Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-07-24
Calls aud Sketehes.
A STORY MY FATHER TOLD ME.
By SCoTCn GRANITE.

daga a Scotch widow who had several lit
tie children, four of whom were boys.
They were very much like other children,
those little lads Of seventy years ago, only
not quite so forward and more simple in
their behavior than most of the little fell
lows see about me now. These four
boys names were, "for Short as the chill
dren said, Don, Will, Mark and John.
There was no way OF making the baby's
name any shorter, but sometimes they
called him Jock. When l was little
child myself l used 10 sit on Marks knee
he was a brave, handsome man then and
my own dear papa,-he is old now and
his beautiful brown curls have changed to
u beautiful white and often wish, when
sorrows sweep over me, that Twas little
child again and could nestle in my fathers
arms and listen to the pleasant stories he
used to tell of his childhood.
Onondaga was named after tribe of In
dams, one of the Six Nations who used 10
own all the land now occupied by the Mid
die States. My geography has in it very
pitful picture of the burning of Schenect-
ady by Indians, and an account of their
killing the poor settlers. This wrought
good deal upon my imagination, and
though there were no Indians anywhere
near us, l used to fancy at dusk that saw
them lowering around the skirts of the
grove at the back of the house, crouching
behind the woodpile. or creaping stealthily
about the barn.
One evening sitting before the fire, in
the twilight, watching the great red ap-
piles that were roasting on the hearth,
while mother crooned to the baby in her
lap, and father held sister and me, one on
each knee, asked, Papa, when you was
little boy and lived with grandma in On
ondaga, were you not afraid of Indians ?'
Father leaned forward and gave the ap-
plies turn, and said, "No dear; the In
dians, whenI was boy, were very friend
ly, and they used to call me 'Sthwee-ha
shinney-wanne,' which means little
young gentleman, because | used to be
polite to them. as mother taught me to be.
But sometimes when | was after the cows
in the woods, or out after posies, | used to
get scared at panthers which sometimes
came into the settlement and stole chick
ems. But didn't stay scared, for in a
minute the bark of a squirrel, or the bright
plumage of bird, or the sweet blossoming 9
OF some flower, would divert me, and
would forget all about panthers or other
dan gers. remember one time, though
when was terribly afraid of aligators."
"Why. papa, were there alligators in
Onondaga?"
Father gave little cough, and l fan
cicd as l looked up into his face that his
eyes had an odd twinkle in them, and he
said: Il have noticed, my dear, little girl
in this town of Hamptonburgh. who has
been considerably worried about Indians,
though there hasn't been an Indian here
tor many and many year. | said l was
afraid of alligators, not that there were al
ligators to fear
"Well, papa" we both exclaimed, sis
ter Maggie and I, "tell us about it. Tell
us Il story"
So, while the fire sprang up cheerily in
to the great wide chimney, and the log
charred with the fervent heat and fell
apart, scattering the glowing Goals over
the hearth and the sparks out towards us.
Nhd while the apples Kissed and spluttered,
as they roasted clear into their very cores,
father told us this story:
81 must have been very little fellow
when VIA afraid of alligators--a good
deal smaller" than the little girl afraid of
Indians, for could not read yet, and
read before ! was six years old. went to
school and was in my alb abs, but |
heard all that the older children said ia
their rectations, and one day heard them
read an account OF the alligator. re-
member the book said that the alligator
occasionally ate little children, and that
when lying motionless on the ground it
could very easily he mistaken Tor tree.
And / thought | would take very great
care in my travels never to mistake the
trunk of tree for an alligator, which was
very prudent in IA little boy like me, but |
was not wise enough then to think it ne
cessary to guard against mistaking an old
log for an alligator. | have learned that
lesson since.
After school we little brothers, Donald
and William and |, went home with the
other village boys, aud, as We sauntered
along, discovered that the others, who
We're all bigger than |, had some secret
they were keeping from me. heard the
word furnace two or three times, and a
suspicion seized me that they meant to go
over the West Hill to the Onondaga Fur
mace and not take me. You see l was at
that unfortunate age when | wanted to 90
with the larger boys and when the larger
boys were not desirous of my company
| asked the question after a while if they
were going there, but they evaded it and
got no satisfaction. so when we got
home hung around and gave them no
chance to run off without me. But by
and-by, Don-your uncle Donald always
could out-wit me, the sly fellow-said,
Come boy, let's have game of Hide
Of course we all consent
ed, and when it came my turn to blind my
eyes | did it religiously, counted the re-
quired one hundred, which was an under
taking for me, and waited for the accus-
toned 'whoop,' but no whoop came, and
finally l looked up. Not boy was to be
seen. l searched behind stumps, peered
into thickets, gazed up into the clustering
boughs of the tall forest trees that hung
over the snake fence that ran between
the lots on which the village houses were
built. but no Don, no Win. no Philo or
Love Mickles were to be seen-no boys
only poor little me. With
dim suspicion of the truth of the case
dawning on my mind, ran into the house
and told my story to sister Margaret. the
Oldest one of our brood. who, as Oldest sis
ter was comforter and counsellor and Sec