Семья Хадсон обменяла старого осла на нового в Эллерби за символические 25 долларов

I mentioned before that in the early 1900s, several different families lived on Sugarloaf Mountain along the Pee Dee River in Richmond County. One of these families was the John Reynolds family. Mr. John’s land bordered the Hudsons’ land on one side. Both families made their cash money from raising cotton. Mr. John was known for being a strong, robust type of character. Why, if’en you needed something moved or picked up, he was your go-to man. Folks said that he could pick up two 100-pound sheets of cotton all at one time and throw them into a wagon. The story goes that one fall day, after Mr. John had picked his cotton and had it ginned and baled, he and his son were taking a bale to sell at the Cotton Exchange in Rockingham on a two-horse wagon. This trip would take them all day, especially since, after getting paid for their cotton, they did some shopping at the local hardware and dry goods stores. Why, before they left Rockingham, they had just about filled their wagon with supplies. In the early 1900s, rural roads could be very hazardous to travel, even at the slow speeds of a wagon. Why, there could be deep sand beds, mudholes, creeks to ford, trees in the road and even large rocks to go over or move. You had best have an axe, a pry bar and a shovel along when you were traveling. Well, Mr. John and his son made it just about all the way home to Sugarloaf before running into a little trouble. About a mile or less from home, while going up the steep hill onto Sugarloaf, the wagon ran across a large rock buried in the road. This caused the back wheel to come off. The wheel then rolled down one of those steep ravines, hit a tree at the bottom and burst into pieces. It was getting on toward dark, but all this commotion didn’t bother Mr. John, not nary-a-bit. He just jumped down off the wagon, got hold of the wagon axle, picked up the back of the wagon and told his son to drive on home. Now, folks, Wheaties hadn’t been invented then, so there must have been something in that river hill water. Well, getting back to the Willie Hudson family, they also sold their cotton in Rockingham, and since they bought Patches Pa’s farm, they had several more bales of cotton to haul to town. Buying the extra farm allowed the Hudsons to have two mules. The mule that came with the farm was getting old and slow. Why, when Mr. Hudson first plowed with the old mule, it would stop at the end of a row and wouldn’t move for about five minutes. Willie explained to his Pa that the old mule was trained to do that because Patches Pa would take a break when he got to the end of each row. But as time went on, the old mule got so slow that the buzzards would start circling overhead, thinking the old mule was going to die anytime. It was plain to see that the Hudsons were going to have to have another mule! At breakfast one morning, Mr. Hudson told Willie to hook up the younger mule to the smaller wagon and just tie the old mule to the back. He said, “We are going to Ellerbe and trade for another mule this very day.” The town of Ellerbe was about an eight- to 10-mile ride from Sugarloaf, and it could take just about a full day to travel back and forth. A little history on Ellerbe: In the early 1900s, Ellerbe was a boomtown. People were moving around the area to farm, raise peaches and visit the resort at Ellerbe Springs. Around 1912, a railroad spur reached downtown. This allowed products and supplies to be shipped in or out of Ellerbe. Also, about every three months, several train cars of mules would come into town. A barn and large corral to keep the mules in were built right behind where the Pure station is today. These mules were sold or traded to the many local farmers. The day before Willie and his Pa got to Ellerbe, there had been a big shipment of fresh mules unloaded from the train. The next day, farmers from all over were admiring and looking over the new mules, including the Hudsons. As the Hudsons were looking, the local stockman asked if he could help them with a mule. Just wanting to play it cool, Mr. Hudson said, “We are just looking around.” Finally, Willie’s Pa picked one out and asked Willie what he thought. Willie said, “Well, we are going to need a mule, so see how the man will trade.” After they got the stockman back over there, Mr. Hudson asked the man if he knew anything about this particular mule. The man said, “Well, we hooked it to a sled, and it pulled two 200-pound bags of fertilizer with ease and didn’t balk, but we never hooked it to a plow.” “How can you trade this mule of mine for your mule?” Mr. Hudson asked the stockman. The stockman looked Mr. Hudson’s mule all over, even looked in his mouth, and said, “Sir, this mule of yours hasn’t got two feet in the grave but all four, and I can’t allow you very much. Really, what would you be willing to give me difference? A good mule is bringing anywhere from $100 to $300 apiece.” Mr. Hudson kicked a few rocks around and looked at Willie. Willie whispered, “$25,” and that’s what Mr. Hudson offered the man. Why, that price wasn’t anywhere close, but in the end, the Hudsons went home with the new mule. Mr. Hudson told Willie, “Boy, don’t you ever tell anyone what we had to give for this here new mule.” Next week, hopefully, we will find out what kinda trade the Hudsons made on their new mule.