Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-01-04

!
miles to the Canadian river. We pass over
very heavy road for the first two hours, afte
which we rise on prairie more elevated, and a
we pass up just on the edge of a ravine, we Sc
fine buck looking with surprise at us. As W
near him he starts on a newly burnt prairie a
good speed, one Of our company give him
scrcech and II seemed as though he leaped ffty
feet at n jump, and in this speed away he wen
as far as the eye could behold. We use all dill
igence in driving and reach the river little be
fore night, seeing no house except one. W,
pass over the rivers wide quicksand bottom
This lands us at Topeka, place with two fnmi
lies-one about a mile from the rivera coloret
man by the name of Tecumseh. We drive NJ
near the Virginia-fcnce that yards in his houses
He stands by little Gre outside. We ask fol
entertainment. He looks a little confused, but
says he "sumtimes comodates Travellers" He
lets us into his enclosed grounds
shows us one little log house by it.
| self, which is for us. We begin to unload
He takes sort Of stand-still position, and says
| Gentlemen, feels little embarrassed. | was
bout KILN hog; what will dop We say
GO ahead" and soon he with two of his older
boys, did kill him aud dress him with rush.
He informed us that he had right smart of cat
tle-225 head, % horses, $50 hogs-raised corn
and other grains and potatoes; that he used to
have care of cattle ranch at this place for his
master, Creek; that the latter was killed in the
confederate army, and that after the war he,
Tecumseh, came back here, and had been hard
at work ever since, and made some progress
He has a wife and seven children. One of his
children could read little. His wife could
read sing hymns, was professor of the Baptist
order. He wished to have a school for his chill
dren. When summoned to tea we found some
of that pig nicely cooked on the table. Our
good DIR. n went into their little cabin before
the family went to bed and read psalm to them,
to which they gave close attention, and seemed
pleased. They informed us there was a meeting
eleven miles away, which they attended some
times. Morning came, and one of our company
presented each child with twenty-five cent
scrip, and the way their eyes Spariled and teeth
appeared expressed all the delight such chill
drcn are capable of. They were so modest they
could not say a word. The father looked on in
amazement, but summoned courage equallto the
OCCASION and said, ode chilens mighty well
please; the fust present dey cher had in dar
whole life"
Thus we left them in right good cheer and
drove on quite earnestly to reach the Seminole
agency. We dove about fifteen miles to the
south shore of Little river; as we approach, we
inquire about its condition, and are informed
that the water is fifteen feet deep from recent
rains; that it has not been passed for the
last four days, and that there are many wagons
there waiting, We approach and see plenty of
wagons and camp fires. We make fire, get din
ner, take a survey, find four wagons on the side
we are, and twenty-siX on the other Side-eigh-
teen of them government train on their way to
Fort Sill. They have been here four days wait
ing for the river to fall. 1t has risen little all
the time. They talk about building raft, but
all talk, and no work. Will not get loaded
wagons across such a river. Our superinten-
dent, Hoag, feels that we must do something
and start for Old Sancho, an efficient colored
man, who was at one time ferryman here when
there was boat, and tells him he must get us
across. He comes at about three O'Clock with
two of his kindred and their axes, and they seek
out some dry trees, cut them, and our driver
draws them to the waters edge. We all help
make fires and bore holes, and by dark he
launches huge looking raft which he says in
the morning will, with his best care get us and
our effects over. Sancho comes as agreed right
early; has us take all our baggage with har-
nesses over on the trial trip. The raft has pull
oar and hold back rope, and with these they
manage it well and make safe
passage of about 200 feet Our ambulance
wheels are taken off and in this way all is
safely over save our good horses, which
are to swim. They are, two of them after four
several efforts to swim without company, taken
beside the raft, under the care of Sancho,
and get over all right The other two, seeing
them over, readily swim, and thus, by 10 O'Clock,
we are rearranged and on our way rejoicing.
Before starting, we observed one other wagon
coming over in the same manner.
The Seminole agency was about thirty-five
miles distant. We pressed on, finding pretty
good road, and reached the Seminole store, fed
our horses, &C., aud went on until dark. Then,
in avoiding a mud-hole on one side, we struck a
stump, and broke our carriage pole, and nothing
now could be done but to camp for the night
This was soon arranged, and two of our party
went back to a little hut we saw on our way, to
see if we could borrow bit Of any kind to bore
a hole through new pole, the old one being so
broken that it could not be spliced All they
were able to obtain was an inch auger to bore
hole for three-eighths bolt AS soon as light,
while breakfast was preparing, pole was cut
and fitted as well as could be with the tools we
had to work with. Iu getting out the bolt that
went through the pole to hold it in, the thread
was so bruised that the nut would not 70 on.
One of our company had a pockct-knife with a
fnger-nail file on it. This repaired the thread
of the bolt, with a little fling SO that all was
right.
These little incidents only 90 to show where
there is a will there is a way even in this wild,
lone country.
This start is for Ocmulgee, about thirty miles,
which we reach about two O'Clock. 1t is place
of some business, four stores, dozen or fifteen
small houses, and from fifty to seventy-fve in
habitantS. The Creek nation have their courts
here and their capital-a log or timber building
fifty by twenty, two stories high The great
council now sitting is held in one of its rooms
twenty by twenty, seated with cheap wooden
seats, the seat part about nine inches wide, all
in correspondence with its people and location.
For all this there is much that is encouraging
among them. Their schools, which were all
broken up in the war, are now somewhat credit
bic and yearly increasing. They are more and
more becoming farmers. They are a temperate
people, as there is no liquor allowed in these
parts-a precious safeguard. They should keep
up this regulation; it will establish truly reli-
able people. E.. +.
A ROMANCE OF THE EAsT.-Louse Muhl-
bach, in her Letters from Egypt" tells very
romantic story about the wife of Count Bene-
detti the French minister penipotentiary at the
Prussian court before the outbreak of the present
war. A very rich Greek merchant, resident in
Alexandria, had two black wives, whom he
loved dearly, and for whose service he provided
a large retinue Of beautiful girls. One of his
wives one day CHANGED to sec a charming white
girl, aud was so pleased with her that she coaxed
her husband into buying her.