9 -

Vir;;

':';U~llci

nop

and after waiting until about midnight we decided to hop the first train going north. It was a passenger train and as it pulled down the track, we jumped on the rear platform of the lear coach and climbed to the roof and then we hung on to a ventilator and rode 'til daybreak.

VI hen people began to see us, when

the train slowed for the next station, we climbed down and jumped and we were at Northern Main Junction. Vlie ran for the nearest woods, found a brook and began to clean up.

',,'ve were covered with soot from the coal burning engines.

After this, we went back and found a store and got a loaf of bread and sandwich meat -- we felt better then. Someone told us if we went to Bangor which was about ten miles -- they were hiring men for the woods and we could get a jOb,

so we set off on foot down the tracks, walking the railroad ties and this

gets tiresome as you have to keep your eyes on the ties every moment for each step is different.

'1\ hen we got to Bangor, we went to the employment agency that were hiring men

for the woods, but after looking us over and asking questions, they said we were too young. They also said that if we went on to Old Town, which is about 10 miles down the track, we would be sure of getting a job for they were hiring everybody that came along for the woods so we set track.

V'e had not gone far when night came on.

out once more down the

We gathered some wood, had

something to eat and slept alongside the track. Vl.e got into Old Town about noon the next day and we went to the employment agency there and they told us about the same a s in Bangor, that we were too young.

V

e tried other place 5 and

towards nite we gave up and headed back up the track for Bangor again. "'ie slept alongside the track again that nite. During the day we discovered an

-10-

onion patch or bed near the tracks so we camped here for the rest of the day a nd the next nite.

W.a cooked onions to stretch out our grub supply. Our I went to the railroad

money was just about gone and we went back to Bangor.

station there and was washing up when a big man tapped me on the back and asked me why I was there.

I said I had been looking for a job for 4 days.

He asked mE' if I had ever worked on a farm and I said . yes" , and then he offered me a job on one of his farms near Moosehead Lake.

hod a friend outside end \iVould he hire hirr. too.

I told him I

He did and he gave me a dollar

and told us to eat and report Lack at train time.

v, hen

we arrived in Greenville he he.d

took us to a farm alJout 3 miles out.

man

Co

v,

d

Vi

ith a trotter waiting for us and

were to get $22 a month and board.

This big m6n who h)l.I.nd me in the waiting room and gave us jots was Henry

w,lkY) .

....I

-B'Otley.

•

He we s a blg man - '. -5 I

and he owned three farms and he owned

Moosehead Inn end a lumberjCJck hang -out which was called the He also had several 109Qin9 camps and he were 3 men besides the home cooking -- the home;

()y

~J")y

c:nd me.

WeS

Push and

Pvl/ "

.~

a sheriff too. At this farm there

]\!o W':lmen.

One of the men did the

and I did t IF.: regular ferm "Ncrk. Jl,fter being paid off

for the first month's worK, the home L!Oy lett,

1.. elt

I ;::tayed on -- I needed

clothes end a rifle to hunt deer.

After the home boy left, one day he beckoned to me from the edge of the woods I was glad to see him, but after he told me he had stolen

0

canoe and wented

me to go w:i1h him up Moosehead Lake, I told him what a fool he was and we

parted company again. - 11 -

HenryM-t~~sed to come out to the farm onae a week all dressed up and with diamonds on.

It was great fun for him to wrestle with a big lumberjack

there and to lead the pig chase in the pasture.

He did not look so nice when

he vvent home.

I heard of en Indian in tov./fi who had a 38.55 rifle for sale, so one night I walkea to town and bought it with 2 boxes of cartndges. practic.:ea shooting. camf,.

Every chance I get I

I had not changed my mind aJ)out working in a

log~ing

I wanted to get icr enoul,.!h back. in the woods that I could not hear a

train whistle.

The weather was

gettin'~

cold and

r had bought heavy clothes, long johns,

mackinaw, moccasins, tassel hat, socks, etc.

One day when Henry go in the woods.

,~fias ot the farm,

I told him I wanted to quit and

He first offered me a jOb at Moosehead Inn as a page-boy

telling me how nice I would have it, and explaining how tough it was in the logqing camps. .l.fter seeing I wa s determined, he told me when to see him at the Inn.

He said he wanted to sec I got a camp with a good

just starting lO9g ing opera tions 6,t

~-:. agar

Is Ie nd,

~/~oc)sehead

DOSS.

They were

Lake then.

The

log cabins had just been completed Ly a small crew and now about 10 of us, four horses, provisions, etc. went up the lakea.,out 20 miles in a big boat. boss's wife was the cook and she asked me to Le the 'cookee. first it must be a sissy job, but I soon chanyed my mind. of carrying about 20 pailS of water

Cl

I

The

thou~~ht

at

My work consisted

day from the :.;pring, cutting and carrying

the wood for 2 kitchen stoves and one big stove in the bunk house and washing

- 12 -

peelin~

the dishes,

the spuds, and a hundred other things . , t noon time I

had to carry dinner to the mr::m into the woods and ,.llild a fire and get water lfl6f;:e

the

warm

tco C'nd

'.Ip the

wa s s;ettinl.' the 'vv'der for tnc 'let:;

dct:'[ ron up to

i,;,,_ t

Cl ,.ou~ ~v

and meat,

,':!cf1S

Vl

an,} ,:;611

day -- I had

')1.1.'::

th"~

them to dinner.

I

I

'Nater in a )Jig pot on

E(:: cocke d nis hH:1C from side to sido and

en _.

C

(.~L~~~·l v'~'iH:~'1l

1 d ... (J h',-;

'lhe C00j~ KntVv

on " '-!ndays. lJul .. ,;,:,. LeV,

I juniped

Cl

I

~,-)i)~

;'1;\.';]

1::)r

i11;< LDll 11{~'1

,or.

iu n

.lIlt CdC) ;.jy

,....ciili to

! wuU", P< (il.:;:V.-l!(;,l1·'::-:.

de'''r.

waved hIS white

_.t~

r'

it I hod rnost of the day

"ittlr: UOc.:h ana tcke oH \lvith my nile.

1 m..lst teL

(-~

out

the iirst ;j('.r I Sl1ot.

I flred twice, thps tirYF:"s -- I think in his fla~1'

as I lived. I had lost my only chance and wus I that day I see two more deer tog€th0r. end down he went stone dead.

I

dIm

lout the

ovn

tJ \~,

:l'r"

shot.

on a stump, got him on my shoulders c:,nd started for a ,)rook and started to cross on a 109 and fell

In,

Ci.

IL-

ell, later n~~("rest

me

(l~m

up

le, y, reliee

m,p_

,. ,ut he

1 fE'lt llKe a

I finc::d one ,'hot at the one

,~~lnded

I had

jir,~"(::tion,

~':)-long.·

whicil is his tall and ::aid,

oit

I soon cr-me to

d,':r and ell!

This !:onked

me somewhat -- I dragged the deer to dry grmmd, left it end went to CEmp for help. The ,. ,oss sent two men >...ack with me, they dressed it

('nc~

',;ec'i,- G it in.

It was the first deer killed in the ca mp that Fall and I had th::: honor J! hbvin<;.

the first meal of deer steak -- after that, there was plenty of deer meat for every '-..ody •

- 13 -

It wa s a rough >Jut colorful kind of life. The men dressed mostly in Lright colors and the horses were always decorated with plumes, Lrass and tells, etc. and then were separated into groups, seven men and a team of horses. ::, e" t:;

.~it L>~ ,~,=eler

would put down on a j::,ulletin

the amount of logs each crew got out. at the .ott0D1

~_'i

tiie li~·t.

oicin,=- :.::Jlc;. nit ha d to :. e .en

>

c·d.

bred.

St,'\-\' thcnl~~"lVC", .J}:-

il

It was a continual struggle not to Le

Then the li()hts were iJut off at 9:00 as 8Vt''.!ryiJody

:ii"ndint..,.,

a .:larn with cattle in

in the.unk house

It you were there too often, you stood a good chance

~: f't:lrdcY :l;~Jht

t~1c:.lf

they '"ould do

an ax and

[Iii

~;oerd

they "o"dd stay up to liJ: ')0 and these . ,i~

Ji::~rn thcH

'Nltn

(lid 11c1rid stilci:

dl

on Christmi':ls

SGcks,_ oil their clothes in a

rV,2

ot

1~; Q.J

li'(E;

d~j

one would a [a;; doll,

onJ. i.e sdd that iTIcin

w[.':::'

e ttlr 01"/ [l om. l-lI'ound the First of F _, Lfuary, some 01 the men (fled 1:0 .,,€t cmoroU.s with the

threatened to shoot the lirst man wno and the

,JOSS

boke~:i.

took me to driving a team.

c'L her.

They 1I1st8,led a mC'n cook

I took this for c.;out a month end then

I swamped for a while, tended sled and other jol..ls until the cemp - 14 -

~,r0ke

up

April. The LOSS and his wife used to invite me to their caJJin in the evening and they CQuid not understand why a bOy from the city took to the woods like I did.

They were 1earful that when I was paid off for my winter work

cnc\ 1a ,lded In Creenville I would

~_,e

rOlbed, so they made me a moneYL,elt

Lnd they Soiu to trust no one.

, e had gotten out

durin~r

tne winter at'Out 4 million feet of logs and they

wr::rc Oil GnLl,,' W.~t.: now ilvlth <.1 .~oom around them.

011 -t...

oard.

we eaen rec';'.ived tr18:..cme mo~t ;)I 1\10'

I put

I tr ~F:'d

to my skin.

lor the winter - $30 a month end

m:::mey in my. elt c,nd put the

t'~'"i'2t

SO was MooseheMl lcn.

f:(':.y

'. e all started out one

'~elt

around me next

in thE Yl.; •. >: for tne ni<;:;ht there ".,ut it We S lull UO:?2nr.. of C2mps let out at the same

tim(~

end Greenville

wa::, a rnad house.

I found Henry b'lcy And he tOOK me over to the rush end

40 feet wide.

On one side thE're we

~

r'

~i.:;

. . . ar was a room they c:cdled the dec>d [(lOP,

;:1[1('j

V,lif

<:.r

i:

:\0 d the end of that

-rr thp,y threw the ITlen t!1at got

seats where every. ;)'>1 Sct and il,'atc1'f':Q the ,,," rf';f[DUC;

In the mldc.le of tbe

etc. too.

c lurn erjeck

. 11t IJO feet IGn;; tlnd

n6nqout.

of wood.

f,t1tt -

;"OOnl

.'.

was a great >.1<;'1 stove that took ci ", -root stlC' ...

It was ci notorious place knm'Vn all over the Stav::, ic ':'i.'(1s:c'ch'.!setts, v~

ell, Henry took me to a room upstairs and told

until morning and not to let anyone in.

:11'.

t()

rHcy tbere

For an hour or two I went downstairs

to see them drinkin(j and fighting and some of it was too :Jrutal to tell cuout.

- 15 -

I went to my room then, there wa s no lock on the door and the transom overhead was gOing, I barricaded the door, loaded my rifle and set up in bed all night and waited for someone to try and Dreak in.

I was left

cr.tirel,) clone though.

The next

momin~

New York.

I went to the railroad station

andjou~ht

a ticket to

I was dressed in my woods clothes, had a green duffel Lay

end my rifle.

I landed in ":';rand

c..;{~ntral

car took me within ten ulocks of home.

Station like this and the trolley I then had to walk but cy the time

I reached home, a gang of kids were following me.

in almost a year.

I",

I hadn't had a he !rcut

hen I rang the doorbell my Mother came to the door

and we had a great reunion.

- 16 -

I would lik9d to

h~ve

known more about my father and mother in

their 'younger dqys.I would liked to h'lve known all about my grandparents and their parents, and their life history. I think I have led a v"lried and eventful life and maybe some gr3.ndchill, great-grandchild or great ....great-grandchild m:::.y want to hear or read about it. I W"iS one of fourteen children born to Henrietta and Rich':l..rd Hartill.

I was the thirteenth child and the seventh son.

I was

born wi th a skin Ii ke thing over my head and f::lce that they call a hood and a veil. these.

In olden times sea capt'3.ins paid :::llot of money for

They s''!id wi th one of these 3.board, a ship had never sunk, or bl~rn

if ina house it would never

down.

;'lhen I was thirteen and

leaving home, my mother wrapped this hood emd veail in shammy cloth "ind gave them to me, ifhi ch I still have. w~s

r.-lore about thi slater.

born in north ninth street, Brooklyn, New York.

anything the re.

11hen I

TJong lsI 'lnd, !\Tew York. Castle, 3. three story b"lrns

~md

W'lS

I

I do not remember

two years old we moved to Huntington,

The house we lived in was called Bryants cmj

''lttic, r'=tIDsheckled old f'lrm house with two

a corn crib 'md qui te a few 3.cres of land.

It we,.s abl)ut

three miles from town with the ne"1re.st house about one-half mi Ie away. On the first floor

W"3.S

a big ki tchen, a big dutch oven and a big

basement in the back with a stone floor th'3.t

w~s

used as '3. refrigerator

and '3. place to store corn cobs for the kitchen stove. floor

W9.S

On the second

the parlor, the living room and a small room where I was

forbidden to go "ind where Pop kept what he called his blood helix. On the front of the second story was a porch with pillows to the ground. On the thi rd floor there were four bedrooms and then the attic ifhere the flying squi rreI1s used to play, and vlhere we stored '3.11 kinds of nuts for the winter.

There

WTj

.3.

cellar and the only +hing I can remember

s

,..

-2-

seeing there

Pops one to three b·=trrells of cider.

1JT3.S

bra of my brothers 8.nd one sister h3.d died. qamuel and Clara.

\Then I

W3-S

born

'Pheir names were Charles,

Those living \v'3re li)dison the youngest, then me,

then "Rufus, then Nary, then Leonard, then Roland, then J.Jucretia, then

~li zab.:;th,

then Victoria, then

had alre::ldy marr:i.ed

~mc! ;'.[as

J~

and the oldest Henrietta.

Ii vine; in Maspeth, Long

in a sisters nursing school and Eli zabeth

vn18

W'3.S

Isl~md.

Victoria

living wi th my grand-

p8.rents in Brooklyn, New York, my mother's father and mother. being the two youngest pl·c:.yed together. h;:lo. :his TIi ~k bottle It

W:1S

one.

qui te a

('}.I'cJ

c8.1;~mi ty

Henrietta

Ed and

1 can remember when Ed still

sometimes thre'll them out of his high chair. bect".use it vn'..f', c, long way to town to get anothe:'

By the w"'Y I am tl"O ye "rs older than Bd.

Rufus was two years older

th8l1 r-,e !md Mary was two ye'lrs older than Rufus.

Rufus and liJary were

the schol'1.rs '-'nd pl·jyec1. together and worked in school together for a great mmy yetrs unti 1 they became school principals in New york.

Rufus

who we all called Ruff and I were always locking horns together and this lasted until our grown-up days. My mother we called Marm and father we called pop.

Pop until he

was an old man was tough to live with, he liked his drink and was a poor provider.

It made it awful hard on Marro and us kids.

After living

in Huntington a few years, Len went to work for a rich lady who had a be8.utiful estate between our pl''3.ce and the village.

She sent him to

school and he had it soft I think.

Jack soon went to live in the city

and we did not see him very often.

The family at home was getting

smqller and a little easier to provide for.

My sister Elizabeth was

teaching: school in New york and durin,;; the summer vacations C'.1me to live with us.

she paid board and helped out that wa.y.

Papa Vay helped too.

They were my mother's father

~d

Mama Kay and mother.

pop was

a brass molder and had a Ii ttle foundry about one and one-half miles from where 'Ire lived.

!ts us boys got big enough to be of any help there,

we h"ld to work after school.

,,,hen I was about ten I had to pound the

-3charco3.1 'IDd rumbel c'lstings. "lnd pounding down on my on it.

ch~=trco3.l

b~re

:.rhile standing on a big iron pot:md

wi th an iron b:=tll, wi th a long handle, I C3.me

big toe

~,nd

flattenec it cut.

Pop poured vlhiskey

M'lry hauled me to school in a little wagon for about a month.

Pop always had a s:dlboat and the one I remember the best he named TIter me, "The Jefferson". be

~one

He used to drop his vlOrk at the foundry and

for up to a week in the boat.

He used to t3.ke me on some of

these trips, other times some of his friends. summer he would take the f'3mi ly and st3.y for

Once or twice each '3.

couple of days.

t\ t

that time there was wonderful camping grounds on the north shore of T:ong

I~13l1d.

T'le hqd the whole beach to ourselves.

I must have been about

eig.r~t

or nine when HoLmd built a nice

Ii ttle log c'lbin up in the woods.

It wo.s a shock to me when some

months later when Rol was not there.

Jack came home from the city

and we being short of WOOd, he tore it down and hauled it to the house.

Jack and Rol di d not get along too good in thei r YQ.unger days

and this did not help matters. took in the sportsman shows.

Roland used to like hunting and he He came home once with a new hatchet

3.nd I saw him put it under his bed.

When the coast was clear I got

it out and before long I cut my hand.

I have the scar to this day.

He used to bring home hunting and c'lll1ping scenes.

They worked on my

imaginati on and I thought some day I 'Ifould live some of those pictures. ~oone

can

ima~ine

the work Marm had to do all the wash had to be done

on scrub boards, all the sewing, cooking, baking and with so little to do with.

I remember once the yard became suddenly full of cows.

V{e

drove them in the barn and I think it was Rol who milked them before turning them loose.

Was that a helpt

had to have a horse, but Pop brouR:ht (me home at night.

w~sn't

Living out in the country we

the best judge of horses.

He once

The next morning he took Marm out to see

it and discovered it W3.S blind, he said to Marm, "get my double barrel

-4twist", that

W9-S

his shotgun and he wanted to shoot it.

he had a cribber, one that would eat the crib and stall.

Another time He took me

'.vi th him one day after pepping up this cribber to another old horse trader. ne"ll. wa~

He had almost made a swap when I threw a monkey wrench in the I said right out loud, !1He eats the crib up".

I told a thing or two!

.\11 the way home

\t about this time I remember Rufus and I

singing in the choir in the

~piscopal

Church.

I always knew that vlhen

I D;ot home M"lrm would have a big batch of home made candy wiiting.

Near

'{mas one year she was c{lled to the city by her mother who was sick. Xmas eve came and no Marm, we kids were in an awful way.

We knew who

santa Claus was and we were sure wishing she would show up.

.\t the last

minute ,vhen we "lere about to give up and go to bed, in she came wi th a big bag on her bq.ck and she had carried that over two miles from the railroad station. \vhen I was eleven years old

~d

and I were both in bed wi th the

measles Marm was the only other person in the house when the house c'3.uP."ht fire.

Marm ,got some clothes on 3d and me, sent me in one direction

and ?'d in the other for help.

Help came and some things were saved but

the house burned to the ground.

By the ,.,3.y my hood anj veil were in

the ci ty at f'/[3.ma KaY3. \.,e stayed at a neighbors for a couple of days md then rented a house at Fai rgrounds about three mi les

aw~'!y.

There was some insurance money

Marm received for the furniture lost but Pop took that and bought a motor for his boat. to go h8.nd clgming.

One day while we were out in the boat he decided ·.,e took the rowboat or tender and started off.

\Then \'ve P."ot to the spot he wanted, the water

W'J.. S

about w8.ist deep, so

he took off his pants and went over the side hanging onto the rowboat rmd treading for them wi th his b'1.re feet.

the boqt and s"tid to me,

,'1..11 at once he sprang into

"Little Buck, -that

me- I stelJped on something I thought

W:S

W'lS

the nickn'l.me he gave

a lasoo or l?crge rope, but

...

-5'~.round

when it st'lrted to wrap

my legs I knew it was a giant eel.

did not live at Fairground very long. New York quite

ne~r

it at'lll.

W8.S

It

We moved to Maspeth, tong Island,

my married sister Hetty.

\t first I did not like

rifTht in the city, but soon I le3.rned to pl:ly marbles,

tons, shineg'lll, skating, etc. I bec'''J.me that w'w too.

The boys were rough and tough and I guess

Many the b'3.d tricks we played on the chinaman,

the peanutman '3.nd lots of others. like it.

I,ve

I went to a ci ty school and did not

Rol and Len vot jobs as conductors on the trolly cars and Jack

h:ld a job as motorman.

Mary and Rufus were going to college. br~ss

Pop got a job in a then Jack ,;ot married.

foundry.

Elizabeth had been married and

Jack was a pugulist 3Ild I listened to his many

tqles of gory fi!7hts, once s'lving Pop from being beat up. time I think he is

ei~ht

and he is still full of fight.

At the pre3ent I had some

pigeons in the back yqrd and one day I let them out and that was the last I saw of them. ~'The

By this time, I belonged to a {T'lllg of boys they called

,Junnycide Gang H

•

One day in a store fight a boy got hurt bad and

was taken aW''3.Y in an ambulance.

That broke up the gang.

Two boys whose

father had a saloon ganged up on me g,nd I C8..lIle home wi th a black eye and some bruises.

When Pop see me elld heard the story he

m~rched

me to the

s"tloon and ordered the S'lloon keeper to trot out his boys one at a time for me to go to work on, but he kept them hid. think I

\.,1.8

If I remember right I

gl:ld, for I had had enough for one day.

\Alhile skating on a

pond covered with broken milk bottles I tripped and fell cutting my wrist YBX';JxEx!ixxrr:ri:xfKxx very bad.

I have had a crippled rL:ht hand every since.

The family stlrte& calling me cal8.illi ty :'3.bout then and for good reason. I used to goo barefoot and onc.e I hopped into the hOUf'le wi th '3. boar. nailed to my foot,

"nother job for

a putty blo'.ver.

f'.~arm.

\nd then I h:ld

8.

long thin tube called

I would flatten out some putty on my hmd, 3tick the end

of the t,.1be in it 3,nd blow, it I"ould someone in the f'''ce.

F~O

a long way and hurt if it hi t

I hit a man going by, he chased me3.nd I ran into

-6-

a tree with the putty blower in my mouth. mouth.

The man

After

seein~

It st uck in the roof of my

this g'1ve up the chase.

few months as a conductor Rol left for the west.

'1

He ccame

back l·;ri th glowing' accounts of Oregon and claims that were being taken up th?re. went to

B;J.t instead of going back: he and my si ster Hetty r s husb ::o,nd

ri~aine

Brunswic'{.

and made arrangements to buy a farm four miles out of

'4i th the financial help of some of the fs.rnily the farm was ]\~ama

bought and 'Rol, ?'d,

~d

summer by others. ~ol

was supposed to

IT:

<:nd I left for r'L:"ine to be followed in the

and I started to go the one room country school. ::t'ce a fortune growi nC;; pot::. toes.

''Ie had one horse

nqmed Bunganuc Bill 'md hio cows \'Thich 'ijd :md I had to le::un to milk. Th~t

S'~~9r

first

down to the

P~lst~)

I was thirteon it was the Fcurth of July and I went re to get

B~mganuc

Bill.

We were going to to'.VIl. I

tried to get him in a corner and get on his

bac~{

but he had other ideas.

He tt:rned around quick and let me have both feet knocking me for a loop, breaking my lower jaw and cutting my face very bad. home, Rol

S'1W

me coming and took me to

'1

pump to wash the blood off.

Marm saw me about this time 8.nd thought it

WSl,3

the end of me.

Bill and TNe TNent to town in a hurry to see a doctor. and on for weeks.

A good old country doctor.

my chin 'lnd around my head all summer.

I managed to walk

He worked on me off

I had a pulp support under

The only food I had was what they

vl!lllxf could pour between some teeth that were kicked out.

stqrted t

0

~o

t

0

sc h 00 1

.

a~aln.

They caught

In the fall I

Rol decided he did not The next sprin~, ~

have capital enough to buy horses and equipment to make a go of potato growing, so we just locked up the place and went back to Brooklyn. a while I started to go to school againl

Rol started to look around for

some one to finance him for another go at the farm. went back to Wline t:.1king ~d wi th him. stayed in Brookly.

Rol then

After

He found one

ane

My mother and the rest of us

-7-

Rol then bought horses, potato planter, pot~to digger, harrows, cultiv'3.tors, spr'3..yers, etc. In a couple of months I followed them to M • ,,'lIne.

Rol did the cooking, Ed and I did the outside chors, besides

washing dishes, washing our clothes and keeping the wood box full. \¥hen there wasn t t too much work -gd and I went to schoolhouse. On the way there we passed the Clark farm.

Mrs. Clark would call us

in as we passed, put an apple or cookie in our lunch box and, mend a rip in our clothes. tou,Q'h.

It

w~s

tough living and I guess nwas making me

In the summer besides the potatoes, Rol cut the hay on three

f8.rms '3nd I turned and pitched alot of hay. wortcing for himself '3.nd was going behind. ?,d '.;md I h qd to be in bed by 9 -p.r::.

Rol was never too good at He

a h'"-rd boss too.

W3..S

On a farm about two mi les tl:rough

the woods and fields from our farm there

w~s

a boy about our age who

came from a boys home and had to work for his board until he was 18. f"n Clundays after doing our chores and helping him with his, we would hunt, tr3.p and play together. before going to bed some nights

~d

To beat the 9

0 t

clockjeadline

and I would put a long pole from the

ground up to our bedroom T..rindo'o'l and after saying goodnight to Rol we would slide down the pole, join the homeboy and spend half the night ri ding horses in the pasture or rO\,ving a boat down the Bay. Then we would climb the pole back to our room. Rol never got wise to this~ 0f course, I told him about it ye,Ts later.

Another incident I must

relate.

\ girl about Rol's age from the next farm

1unday.

~t

~

. .dng 8.Ild

out

~vi th

W3..S

at our house one

the end of the house weretwo big trees and Rol had put up a

w~s

swin£,inr:- her as high as he could.

I

W'3.S

planning to skip

my 'lir rifle.\s I went out the back ')nd around the 3hed, I

could not 8ee Rol but every so often I caught a glimpse of the girl's bottom as she swung high in the air.t\fter aiming a couple of times I pressed the trigger.

I helrd her say ooch'Lnd I ran for the woods.

-8The summer I was si xteen Rol c':~lled me down for sometfng that was not my f8.ul t. the homeboy.

I told him vlhere to get off and left. 1~!e

had been tCllking about running away

I went over to see ~3.n

d this brought it

to 8. head. "Ie decided not to tell r;:d.

That night when he

to bed, he slipped out the window 'lnd joined me. had no money.

\'1e

wal'~ed

to Bruns',,,i ck 'lnd on the

north=md try to get a job in a loggingmmp. a freight train we could hop. decideed

to hop the

fir~Jt

But after

'tl'3.i

W8.S

supposedto go

I had ten dollars he 1/1'1Y

we planned to go

','Ie thought there would be ting ti 11 a bout midnig ht we

train going north.

It was a Das"3enger train

and as it pulled down the track we jumped on the rear platform of the rear coach and climbed to the roof we hung onto a ventilatrr and rode till daybreak, 'tlhen pe ople be,c,>n to next st8,tion Junction. up. I

'!Ie

see us.

1
climbed down and jumped.

t'le ran for the ne''trest

~flOods,

'tie were at Northern l\1'3.ine

found a brook and began to clean

're ':Iere covered with soot from the cO''ll b'.lrning engine.ttfter this

'"ent back found a store md got a loaf of bread and sandwich meat.

T'fe felt better!

Someone told us that if we went to Bangor which

W3,S

about ten miles they ,jere hiring men for the woods and we could get a job. ~o 'tie

set off on foot down the tr'lc ks w3.l king the rai lroad ties.

This

gets tireRome for you have to keep your eyes on the ties every moment, for each step is differer:t. agency.

'.'Then we got to Bangor we went to the amployment

That washiring men for the woo::s, but after lookingus over and

as:dng questi ons, they said we \. . ere too young.

They 9.lso

s~c;,id

if we went

on to Old Town which vias about ten miles d:. wn the track we would be sure of getting a job, for they werehirine everybody that came along for the woods. So we set out once more down the track. came on. wack.

l.,e had not gone far when night

llle gathered some wood h '3-d something to eat and slept alongside the

-9~le

TIle got into Old Town about noon the next dayl rrent '3Jrency. YCl'mg.

went to the

e~ploy­

They told us about in Bangor and they also sai d we were too

'.ve tried other pl,""ces and toward night

up the track for Bangor.

,re s~ept

It.Je

gave up and headed back

alongside the track ag3.in.

During the

'ay we discovered an onion bed or patch near the track so we camped here for the rest of the day and the next night. out our grub sup-ply. Bangor.

:'/e cooked ani ons to stretch

nur money was ju:;t about gone when \-,e ,q;ot back to

I went into the

railro~d

station and waR washing up when a big

m'3.n tappedme on the bac:( and 3.s1{ed me what and ,vhy I \va::; there. had b'?en

looking for a job for four days.

He

asl~ed

I said I

me if I had every

wor~(ee

on a farm, I said yess and then he offered me a job on one of his farms near

1',7oosehead

him too.

I/'l,ke.

I told him I had a f:::-i end outsi de a.YJ.d

~¥O

uld he hi re

He did 'IDd he gave me a doli'3.r and told us to e'Clt and report back

at tr"lin time.

l·Then we arrived in Greenville he had a man vIi th a tr.:tter ~le~'

wai ting for us 'md took us to a fa.rm about three miles out. get "t22. 00 a month '3.na board. and ,c;ave us jobs

This big man who found me in the wai ting room

Henry Bartley.

\'I)'S

wereto

He was 6 ft. 5 owned three farms,

Moosehead Inn and thelumber jack hang-out called The Push and Pull. MmmKI!NRxJi:xfNx

He also h ':1d sever:=tl logging camps and was shertff.

'l.t this farm there 'vere three men resides the homeboy '.wd me, no women one of the m8n cHithe coo1.cing.

'1'heh:lmeboy and I did resulg,r farm work.

1.fter 'being -rni1 for the first months work thehomeboy left, but I stwed on. I nee1ed clothes l,nd a rifle to hunt deer.

.-\ few days a1 ter the homeboy

left, he beckoned to me from the edge of the woods.

1

was

glad to see

him b1lt after he told r'le he had stolen a cmoe 2nd wanted me to go wi th him up ;';loosehe:CO).d i/},ke.

1

told him what a fool he w'3s'3.nd we parted company again.

HenrYtF::trtley used to come out t and wi th dilmonds on.

1

,j

the farm once

3.

week all dressed up

twas gre'1.'t fun for him to wrestle 1,1i th a big

lumberjack there and to lead in the pig ch8.se in the pastv.re.

<-ie did not

-10100 <:: '1

SO ni ce 1,-Then he ':'I'en thorne.

38':'55 rtfle for,ile,

on~

:.10

ti-vO boxes of c3.rtridges.

I heard of an Indi an in town who h?,d ni ::;ht I w:ll\:8J tJ

lognjng camp.

'1

enou.t','h b'lck in the woods thqt I could not he'ir '1T'~~S

I 11

w~~nted

to get far

tr:J.in whistle.

The

R;8tting coLi qnd I had bouo.:h t he'lVY clothes, long Johns,

m'1c 'dn nv, mocc). 'ino, t:3.::;,s,?l h'_'l.t, socks, etc. r

Ttl'3-S

it 1,>/i t1

'1]very chance I practiced shooting. I hadnot

changed my mind about working in

we 'lther

tQ~';:n9l1d bQu~ht

So one d3.y when Henry Bgrtley

'1,t th? f8.rm I told him I ,,,anted to quit an! go into the woods.

fi rst offe <'ed me

job in 1\looseheld Inn

8.

'?c3

q

He

page boy telling me how

nice I woul:J {] 'we i t:md explaining how tough it wa3 in the logging CE ps. But after seeing I was determined, he told me 'N'hen t) see him 3.t the Inn. Re

s~dd

he wanted to see I got in

starting

'-1

b~dn

completed by a sma 1 crew

four horses, pr,visi ons ett:. bOG

cr>cmp with a good boss.

They ',vere just

logging operation on :3ugar Island,Mos3ehead IJake,

cabins had just

'{he:'

'1

es wife

·""''3.S

w~nt

The log

nd now about ten of us,

up the 1'1.ke about 20 miles on a big boat.

the cook 3.nd she !l::3kedme to be the cookie. I thought

at first it mU"1t be a sissy job, but I soon ch8l1ged my minj.

My work

consisted of carryin c- about twenty pails of vFlter a d'J.Y from a

spring,

c·;ttin"!, 'lnd c'lrrying in the wood for two ki tchen stoves and one big stove in peeling spuds etc.

md at noon time I had to carry the mens dinner

into the woods, b'.lild a fire get w"tter, m"tke the tecl, and meat'nd call the men to dinner. tea one d q,y,

.l

I

WiS

iyj"rID

1

b::mq

getting the water for the

had the "F'tter in a bi g pot on my shoulder.

noise coming tm.,'3,rd me.

IIp the

I he3.rd a

stopped and a big buck deer ran up to about

thi rty feet of !Le .-Ie cocked his he'l.d from si de to si de an d sniffedthe air, the ',..,in(:1 .... e

h~d

W'-1G

blowing from him to me and he could not s'TIell me •

big antlers I got a Ii ttle nervo'J.S and moved a Ii ttle3.nd when

I did he took for the t''ll1 timber.

The cook knew I liked to hunt and

she see to it I had most of the d:y off :3undays.

I would p::ick a Ii ttle

-11-

lunch smn t'lke off vii th my rifle.

I h3.d q,).i te

3.

few :3.dventures.

I

must tell g,b0ut the fi rst deer I shot .\bout the second Sunday Clfter .c-ettin'!, in c 'mp I struck out 'lnd I h:'3.d not ,'Sone f'1.r when I jumped a deer I fired once, twice, three times, I think in his direction, but he w'lved his whi te fl3.g which ,>las his tail and said so long. like the little boy the dog ran over. deer as long as I lived.

I felt

I figured I'd never see another

I had lost my only chance and W3.S I a bumshot.

\"e I I later that d "ly I see two more deer together I fi red one shot at the ne3.rest me 311.d1own he i'lent stone dead.

I pounded over to where he lay

rolled him up on a stump, got him on my shoulders and started for

C'~lI'p.

I soon c~me to a brook, st~rted to cross on a long, fell in deer and all. This sobered me somewhat. I dragged the deer to dry land left it and went to camp for help. c'"~rried

it in.

The boss sent two men back with me, they dres3ed it and

It

W"-ic;

the fi rst deer ki lIed in thi s camp that fall and

I had the honor of h3.ving the fi rst IDe"ll of deer steak. was 3.1ways It

W~tS

ple:~ty '.1.

After that there

of deer meat for everybody.

rough but colorful kind of life.

The men dres3ed mostly in

brLCTht colors '1nd the horses were always decor'lted wi th plumes and brass ana bells. horses.

The men were sep:3.r'3.ted into groups of seven men :md a team of

~ach

night the scales would put up on a bulletin board in the

bunk house the

3m

ount of logs each crew got out.

There was

3.

continual

struggle not to be at the bottom of the list, for if you were there too often,you stood a good chance of being told off and fired. week the lights were put out at nine bed.

0'

During the

clock 'md everybody had to be in

But Saturd'ly nLght they could stay up till 10 o'clock and these big

chumps would dance, play D;ames and act like a bunch of kids.

Sundays

they would do their mending, darn their socks and boil their clothes in a big pot to kill the lice. themselves with

~n

I have seen these men when they had cut

axe, sew themselves up with an over hand stitch like

one would a rag doll.

I don't rememberleeing rmy infections.

At

Christmas time they sent in a barrel of apples and some candy and there

-12W'lS

'3. p;re'-~,t

ce Ie brati on.

\round the first of February some of the men

tried to get '1rmorous r,vi th the cook and the boss and his wife moved into a smA-II c'lbin by themselves 3.nd he threatened to shoot the first man who looked at her. a team.

~hey

instqlled a man cook and the boss put me to driving

I did this for about

~

month and then I swamped, tended shed and

other jobs till the bre'lk up of C3.mp l\pril first. used to invite me to their cabin in the evening. why a boy from the ci ty tool.:: to the woods.

The boss and his wife T hey could not understand

They Ivere fearful that when I

was paid off for my winters '\>lork and landed in Greenville I would be robbei, so ''1he m"lde me 1~le

'1

n:oney belt cmd they said to truJt noone •

all w3.lked the twenty miles 1:J.cross the ice to Greenville.

recei ved to S:3.me pay for the winter

~30.

00 a month and board.

\'le all

I put the

most of the money in my belt and put it around me next to my skin. to get in the Y. M. Inn.

c.

A.. for the night but it w::.s full, so was

I tried

~1oosehe3.d

noz;ens of camps h3.d let out at the s "lllle time and Greenvi lIe was a

madhouse.

I found Henry BC1.rtley g.nd he took me over to the Push and Pull,

a lumber j'iCl( hwg-out; He found me a room upstairs and told me to stay there till morning and not let anyone in.

But for an hour or two I went

downstairs to see them drinking and fi£'hting. to tell about.

W')S

too br:Jtal

I went to my room, there was no lock on the door, and the

transom overhe :"d was gone. up in bed all night entirely alone.

Some of it

w~:d

I bqrricaded the door, loaded my rifle and S8.t

ting for someone to try and break in.

I was left

The next morning I went to the railroad station and

bought a ticket for New York.

I

green dufflebag wd my ri fIe.

I 131lded in the Gr:'md Centr::.tl Statit,m Ii ke

this.

WiS

dressed in my woodsclothes, had a

A trolly car took me to within ten blocks of home.

I then had to

w'11kmd by the time I reached home a gang of kids were follmving me.

I h'1d tnt h'3.c. a

h~_1,ir

cut in almost a year.

mother came to the door.

When I rang the doorbell my

t,.,e had a great reunion.

-13,\t home there were my brothers, I<}d :3Jld Rufus 3.nd my sisters Mary They took alvay my woods clothes, had my hair cut and

and Lucretia.

'vi thin t'N'enty-four hours h3.d me in school. drap~ed

teaching and they

f'1,mily w'::tS principal.

Wiry 3.nd Rufus w'ere both

me off to their school where a friend of the l~st

I W·::l.S inst'liled in the

graie in the grammer

school -onc tolo I'd h3.ve to graduate in four months.

At the first recess

I had 3. scrqp in the basement and ':It noontime 3.nother.

I had my fill of

ki ds and school 'm d m9,de up my mind to go back to Maine, or :'it least as far as Boston where somehow I found out the homeboy I ran off with was working.

I told noone but my mother and giving her most of my money to

mind, ,..,i th my ,.;oo:)clothes in the bag, I took for the boat for Boston. I had no trouble finding Tom - stevens the homeboy - He was working but did not like his job::md \vhen I said I w}.s going to Maine he s':lid he was going wi th me.

He h:l,d an idea he could go back to the farm there and

this time get paid. to Brunswick. we "I,nl teed

It

tow~lrd

"1":).3

We took the train to Portland 3nd then the trolley ten

0'

Bunganuc.

clock at night when we pot in Brunswick -:tnd I had m:lde up my mind to stop 3. t Mrs. Cl3.rks.

'T1here were no li!?hts intny of the houses I-lhen we got near Bunganuc, so we went dmm in Cl3.rk' S \'loods, built tree

stayed all night.

~md

remember.

:'1

Ii ttle fi re put our backs to a

That's one of the c ampfi res I wi 11

The next morning Tom struck out for

.~llie

~1.1ways

's farm and I went

up to Clarks'.

Th9,ts the last time I ever see Tom.

rip;ht to home.

I cut ten cor:is of wood for them, by that timeTom had

left

~lliets

the job time

and Alley called to see if I would work for him.

~14.00

helpin~

I took

per month and board and stayed with him till after fair

with his stock at three fairs.

pay me for my 13.st months ·work. He knew how to hgndle kids. up north.

The Clarks made me

Because I quit he would not

I lrind of liked Alley in spite of this.

The woods were c'111ing me ag dn and I struck

-14I stopped 'lt F lirfield "md got a job in a big saw mill, was paid ~lO.OO

per week and paid

'~4.00

per week bO:"'1,rd.