IMH 74:4 334

"Chronicles of Upper Burnet" (1)

Wednesday, October 20th.

Father went off to Mrs. Crone's again this morning. Alvin and I went down and hauled wood across the creek
as I did last Wednesday. We also helped Hand's boys a little with their logs. Alvin came back to the house and
dug some more sweet potatoes but I hauled till noon. After dinner, Alvin and I went to digging Irish potatoes
immediately below the house. The yield was small, about three bushels of eatable potatoes for the afternoon's work.
Father got home about three o clock. Bill Hand came to the house at the same time having finished his tree and got
some meal. Father worked at the stable till night. The day was a good deal warmer but there was the hardest frost
of the season this morning. Jake39 was here awhile this forenoon but on what errand was not discovered.

Teaching Notes: "Irish potatoes" are not native to Ireland. They are native to the Americas and became part of the
"Columbian Exchange." The Irish potato famine began around 1845 and lasted about six year. It decimated Ireland
by taking the lives of about one million people with another one million leaving--many to mid-west America.