Even though I was still but a small child, my stepfather put my brother and me to work in one of the furnaces. I would often start work as early as four o'clock in the morning.

It was at this salt-furnace that I first learned something about "book" knowledge. Each packer had a certain number marked on his barrels. The number assigned to my stepfather was "18." I soon learned to recognize this figure and after a while I was able to make it. However, I still knew nothing of the other figures and letters.