Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1859-04-01


oooAs; but it's in him, and fire couldn't bur
IL out OF NM What can be done for hi
and with him 2"
ITS no use in trying, my old friend. 1t
jest as natural Tor him to study as for trou
TO bite at Il fly. Study he will, and stud
l can.'
God bless you for that, James Ordway
And il he don't feel grateful, and thank YOU
sure yon are that you have the thanks of
dying father beforehand
"Who can tell but that, like one of on
own rough logs which we send down tn
river, and which is worked into n beautiful
, house at Boston, he may yet become some
thing that will honor us all"
- said the friend and neighbor, and the
eye OF the dying man kndlod with oy ant
Hope was there to cheer him, and Faith tt
s'rcnGthcn him; and SO his last interview
with his old friend was one Of consolation
The good old man was buried in the little
graveyard ; and the deep SHOWS soon laid
their white sheet over him, and the winds
that shed through the lofty forest tolled
ms requiem. In II short time, Mr.. Ordway
went to sec the nearest educated mind in the
rcglon-a humble minister of the gospel
VINO lived In poor shanty six miles Of
through the WOODS, and who had followed
ms sheep there to keep them from the wolves
lhc good man was n finished scholar, and
with smiling face, told Mr.. Ordway to
send the young man without fee or reward
lie promised to do so; but the Squire had
occasion to go that way often, and it was
notified that he always stopped, ostensbly to
inquire about his protege, but in reality to
'r'pa bag OF potatoes, II quarter of beef, a
| lew ya'ds OF fllnnel, or something to add to
thc real comfort OF the minister's family.
DHnIel was good and profitable pupil.
iwicc week on his pony. Shug. did he go
| TO ftcltc, and never without stoppnr mt MIR
! Oriway's IL moment-sincc he must needs 20
past his door. 1t was soon found that Dan
'cl could III measure compensate Mr. Ord
| way. for he now gave lessons regularly to
little Susan as she was still called.
though she was now fairly in her teens She
h"d never manifested any very great love for
books. but under Daniels supervision, she
actually studied and made rapid advances
1t is impossible to tell why, but Young Kisses
do so sometimes. They become apt scholars.
lime moved on, or elscou story could not.
The Revolutionary War had broken out, and |
ragged. The call Of the infant nation, invok-
ing the spirit of freedom, had penetrated |
even the wilderness and the young Ord
ways had every one dropped the axe, left
Washington. Young Rcdtield had complet-
ed his college course. within n few month.
by the great efforts and economy of his wild
lwed mother. ond the kindness of her hus-
bands old friend. when the college was bro
Ken up by the war, and the students scatter
ed. Daniel mad returned home to consult
his mother and his friend, Ordway, whether
or not he should Join the army also 1t yas
doubtful question for though he was
!, good hunter, and dead shot with the ri
he, yet ten to one, but if he got hold of n
book, the enemy might charge and ride over
him ere he knew it. Tho widow felt that
she could not have him 60 he was her
all. Mr.. Ordway hesitated what to advise,
and "lttle Susan" now eighteen, and as
pretty and authoritative as ever, declared it
was a shame-that he ought not to 60 and
leave his aged mother that it was lonesome
to have everybody go off and that she was
almost ready to enlist and become soldier
herself, rather than stay there in the woods
50 lonely ,
While this grave question was undecided.
young Redfield one morning took his rifle, .
and went up the Kennebcc to hunt for moose. 7
moose is large species of deer. If my /
readers never saw one they have to imagine I
l round fat horse, cut his tail off short and
leave him no tail, put an ass head on him, T
with immense horns-sometimcs weighing
ninety pounds-give him long deer's legs and |
loots, and you have a pretty good moose
they weigh as much, and often more than i
horse, and stand up much higher from the
ground. Daniel went up the river, but night
,ame and he did not return. This gave no a
lneasness. r
But after he had been gone two, three and G
Tour days, the mother s heart began to grow a
Harmed. There had been a great rain, and !
il alive and well, why had he not come back? d
She caught old Shag and went down to con- a
suit Mr.. Ordway. lie at first thought the f
1oung man had been unsuccessful, and had n
determined to hunt till he had got moose. t
Susan affected to laugh. and said "he un- f
loubtedly had found moose enough, but il
probably had thrown book at them instead fl
II shooting for her part, she had no doubt a
nc was looking up the books which he had t
hus thrown away" At the same the same o
lime the poor girl stopped her sewing, her il
ingers trembled SO Mr., Ordway procured h
IN old hunter, and they secured the forest in ,
search They found his trail and followed it f
up to Moosehead Lake, where the Kennebec b
breaks out so wildly and Unexpectedly from h
hat majestic lake. There they found his II
hunting knife as if dropped carelessly but d
10 farther could they trace him. The shore d
,f the wild lake was stony, and no marks of a
he feet could be seen. In vain they shouted, j.
iindlcd fires, and fired their rifles the echoes a
,amc down from far up the lake, but no 9TH "
n response Had he fallen into the rapid a
'iver?-they could find no traces of him. n
Alter lingering and searching a couple of L
lays, they returned towards home occasion. n
lily firing their rifles, each in quick success lC
ion-the hunters signal-hoping, though y
aintly, that he had reached home. But no, y
he was not there. TWAS profound mystery.
l he widowed mother was almost crushed by
the misfortune. Mr.. Ordway sent all the f
way to the army, to see if by any p ,ssibility 81
MS sons had seen or heard from young Red
icld, but they had not. They had expected n
he would have joined them before this So it W
continued to be profound mystery The
mother made up her mind that he had fallen a.
nto the river somewhere, and was drowned Il
Jrdway nearly concided with her in opinion.
As for Susan, she didn't. and she wouldn't a
believe, weak as he was, but that he knew N
'nough to keep out of the water, or at Il
east to rise up after he was dead, and ilo It 81
W hat her theory was, she never told but y
hough she felt bad enough, it was not that
,hoking grief which the certain death of our Il
riends always brings. The old hunter aver +
'ed that there was q mighty spirit by the
lame OF kinneo, who owned that lake, and d
who sometimes destroyed people who came to q
lis lake alone. His home was on noun IL
ain in the middle Of the lake, (now called f
Mount knneo), where he carried his victims 81
md ate them half roasted And he consoled fl
The monrners with the assurance that he had q
no doubt but that they could find some of the b
young mans bones the next season, thrown h
iown the mountain u
Young Redfeld had been lost, not forpotten Z
lbout two years, when a suitor, every wov II
Drepossessing, presented himself at the
: brick house, and in the most proper way "