Mr. Pardee had bought a piece of land for a Mr. Clapp, of Peakskill, New
York, and was agent for the same. He said the south end of this land was
openings. It was about one mile from our place, and Mr. Pardee offered to
join with father and put corn on it, accordingly, we went to see it.
There was some brush, but it was mostly covered with what we called
"buffalo grass," which grew spontaneously. Cattle loved it very much in
the summer, but their grazing it seemed to destroy it. It soon died out
and mostly disappeared, scrub-oak and other brush coming up in its place.
Mr. Pardee and father soon cleared five or six acres of this land, and
with the brush they cut made a light brush fence around it, then tore up
three or four acres and planted it with corn. The soil was light yellow
sand. When the corn came up it was small and yellow. They put in about
two acres of buckwheat. A young man by the name of William Beal worked
for Pardee. He helped to tend the corn. One morning, as they were going
up to hoe the corn, William Beal took his gun and started ahead; this he
frequently did very early. He said, when about half way to the corn, he
looked toward the creek and saw a black bear coming toward him.
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