Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1857-06-18


This would doubtless have been edi.
flying to Ben, IL he had understood it,
but he didn't; and 10 he took himself
to the woods on coon hunt, and soon
raised such muss that Samuel thought
he had one surc, and started with his
axe to Gu: the tree and secure the prize
II was large tree, and took \ good
many blows, and some blowing to
bring It down; and finally, when it fell
1t developed a flying squirrel and her
young ones.
In the meantime, SamuePs young
ores had come ont TO the sugar camp
and finding the syrup only needed NJ
tie more boiling to make it sweet ~
lasses," kindled up good fire, and hal
the thing I'm a fair way of coming TO
that point. when they heard the tree
iall. There's another coon," said the
eldest, and put out for the scene Of
action, followed by the rest Of the
rio.
The coon want there, but Samuel,
Ben, and the squirrels were, and catch
ing them occupied ~ right sma,t spell"
and then they came back to look after
the swcctoning.
They didn't find it. What hadn't
boiled yer the top of the kettle, had
burned 10 a coal in it.
"Dang the Iuck-it alters happens
ls SO. It's no use to try to live. |
wish was dead !" However, he did
live, but not to make sugar, though af
ter week or two Of much hard eating
aud some work. he found himself mas
the of two pals full of black compound
Of concentrated sap, SCOT, ashes, chips
and smoke and dirt, and these be hung
upon the hooks Of his neck yoke and
started for the house in tolerably
seli-satisticd mood.
.Dang the luck" said Samuel TO
himself. II shall sweeten the old wo
man this time
So he did !; but not just the way he
intended. lie had been "poking about"
until it WAS nearly dark, and so he said
once more before he got to the house,
Dang the lucknow ! wish | was
dead" He had run into ''thc last re-
mains" of his stack yard, and split half
OF the precious substance that was to
make the big luna Of sugar. OF course
he charged the accident to the ''pcsky
children" who had opened the door to
'sec whether dad was coming" ust
when the light glarcd in his eyes and
made him stumble, by which he bar
kcd his shins and scratched his face
Samuel didn't feel amiablc when he ar
rived at the house, and to avoid the
children, who made dive for some
'lasses, Samuel made dive for "A door
that led into sort of lean-to, at the
back at the cabin, called "thc pantry"
Right before this door was a trap that
he'd to n potatoc-holc under the floor,
down Which, Mrs. Sloven had Just gone
for the main material of SaInucrs sup
per.
Samuel had scratched one eve till
hc was partly blind, and the dazzle OF
the fire had partly blinded the other,
and his bad lnck" had blinded both
till he couldn't see hole in the ground"
The very natural consequence was that
instead Of walking into II pantry, he
wa kcd, neck and heels together, into
the aforesaid hole, and at the same
operation nearly crushed his wife, and
enipticd the balance of his syrup down
upon her head. neck and shoulders
"Thcrc goes dad into the cellar" cried
the Young tow heads, "anl split all the
'iasscs.' The mother screamed, the
log harked, Samuel groancd, and as
he slowly lifted his head into the full
blaze OF the freight, possibly imagin'
ing that he had got to the end OF his
journey, lifted up his voice and-no
he didn't weep, bnt he said bitterly :
There, now an dead, and that's the
end ont"
II was the end of the sugar season
OF 1887. with this particular branch of
the Slovcn family.