The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1855-11-03
a TOUCHING INCIDENT

State Ot Come, :lcut, from the NpSte. a
Reserve" to compensate the sufferers bv
British incendlarism, along the coast of the
State. during the revolutionary struggle.
more particularly at New London, Norwak
and Fairfield All was new, rugged and un-
known. The Indian title to th.. lands was
not even extinguiShcd. and the first settlers
experienced great !i.i;ruItir, arising from this
fact. The rcd man and the beasts Of the
field "ont"n1cd with the pale face for the pos
session of the soil. and the new w-coners TO md
themselves Insulated As it were. far from t,pir
fri"nd> and assistance. and Obliged to fsht
their way 70 'he ownership ofthrr claim Nor
were these the greatest difficulties AGAINST
which they hal to s!rnnne Disease. that
rroliti. source of misery and d"stitution.
>talkrd abroad in their midS'. and for year
or two after Locating IA" sturdy pioneer and
his family were compelled to undergo an az
lima,inC-harpv, indeed. if th.v escaped
with constitutions unnpaireI hv the raY areS
Manv. v"rv MANY. sick and diScn>icd with
the pr'vatoas whirh they were called upon
to endure. returned to their former houses.
and others would have been Glad 70 do 80.
hut from inability and want of means to re-
trace thrir steps
The following instance of extreme ,iestjtu
ton and suffering will serve as Specimen
ofthe trials which MANY experienced, in their
cndravorS t" establish home in the wilder
ness; and although an extreme ease. per
ha3S Vet II is 4 typ" OF others with which
III" history Of the state. for III" yeriod of
which ! write, ahounI-. Indeed. tnr period
ot SIX or seven vear>.-sav. tr"m $50" to
lSil and lf-thcrc were lew families lora-
ted on the fire lands" who did not cx,~ri-
cnce the keenest suffering from the want Of
proper food and clothing P,r,,i,rd and
pounded corn was tie Only food. with the
exception Of wild meat and Frequently that
was :" scarce As 10 be regarded luxury
when il chancrd 10 he obtained
One morning. late in the fail Of 1910. A
hunter who had been ont in pnr>uis of came
and was Winding IiS way horrward with a
SINGLE wild turkey hung to his bc,t. came
ont rather unexpectedly upon a liulc clear
mo. no' tar FROM t'r iankS of III" Huron
River, in which stood so'iia-v Ia. CABIN, tl.
III" forest and so insulated from possibility
Of r,lit. in case of danger or sickness. cx-
ritrl his wonder and >ur;ri,.. There was
som"thin- IN the appearance of the cabin it.
self which !ixrd his attention. and led him 10
"'">crcxaminatl"n. Athoura appearances
indlca'"d a rrrcn: orrupanov. VET 'here was
no evidence Of lie about The premises lie
apr a he'd the door and knorkcd. \ feeble
voice tadr him /" come IL. and he entered.
bnt he stood agi.a>f On the threshold at The
scene Which presented ir>"Ii On s,oo. bv
thr fireplace AT a i,mhl, form, rcdnccd to a
mtrr skeleton her c.othinc As it clunr to
her a''runafed i-unc. >,,,lnctO 10 bring on, in
NoI relief. rs projecting an4'cs and sharp
outlines. In Ayr arms She he, a a.hr a few
months old. whose ptinv tor,l l'anci"I tta-
lures and >unken ewes. hctokrncd is lack of
'hat ronri>hmrn: which it, starving mo,l.c-
was unable - give. On rude ted behind
the woman, lay a lov three wears OH, whose
appearance also manifested whit everything
went to show disease ard starvation. The
cabin WAS without a single article q. furniture.
except the stool on which the mother sat.
and th" bed on which Law her SEX aud diving
boy Everything else had disappeared. On
the hearth was Thir OF ashes. which. to his
experienced eve, Indicated a lack OF fire for
at least some DAYS.
rs soon as the awe struck hunter had r.-
covered IN measure trcm his first surprise,
he demanded TO know what was the matter,
and where her husband WIS \ frantic
burst of tears was her only answer. Her
ovrrrharCcl and burd.nc.l heart was over
flowing with emotions which her tongue
could not give uttcranre TO- Mingled feel
In"> OF Joy and sorrow chokcd her speech and
she could not reply At length. however
mastering herself by an effort she managed
between her sobs to say, pointing to the bed
=" There lies my little Edward, | expect he
Is dying. and here is my babe. 50 sick can
not Law her down; am so weak and feeble
! can hardly sit in my seat, and my poor
husband hes buried beside the cabin '" Then
AS If rendered frantic by the recital of hrr
SORROWS and deStltutIon, she exclaimed in
tones o; deepest anguish" O, that | wa.
back to my own country, where could fall
into the arms of nv mother A tear of
sympathetic feeling rolled down the weather
beaten face Of the hunter as he listened te
the recital of her woes
Her story was soon told. In company with
her husband, she had rmigrated to the Wes,
IN the iiat'erng hope of having home all
their own, where the earth would at leas,
yield them living. Alas. she was destined
like many others. to bitter disappointment
Soon after their arrival her husband had
erected his cabin, girlled the street. and
cleared small spot of ground, hnt when
fall came he sicktned an! died. Iii. poor
heart-brokcn wife took the body of her hus.
band in her arms, and half dragged, half
carried 1t to the outside of the cabin, where
she contrlved with the aid OF the axe and a
sharpened stick. to dig a shallow grave in
which she placed the body OF her best and
only TREND: then with a fearless eve but
broken heart and nervous hand she covered
II with the soil, and returned to her children,
who demanded her utmost eare and atten-
ton. Her boy, the image Of his father, Law
Frustrated 10y the fever, and she could not
leave him moment for assistance, which was
twelve miles distant Neither could she
leave to procure TODD, and now her baby was
dying for nourishment. Every mor,el of
food was gone, and for three DAYS she had
not broken her fast. Every article of furni-
turc, except the bed and stool, had been ed
to keep alive the fire on the hearth, until that
source was exhausted, and the poor woman
had taken her babe in her arms, sat down bv
the embers, and yielded herself up to the
stern and awful desra,r Twenty fou- bours