The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-03-14
From the st. Nicholas Magazinel
Showed In--An Incident of the
Winter of 1872.
BY MARTHA N. THOMAS.


"When will you be home, father?'
"The day after tomorrow If [ start i'm
mediately, can be there by eight or min
o'clock. The snow looks although it Nigh
be deep. Ishall put Bob and Grey to tn
sleigh, and take Jack with me-"
1T will be so lonely. and, somehow, wis
you were not going"
The girl stopped and opened the stove doOl
furtively wiping her eyes with her apron.
$50 do l, Beckie, but 1 must 60. l al
Huston's principal witness, and should fet
very sorry if, for want of my testimony.
lost his farm
'Iknow it is right, and l should not car
so much If Jack would he Iefe, Dut--
Aunt Lizzie to corle over; she said she wouI
do so. Joe is to bring her,and stay and mill
and do the feeding while [ am golle.''
Beckie frightened up at this.
''Let Jack get ready, while 1 put some
wood and coal in the shed to be handy, ther
will take bite and be off,"
Mr.. Wilson was New England man, who
finding some difficulty in making living out
of his ''stony potato PATCH" as he called the
few acres he owned in his native state, hao
emigrated to the West and settled on one O
the rich pra'ries that there abound. He hat
married.a thrifty, active girl, the daughter O
neighboring farmer, and he now owned
large farm, with comfortable house and out
houses. His dwelling was rather isolated
being some distance from any travelled road,
His wife had died six months previous
leaving him with five children. Jack, the
eldest, was turned of fourteen, Beckie was
in her thirteenth year. James was ten: Will
eight; and the baby, girl, was seven month:
old.
Since her mothers death, Beckie had trie(
to supply her place to the other children
She had taken all the care of the baby, an,
was, as her father called, a ''lttle mother.
Mr.. Wilson had been summoned TO the coun
ty town, as witness on trial involving th,
ownership of q friends farm, and although
the weather was stormy and cold, he felt tina
be must go.
''Keep up the fires, Beekie," he said, while
eating his pie; ''there is wood and Goa
enough in the shed to last until l get back
and take good care of Jamie and the BABY
eyes," she replied adding. "How it does
snow, and Ii has grown colder!'
When they had started, Beckie stood until
they drove out of the yard and the curtain of
fast-falling snow almost hid them from her
sight.
81 never did see it snow So" she said TO
jamie. II wish Joe would come,-he is
such good company"
A silent hour passed, interrupted only by
WHIPS laugh, as he lay on the floor playing
with baby. Bechie began to feel uneasy, for
the short winter day was drawing to a close,
and neither Aunt Lizzie nor Joe bad come
81 have been watching the snow, Beckie.
l cannot see the garden fence, the flakes fall
so thick. 1 hope father and Jack will be
safe," said Jamie, as he stepped into the Sit
into the shed for something, and was SUI pris-
ed at the depth of the snow. She went to
the window aud looked out.
There was not goose nor duck to be
seen. The chickens had been driven from
under the lilac bushes, where they usually
took refuge in storm.
Again she wished Aunt Lizzie and Joe
would come. She began to feel a sort of dread
too, and was little frightened at the aspect
of things. Every moment the storm increas-
ed in violence. Outside things were buried
in the snow; gloom was creeping over the
whole landscape. She could scarcely distn
guish objects she knew to be only few yalo
distant.
She opened the door again, and went out
into the shed. As she did so, she heard the
favorite cow, Crumpie, lowing, give long,
low below.
''She is at the cow-house door and wants TO
get in" she said to herself; 81 will milk her.
for Joe may not come, and baby must have
her supper"
She took down an old coat of her fathers
and buttoned herself in it, drew on Jacks
cow-hde boots, tied up her head and ears in
a comforter, then, opening the door into the
sitting room, she told Jamie to stay in there
and look after Will and the baby, took her
milk pail and started. She stopped, aghast,
when she reached the door of the she'd. con,
founded at the depth of the snow. She plury-
ed into it, but found she could not 90 on,
Beckie was girl of courage, besides which
she had spirit of adventure. She did not
think there was any especial danger. Ii was
a dreadful storm, there was excitement IN
breasting it, and it would be something 10 tell
OF afterwards; besides, she must have the
milk tor baby-that was the paramount IDEA
now. AS she recovered from her first plunge
she thought of kind of snow hoe her father
na9 MADE, and she stepped back into the shed
anu, with some difficulty, extrcaled il. II
vas long stout stick, at the end of which
was fastened broad fiat piece of board, like
a noe, only many times larger. Cutting a
piece OF the clothes line that hung there, She
tied her milk pail by it around her waist
tnen putting the handle of her snow-hoe
against her breast, holding it with both hands
sne pressed on, making a track for herself
- she went by the dog kennel the animal
barked and jumped towards her, and she
stopped in the deep snow and unclaimed him.
The gloom had so increased, she could
scarcely distinguish an object in the barn
yard. Reaching the gate between the two
yards, she was tempted to 90 back, but again
she heard Crumpies' lowing, and she pushed
on, aaenough II was hard work. The wind
anu snow came SO violently she could scarca.
~ stano VP against 1t, and would have E,lIo,
but for the snow-hoe, which supnorted hon ,a,,0n
AT length she reached the cow.bn,,.o
Crnmpie and another cow stood there Eou
fnnatplv the SNOW had in Ior-
away from the cow-house door, and was
piled against fence a few feet off. Will
two or three digs of her snow-hoe she cleared
it away, SO as to open the door sufficiently
for the animals to go in. Passing in herself.
she had to sit down a moment before she
could do anything, although the catherine
gloom there alarmed her. oe
In an excitement, and with a fierce anxietv
about getting back, she went to work and
MIXED both cows, threw them corn. ran in
to the barn for hay, and then she Thought of
the horses in the stable, she gave them oats.
shook the hay in their managers, and was
fastening out. when she saw the milk cans
which her father had left on bench there.
She seized them, and pouring the milk into
them, put the tops on securely, and tied
them around her waist 1t was dark, al
most, in the barn, and she got out as quickly
as sne could, fastened the cow-house door,
ments WIS " VIZ "oo 0i'
Which u USED, she stood, scarcely knowing
,,.th Nv way 10 go. There was no sign of the
hack T Taa made made: Could she fight her way
creased II seen ry OF the tempest had SO in
live in it. She was snougy nothing could
but the children! the bahv, wild : cold;
spoken words, but with the 10y s,;a,, With no
Save me, PERISH" in her h anreo OF Feter's