DECEMBER 1887

Thu. Dec. 1st. Bright and cold in morn but no frost or ice. Wind from S and warmer in eve. I took 190 pds of seed cotton (the last) on cart to Cohen's and sold to them at 2 cts and got a glass pitcher, butter dish, and a set of cups and saucers for Nellie and 1/2 pd of tea, and 2 pr brown socks for myself and paid for all. I returned at 1 and put up a shelf in kitchen for Nellie and measured up 8 bushels potatoes for Dr. Magruder to carry tomorrow.

Fri. 2nd. Dark and cloudy all day from SE and dropped rain several times but not enough to wet anything. I took the 8 bushels of potatoes to Dr Magruder in morn and got the 2 bbl corn which Eliza owes me for meat and the one that Mahalia owes at Surgett's and returned at 1 1/4 and Willie and I hauled 3 cartloads wood from pasture late in eve.

Sat. 3rd. Cloudy and sprinkled rain several times through day from S and warm. Willie and I went hunting (for opossum) just before day in back corner of our field and scared a turkey from roost and hunted for it till after sunrise and went back again after breakfast and hunted again but didn't find it. I fixed old J's stable door and cleaned out young J's stable at 10 to 11 1/2 and washed my hair by 12. Willie and I walked to Pa's in eve and I altered 3 hogs for them.

Sun. 4th. Cloudy all day and rained in showers all day from W. All of us home all day. I walked to Mr. Sims' at 9 to 10 1/2 and got some books and papers.

Mon. 5th. Bright and pleasant, wind from NE. Willie and I moved all of long rick of cane out of patch and put 800 stalks in 1 rick and stripped the balance, about 400 or 500 and covered it up by barn with fodder and tops and covered a part of the 800 rick with dirt and drove up cows late in eve. Willie went hunting in eve and Nellie and Rena went to Clara's.

Tue. 6th. Bright but cloudy some and pleasant in morn. Showered rain some in eve from W and through the night. I finished covering rick of red cane with dirt and put all of Creole into 1 rick and put some cane fodder on it by 12 and covered all of cane stubbled (14 rows) with old J and plow with running 6 furrows to a row in eve.

Wed. 7th. Cloudy and warm, rained in showers from SW with some thunder most of morn and till 2 in eve. I put boards around all of pecan trees between front gate and big road at 10 to 12. Willie and I hauled 3 cartloads of wood from pasture in eve.

Thu. 8th. Cloudy but bright some from W and pleasant. Tigner and Mary came to Pa's on day before yesterday and Nellie and I started to Pa's in morn but saw Mary, Tigner and Dan by Paine's house going to town and we came back. Willie and I hunted till 12 and most of eve for out 4 young sows and I saw them at sunset in our field.

Fri. 9th. Cloudy and cool from NW all day. I rode young J to Cohen's and got some things that I paid for and returned at 11 1/4. Willie and I hauled 4 cartloads of wood from our pasture in eve.

Sat. 10th. Cloudy and cool from NW. I carried 9 chickens (young ones) in cart to Cohen's and got 22 1/2 cts a piece for them and got some things and brought old Mr. Stacey home with me on cart. After dinner I took him to Mr. Vaider's on buggy and Willie and I got up Pearl late in eve.

Sun. 11th. Cloudy all day but bright some and quite cool from N. Nellie and Rena rode old J to buggy and Dixie rode Fanny and Willie rode old Pearl and I rode young J and went to Sunday School and brother Brown preached at Methodist church in town and we got home at 2. Dan and Dick here in eve awhile and brought us some beef.

Mon. 12th. Cloudy some but bright and cool wind from NE. Willie and I drew up dirt (which had been plowed last week) on 8 rows of cane stubble by 11 1/2 in morn with hoes. Aunt Tilda dined here (and Bill). Willie and I hunted most of eve for our 4 shoats and found them at dusk at lower end of big Cane hollow.

Tue. 13th. Cloudy and chilly and began to rain slowly from E at 11 and lasted all eve and most of night with some thunder at night. Willie, Gus and I hunted our 4 shoats till 11 but didn't find them. Gus dined here and was here all eve. I fixed top to molasses pitcher and mended Nellie's shoes (sewed them up) in eve.

Wed. 14th. Cloudy and cool from N all day. Gus, Willie and I found our 4 shoats toward Elmwood, caught them and tied them and hauled them home on the cart with old J by 2 1/2. We ate dinner at 3 and we were very tired and I put the pigs all in a pen and I paid Gus a dollar for helping us. Dan here at 11 1/2 to 4.

Thu. 15th. Cloudy and cool from N all day and began to rain slowly from there at 4 in eve and lasted till late in night. Willie and I found and hauled home a full cartload of pine from in field by 11 and I split up a pile of it by 12. Nellie rode Pearl and I rode young J to Pa's in eve. Pa is very unwell.

Fri. 16th. Cloudy and began to drizzle from NE at 10 in morn and lasted all day and all night. Dixie rode young J, Willie rode Pearl and Seymour rode Minnie and I drove old J to buggy and started to Tigner's all but me - I started to town - and we got to 3 miles past and rain began and we came back home by 11. Willie and I cut and hauled 5 cartloads of wood from our new ground in eve.

Sat. 17th. Cloudy all morn, bright in eve and cold from N. Willie rode Pearl and I rode young J to town in morn and back by 12. I got some medicine for Pa in morn and sent it to him by Willie in eve. I covered a rick of red cane with dirt in eve and had a dull headache all day in left side in morn and in right side all eve and night.

Sun. 18th. Bright and a freeze in morn but warmer from E in eve. Dixie and Rena drove old J to buggy, and Willie rode Pearl to Sunday School and back by 12 1/2. Nellie and I stayed home. I suffered all last night and this morning with headache and vomited twice this morning. I walked to Mr. Sims' at 8 1/2 to 10 and got some books. Lewis, Mary and West here all eve.

Mon. 19th. Cloudy and began to rain slowly at 7 1/2 and got harder at 8 1/2 and lasted all day from SE. Willie and I covered 2 rows of cane stubble with hoes by 8 1/2 and rain stopped us. I sat in house most of day on account of rain.

Tue. 20th. Bright and very cold from N. I rode young J to Cohen's in morn and got sales of last bale of our cotton ginned which weighed 502 pds and sold for 12 3/4 and netted me $60.49 - the first 2 bales shipped not sold yet. I returned at 10 and Willie and I brought some wood and put on pot of water by 12 and Willie, Rena and I killed and cleaned 2 of shoats in eve. Briscoe brought 11 bbls of cotton seed and got 120 stalks of cane late in eve.

Wed. 21st. Cloudy and very cold, N wind and frozen all day. I carried out most of the 2 shoats on cart and sold $7 worth for money and 175 for corn and brought back our hind quarter and got a bbl flour on credit for $5.50. I returned at 1 1/2 and brought some wood and took up manure in eve.

Thu. 22nd. Cloudy and very cold - frozen and dropped rain and sleet most of day. Nellie and Willie went on buggy and I rode old J to town at 9 1/2 to 3 and got things for Christmas. It rained late in eve - froze and covered everything with ice.

Fri. 23rd. Cloudy and everything covered with ice. It began to rain again at daylight and lasted all day and all night. All of ice melted by night. Willie and I packed up some stove wood and cut it up and I cut about 3 cartloads of wood in back of new ground by 10 and rained stopped me. I sat in house most of eve.

Sat. 24th. Cloudy and began to rain at daylight and lasted till 8 and then began to sleet and snow and lasted till 1 1/2. I hauled 3 cartloads of wood from back of new ground in rain by 9 and walked all over field and got up young J and rode her to Cohen's at 10 1/2 to 1 1/2 in snow and got some things and got $2.05 worth on credit. I started to Pa's to carry some coffee, sugar and flour but creek was up and I didn't cross and came back. I suffered all day with pain and soreness in front jaw and had fever and suffered all night and couldn't sleep.

Sun. 25th. Cloudy and chilly - S wind all morn and bright in eve. None of us went to Sunday School. Dixie and Rena went to Mr. D's in morn and Willie, Nellie and I at home all morn. Nellie went to her Pa's in eve and Willie and I walked to Pa's and led old J and carried the coffee, sugar and flour which I got on yesterday to them. My jaw is better today though it ached some all day and I was feverish and felt bad all day.

Mon. 26th. Cloudy some but bright and cool from W. Dixie and Rena spent the day at Mr. D Chambers. I hauled 4 cartloads of wood from our pasture by 11 1/4 in morn. Willie is nearly sick with cold. I walked to Sims' in eve and got some books and he gave me part of bottle of whiskey and we had an eggnog late in eve. My jaw is better today. I was very feverish and sweated good deal. I slept but little at night.

Tue. 27th. Cloudy some all day but bright till late in eve and began to shower from SW and lasted till in night sometime and turned cold from N. Willie and I cut up about 4 cartloads of wood, mostly gum on E side of new ground, outside and threw it inside by 10 in morn. Pa came then and Bud at 11 and here till late in eve.

Wed. 28th. Bright, nearly clear and cold from N. I rode young J to town at 8 to 12 1/2 in morn and got some things and found out that they were going to postpone Sunday School supper. Cousin Tom W came here from Mr. D's in morn and left at 5 in eve. I hauled 4 cartloads of wood at 3 1/4 to 5 in eve.

Thu. 29th. Cold and cloudy some all day. A hard freeze in morn and ice all day - wind from E. Horace came early in morn and we killed last 2 sow shoats from pen and lst of my hogs and got through with them by 12. I took 1 of them on cart in eve to Surgett's and sold out all but 2 hams at 7 cts - some for corn.

Fri. 30th. Cloudy, chilly and a slight freeze in morn but warmer late in eve from SE. I took cart to Surgett's and sold the 2 hams left on yesterday for $1.60 in money and got 2 1/2 bbls corn from Eliza and 3 1/2 from Bill Hemit which was owing for meat and returned at 10 1/4. I cut up and salted down the shoat which we saved to eat in eve and packed up and cut up some stove wood late in eve.

Sat. 31st. Cloudy all day and showered most of morn and we had a very hard shower at 12 1/2 to 2 and again after dark with some wind and thunder fro


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