by Richard M. Beloin (Author)
The Story........ A wagon train hired US Marshall and a college trained agronomist decide to play the part of a married couple to allow a single female an easier passage to the 1000 miles to Idaho. For weeks they learned how life was on a wagon train as Cole worked as a scout looking for known outlaw gangs. Each night Tess would present the facts about growing vegetables, especially potatoes in Idaho, as Cole saw the end of wagon trains, and got interested in vegetable farming. At the same time, the Duo fell in love. After finally bringing the Barber gang to justice, The Duo made plans to leave the train. Having made friends with the Pulaskis, a family of farmers with four teenage boys, they hired them to operate their farm in Idaho once they arrived. To prepare for their arrival, the Duo took the train and covered the last 500 miles in 24 hours. Once there they bought a ranch with buildings and land. They then purchased workhorses, implements, old manure piles; as they arranged for building a hay, implement, and potato shed. When the Pulaskis arrived in mid-July, they were given the goal of cultivating and fertilizing 400 acres out of harvested hay fields by Oct 1st. By April 1st they planted potatoes, sugar beets, carrots, onions, and turnips. After a summer of maintaining the crops, the fall harvest arrived. Over the years, they expanded the crop acreage and became wealthy, as all their workers prospered and the next generation stayed on.