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Salter, George H., 1826-ca. 1906 / Papers, ca. 1896-1913, 1965
Call Number, Stevens Point SC 60
[George Salter Memoirs], pp. [1]-34
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-12- was too much and said he would look around and see what he could do for us. He was not gone five minutes before a farmer had just come in with a load of wheat and said that he lived about four miles from Geneva and he would take us there for six dollars and give us our dinner. You bet I soon made a bargain with him so we settled up with the landlord and were soon on the road. I learned a good deal about Wisconsin and about farming and wages. When we got to his place we sat down to the best dinner since I left the Island of Guernsey. He showed me all over his farm and his stock and said he was poor when he came there ten years ago and now he did not owe anybody a cent. He had one hundred and sixty acres of land and owed for the land when he went on it. He had no team nor anything to do with and had to hire everything done as he had no wife for two years after he had been there. He said that he worked around for other farmers and turned in and they helped him break up some land and got some crops in . Then he said he thought he was allright and then he worked one month for a cow. He had to go and show us the cow and said that he was going to keep here as long as she lived, that no money would buy her from him so we started after dinner and got to Geneva about five o'clock. One of the brothers lived in town so we soon found him and he took us to the hotel and he and his brother had to talk things over all about how he got along in coming and where were the children. He told him he did not know what he would have done if it had not been for Mr. Salter and wife. They had not enough money to leave New York if it had not been for me so the next day was Sunday, we walked all around Geneva and saw a lot of English folks. I began to feel like myself once more so at night there was about twenty men and their wives. I tell you we had a big time of it, telling stories and all about England. I told them that I did not know much about England as I had not been there, only as I cam through to come to this country since 1843 and how here it is 1852. Then I had to tell them all about my poaching and how I got along on the Islands and there was a Welchman by the name of Jones, a blacksmith. he heard me say that I had worked in a shoeing smith's shop and he came and asked me if I could shoe a horse. I told him I could clinch a horseshoe and he said to come down to his shop in the morning and see him. i inquired about him. They say he was a good mechanic but would have his sprees once in a while. I went down to the shop in the morning and there was an old man by nam of Rutter. He asked me if I was a blacksmith. I told him I was not but I had worked at it some. He said that he and Jones were in company and they wanted a helper. He thought I would be just the man for them as they had so much to do with winter coming ringt along. I asked him where Mr. Jones was. He said that his wife was sick but he would go and call him so he came. He said that Mr. Rutter thought if you could use the sledge and clinch up horses we could get along without hiring another blacksmith if we could agree on the wages. I told them that I did not know anything about wages. I asked them what they were willing to give me because I had a wife to keep so Mr. Jones said that I should come down this evening and they two would talk the matter over and bring my wife with me. So me and wife went down to Mr. Jones just as they were going to supper and so we had to sit down with
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