CITY OF DUBOIS Page 25
weather were good these log heaps could be reduced to ashes in a
week's time.
It required the daily attention of the owner to shove the logs
together to keep
them burning.
After the log heaps were burned, the clearing had to be raked, to
gather up
the small material such as chips, small limbs and rotten wood that
had not been
previously consumed, and this material was piled up into small heaps
and burned.
After the clearing was thoroughly prepared, the wheat was sowed
broadcast, and the process of the shovel plow commenced. This plow
was an
awkward arrangement having a beam, an upright piece attached upon
the
underside, upon which an iron shovel was placed at the base, and two
handles
fastened to the beam and extending back of the plow about two feet.
It dug a
furrow from two to three inches deep, throwing the ground out and
covering the
wheat. If the horse or ox hitched to the plow walked too fast the
plow jumped
from root to root and sideswiped the operator, hitting him any place
from the
hips to the shoulders. The operator was rarely a profane man, but if
there had
been any one near who was a mechanical swearer, he would try to get
as close to
him as possible during this operation.
It will be remembered that this land was covered with a very dense
growth
of timber, and after all of the labor of pulling the logs out from
between the
stumps and piling them into heaps, it is possible that one third of
the ground
was covered with stumps and dead trees.
The next process was that of fencing. The Legislature of
Pennsylvania, so
far back as 170o, passed a law requiring the farmer to fence his
land with a
rail or log fence at least five feet high set close to the ground.
If he did
not build a fence, he could not recover damages from his neighbors
for their
cattle, hogs or sheep trespassing on his fields.
This law remained in force until some time in 1880, and probably
would
still be the law if the railroads had not been given the right of
eminent
domain to pass through peoples' lands.
The railroad was compelled to pay the owner of the lands for the
damage
done to him. For a long time the railroads were able to persuade the
jurors of
the community that they were a blessing to the country and that the
man whose
land was invaded by them was so profited that he should be willing
to give up
his property to these benevolent concerns free of charge. Of course
the time
came when the average juror commenced to discover that a railroad
station might
be five or six miles from the farm residence, and this plea failed.
Finally
some foolish lawyer discovered that fencing would be an element of
damage. The
railroad, not being able to deny that land had to be fenced,
discovered that
the farmer was having more money invested in fences than his land
was worth and
they promptly went to the Legislature of the State of Pennsylvania,
presented
their bill and the law went through with a whoop. It is to be noted
that
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