River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1873-10-07
Grandma's Bear story an Actual &C.
currence.


BY ELINoR BROOKS.
Grandma liked old-fashioned ways
and things, and never would consent to
have "gassy coal stove" in her
room, but insisted on keeping her own
Franklin" there, with its big folding
doors ready for fire inside OF them,
summer as we'll as winter, for, as she
said, "There is often cool evening IN
summer when little fire is pleasant. !"
She always has plenty of company such
evenings, for when twilight came the
little ones focked in there from the
outdoor play, delighted to cuddle
down before the pleasant open fire and
listen to grandmas stories of old times.
When the "Franklin" doors were wide
open the bright fire-hght glanced in
every corner of the room, so that
grandma's fingers, aided by the practice
of many years, could easily guide her
knitting needles around the little
stocking that was always her evening
work.
Grandma" said Jason, one even
ing, when they had quieted down after
very noisy romp, Grandma, tell
us about the time when you were
little girl and used to go after the COWS
through the woods, and chased the
bear"
"Oh, said grandma, "will you never
be tired of hearing that old story
You must know it all by heart by
this time; You had better tell it to
me-"
ooh, no, no, grandma, please do
tell us that one, =" cried the other chill
dren, knowing from experience that
coaxing would bring grandma to terms
And grandma commenced: When
l was little girl it was all woods
around here, there were no houses
except the log house we lived in, and
there was not another one nearer than
the Cooper settlement, which was three
miles away. | remember the day we
came here. was ten years old then,
about as old as some of you are now
my brother Alex was two years young
er than J. My father had come on a
few weeks before the family, to build a
house for us to live in. He and Uncle
John had cut down trees and built a
house of the logs, and had made chin
ney of wooden Stats, The side ne 1t
the fire was plastered with clay. The
hearth, of large, fiat stones, was not
laid yet, but father built roaring fire
on the ground at the bottom
of the chimney, and soon there was
ready nice bed of Goals for mother to
put the supper over. Uncle John had
caught a nice spotted trout in the
creek to have ready for our suppers,
when, all tired and hungry, we reached
our new home. Mother put the fish in
the frying pan on the hottest Goals and
some potatoes to roast in the ashes,
and short-cake in the bake. kettle.
"Oh, nothing will ever taste so good to
me again." said grandma, Gas the
supper did that night" We we've all
so hungry, and so happy, and so glad
to be altogether again. can remem-
Der just how the fish smelled ash sat on
the board floor, with my feet hanging
down to the bare ground where the
stone hearth was to be, watching
mother as she moved the frying pan
from one place to another on the Goals,
so that 1T would get the best heat
~ remember, too, looking up
through the roof that still lacked sew.
eral boards at one end, and seeing the
great branches of the forest trees wav.
ing against the blue sky far above our
house. They seemed so high, so far
away, that thought Heaven would be
very near if one could but climb to
their tops"
Grandma here lapsed into a reverie
which lasted so long that the boys be-
came impatient, and were greatly re-
lieved when she reused herself with a
sigh, and continued: "There were
but few Indians here then they had
mostly gone farther west those that
still fingered along our creek lived by
hunting and fishing. They would not
work, and they Wouid steal, so we
were all glad when they wandered off
in search of their tribe. | think they
we're Cayugas. The deer and bears
were mostly gone, too they rctreated,
as did the Indians, before the white
man. Father and Uncle John shot
two deer and bear the first year we
lived here, but they never saw any
after that first year. / never saw a
bear in the woods but once, and Ill
tell you about that now.
My brother Alex and | had TO 90
for the cows every night. They were
pastured in the woods, and sometimes
strayed a mile or two from the house.
One of them had bell on her neck, so
that hearing il, we might know in what
direction to look for them, as they
always kept together-two cows and a
little black heller.
One night Alex and ! were so busy
at play that we forgot all about the
COWS until we were startled by fathers
II.
Great was our CONSERVATION TO find
that il was past shutdown, and getting
darker every moment. We begged OF
father TO go with us; we were afraid.
But he said, No, this will teach you
lesson you will not forget, you must go
alone. There will nothing hurt you.
We hurried off through the woods,
starting at every shadow we saw and