The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1864-07-22
The Peril of Martha Warren.
4 STORY or THE AMoNooSrcr OWED

Good bye, Martha. God help you! l
shall be back in three days, at the fartbest. u
The hardy White Mountain pioneer. Mark
Warren, kissed his young wife, held his two
year-old boy to his breast for moment, and
then shouldering the sack of corn which was
to be converted into meal a, the rude mill,
forty miles away, trudsed off through the
wilderness.
Martha Warren stood at the door of the
log cottage, gazing out after the retrealing
form of her husband. An angle of the
dense shrubbery hid him from view. but
still she did not return to the solitary kitch-
Ell. 1t look SO dark and lonesome there,
she shrank from entering; or perhaps the
grand sublimity Of the view spread out be-
fore her, held her attention and thrilled her
soul with that nameless, unexplained some
thing that We all feel when standing thus
face to face with the works of His fingers.
The finest and most satisfactory view of
the White Mountains is that which presents
Itself from what is now the town Of Bethle-
hem, on the road to Liltle.on and Franconia.
Mount Washington, the king among princes,
is there seen in his proper pace-the centre
of the crock ribbed" " range, towering, bald,
blue and unapproachable.
Far up in wild clearing, close by tine tur-
bid waters OF the Amonoosuck, was the cot
tage sltuated-a place wild and eyrie enough
fsr the nest of an eagle, but dear to the
heart of Martha Warren as the home where
she had spent the happy days of her young
witehood. When she had turned from many
pat-cian suitor, in the fair old town of
Portsmouth, TO join her fortunes with those
of the young settler, it was with the full and
perfect understanding Of the trials that lay
before her. She would walk in no paths of
roses for years to come, much of life must
be spent in Il e eternal solitudes, where ST.
lsnce was broken only by the wild winds of
the forest, the shrek of the river over the
sharp rocks, or the dismal howl of the red
mouthed wolf afar in the wilderness.
TIE necessary absences of her husband
she dreaded most. 1t was so very gloomy
to close up her doors at ight and sit down
by her lonely iiresde, with the consciousness
that there was no human being nearer TO her
than the settlement of Lords Hill, ten miles
away through the pe.hless woods.
There was little to fear from indians, a.
though few number of scattered tribes Yet
roamed over these primeval hunting grounds.
They were mostly disposed 10 be friendly.
and Mrs Warren's kind heart naturally
prompted her to many act, 0! friendship
'0wards them, and ar Indian revel forgets
benefit.
The purple mist cleared away from the
SCARED forehead of the dominant old noun
tain, the yellow sun perped over the rocky
wall, and Martha turned away to the per
formance of her simple domestic duties. The
da, was long one, but it wore toward even
ing, ana tbs g!oaming comes much sooner
- THESE solitudeS than n any other places.
The sun light faded out OF the glazed win
dovs. ,boueh = would illumire the distant
for some .ime YET, and Martha
went out in the scanty garden &C lnnale the
odor of the sweet pinks on the one meag..
root she had brought from her old home.
The spicy perfume carried her back IN
to those days away In the past,
spent with kind friends and cheered by
bright, young hopes. But though the
thought of home and kindred made her sad,
not for moment did she regret the fate she
mad chosen.
Absorbed in thought, she had not obsery
ed the absence of Charlie, her little boy
now she saw with vague uneasness that he
had left the bed of peppermint where he
had been playing and was not to be seem
She called his name, but only echo and the
roar of the swollen river replied.
She flew back to the house, the faint hope
remaining that he might have returned thitn-
er for his pet kitten but no, the kitten was
mewing at the window, but 40 81 gns of Char
lie.
With frantic haste she searched the clear
ing, but without success. Her next thought
was the river. black as night, save where il
hecked with spots of snowwhite toam-lt
flowed on but few rods below her. She
hurried down the Grink, calling out, Char
iie Charlie"
The chid's small voice at some little dis
tance replied. She followed the sound, and
to her horror saw her boy-his golden hair
and rosy cheeks clearly defined against the
purple MISUNDERSTANDING on the very
edge of the huge, detached rock, some ten
feet from the shore, out in the sweeping cur
rent of the river
This rock, called by the settlers The Pui-
pit" was good situation for casting fishing
lines, and Mark Warren had bridged the
narrow chasm between it and the shore with
a couple Of hewn logs.
Allured by some clusters Of flaming fire
weed growing on the side of the Pulpit,
Charlie had crossed over, and now stood
regardless of danger, laughingly holding out
the floral treasures to his mother.
Martha il w over the frail bridge, and the
next instant held her child in her arms. JOY
ful because she rad found him uninjured.
and mentally resolving that the logs should
be removed to prevent further accident, she
turned to retrace her steps, but the sight that
met her eyes froze her with horror to the
spot.
Confronting her on the bridge, not six feet
distant, was an enormous wolf, gaunt and
bony with hunger, his eyes blazing like live
Goals through mirk and gloom, his hot, fetid
breath scorched the very air she breathei.
A low grow of intense satisfaction stirred
the air. answered by the grovl Of fly more
of his kind belonging to the pack in all,
other moment they would be upon her.
Without an instant's thought o. the conse
quences. Martha obeyed her first imruls.
and struck the logs with her foot, exercising
all her mad strength in the blow. Tne trai
fabric tot;ered, the saft earth gave way, ,her,
was breath of awful suspense, and then III
bridge went down with dull plunge Int
the waters beneath !! The sharp claws of tn
wolf had already fixed on the scant vegeta
ton of the rock, and he held there momen
struggling with ferocious strength to gain
foothold, the next he sid down the chasm
uiterirg wild howl OF disappointed rage.
Martha sank on her knees and offered u
fsrront nrayer of thanksoip;n,, for ber es