The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1873-04-10
A FRONTIER EPISODE.
BY w. p. CHAMBERS.

nighls''
Yes, If nothing happens. know the
road is muddy, and my team is heav; ly
loaded. may mire down, or be other
wise delayed, but i think you will see me
before bedtime"
II wish the Tip was over"
$50 do |; but you are not afraid to stay
here?" rs-@ o s rlrf
en-, not afraid'-but the little woman
sighed rs she spoke, and set about pre-
pairing tor her husbands departure Man
like, he failed to observe the anxious look
in his wlfe's eyes, that he would have de-
tected SCI readily IN the eyes Of his bride
Nor when he gave the parting kiss did
he observe the unshed tears rembling on
her lashes.ar the culver around her mouth.
With CHEEKY words upon his lips he seiz
ed his whlr, and giving the word Co his
tenn the heavlly-laden wagon rolled
away.
+ William Armstrong, his wife aud babe,
were among the first white settlers west
"f the Tombgbee. They hailed from
Georgia,and placing the Greek nat on be-
tween them and their kindred, went to
work with will retaining the unknown
forest. With the eVer-friendlY Chocta VS.
they were at peace, aud anticipated no
trouble from their more warlke neigh.
6ofs cast ofthe river.
For four years they had lived unmo-
les ed. and, altogether, kind Providence
hal blessed their laoors. No sickness
bad visited them-!heir farm and their
s. ock yielded an ample support, ana in
the not distant future William Arms rong
babe fair 20 becoms wealthy man. There
was one drawback however; it was two
miles tr the nearest white neighbor, and
their little boy. Charley sturdy chap
of i've summrrs-had hardly seen white
boy Of his own age. ,......
At that time cotton was just becoming
an article OF commerce. With an enter
prise beyond his wisdom our settler plant.
ed his little farm in the 1eecy staple. TIE
yield was abundant and the price, high
but there We're no available faci tiles for
ginn'ngand baling, and so he was com
PEELED to haul and ship his crop IN the
seed It was twelve miles to- the river
at landing on whiCh village had
sprung up, which was the "market"-for
an extern of country than now would sup.
port city of no mean preteusions. -
This VAS his last load of cotton, and he
expected to bring back his annual supply
of groceries. Our pioneers, however
bought but little Wheaton bread once a
week, and coffee with sugar In it once ii
day, was an extravaganza in culinary
ma.tels few could aspire to; and no wo
man was Expected to have two calico
gowns at once.
When her husband was gone, Mary
Armstrong did up her ordinary house
work, and then prOcet ded to the spring
when was at The foot of The hill some
two hundred yards from the house, tn do
her weekly washing. ChArley-their
only child-went with her and played
near her till the washing was nearly com.
pleted. Saying he was hungry, he set of
toward the house. HIS mother, intent
upon her work, hardly noticed his ab
sence, nor could she even re member how
long since ne had gone away, whsn her
task was ended, and, with pail of newly
washed clothes poised upon her head, she
started homeward.
AS she assembled the hill, which hid
the house from her view while at the
spring, sight met her eyes that frOze
her to the ground with horror. Their
house was on fire!
The roaring flames leaped upward, and
dsrted forth their lurid whitening tongues
In fantastic gambols, as they were swept
by the winds.
Great God! Oh, my child" gasped
the blOodless lips, as the half-crazed w.
lnAn rushed toward the burning pile
Too late! wretched mother, ton late! The
roof had fallen in, and the walls and
d0orways are in solid flannel Thy child
IS now but charred and shapeless mass
a blackened cinder with no semblance OF
human form.
An unseen arm seemed to hold back the
frantic mother. Essay as often as she
would to rush forward, an outside power
seemed to restrain her, to hurl her back
fainting and breathlesss.
"Charley! Charley Charley!" The words
rang out above the roaring din of the
flames, but they seemed more like the
weird shrieks Of lost spirit than the cry
ola human being. At last the walls fell
in, and shower of sparks shot upward,
toward the pitiless sky. "Charley," raug
out once more like wall of despair, and
the wretched mother fell down in dead
iy swOOn. When she awoke to conscious
ness again the flames we're burning low,
and she looked eagerly to see the body oil
her child.
Tears came to her relief at last. aud
sitting down she cried long and bitterly
In her agony she essayed to lift her tho'ts
to God, but the soul at such times cannot
at one, draw near to him who yields the
rod, that the stroke may be less severely
felt. Do not blame her gentle reader, as
you sit safely intrenched behind your sys.
ten of rea son and philosophy for giving
way so emit rely to passion and to terror