Orphan Boy by R. J. Milne, Jr. - Poplar, MT

Wednesday, 22 January 2014

Item details

City: Poplar, Montana
Offer type: Sell
Price: $10

Contacts

Contact name R. J. Milne, Jr.

Item description

At the age of eleven (1915) I was put on a train to Poplar, Montana, where I worked numerous farms and ranches around the area.

Introduction

I was shifted for several years among relatives, and, once, at around eight years old, was given to strangers who wanted me for chores. When I neared eleven years of age, one of my uncles put me on a train, alone, going far westtoward another uncle living in Montana.

At twelve, I struck out on my own, working numerous farms and ranches, laboring hard from sunup until sundown. Jobs were scarce during the winters. So I rode the grub line, many times going hungry, cold and always no place to call home. If I was fortunate to find work, I labored in freezing conditionssome days twenty below.

By seventeen, I was a full-fledged ranch and farmhand. I could do any part of the roundups, even castration. I harvested fields encompassing Poplar, Montana, throughout Kansas and into Canada. I burrowed deep down in copper mines at Butte, Montana, while underage; and within a year, advanced to blasting. I rode many rails and kinds of trains when roaming; wherever the locomotive stopped, I hopped off and did chores, in or near town.

Orphan Boy by R. J. Milne, Jr. available at Amazon.