Autobiography, Section 5 --- Incident at the Iowa State Fair

here I am agan at the state farr at Dis Moins Iowa. I remember when I got to bed the first night, I allways slep in the barn were the cattle horses or hogs was when I go to bed a while I hurd some one moaning and groaning so I went to see what war wrong. ther was another stock man named Howard Lathrop an actionere he had dyhere and he had awfull paines but all I could hear from him he was going to die that was all he could say. well I had just got over a some kind of a spell a few days before that, so Mrs Murray my house keeper Murrays Mother says you go to town and get some black berrey balsam of which I did. her being a Drs wife knew quite a bit about drugs gave me a good steer. and that stopped it on me. so when the time came for me to start to the faires she says Joe you had better take your bottle allong for fear as the watter at the fairgrounds was noted of strating that trouble me[?] I gave Howard a dose of it then later on that night I got up again gave him another shot. from that time on he was better and himself again. he used to acutionear sales arround our neighborhood when he saw me he would come running sayeing theres a man that save my life and I believe that he thot that I did. he sure was an awful rich man, so I got by that and wentto a lot more sales as that was my job takeing care of puer bred horses cattle and hogs I never had much to do with sheep till I farmed for myself then I raised a lot of sheep they like weeds and keppt them down for me.