Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-09-08


years ago pioneers were not fighting Indians
nor hunting grizzly bears in the Sierra Ne
vada or the Rocky Mountains, nor building
1 Pacific railways, nor shaking with chills and
! fever in the valleys Of the Sacramento and
| the Yellowstone. Neither chills nor rail
ways had ever been heard Of. But then, a,
! now, fighting Indians was the occasioua
necessity.of the pioneer.
1t was in l75l that Robert Kcyes com
menced his pioneering ON the slope OF
/ Nachusett; aud the same year his wife bore
| TO him daughter, whom the parents named
/ Lucy, and who was 10 be the subject of q
! tragic mystery which haiiied all attempts to
/ solve it for more than half century then to
| come The keyes family was the fourth Ia
settle in Princeton, and at that time the par
| ties Werc about forty years old. Besides
Lucy, they had two other daughters, con
siderably older than sho There was, at the
distance Of about mile from the clearing
which Robert had made, aad in which he
had built his house, a pond called Wachusett
Pond. whittier the two elder sisters went one
April morning, ia l77j, to get sand for
house-cleauiug. The route to the pond Law
through the woods and was only indicated
by blazcd trees. Unohserycd 10y the elder
sisters, Lucy, then four years old. followed
them into the woods. The mother felt no
concern about the absence of the child sup
posing her to be in the care of her elder Sis
ters, till their rcrurn without her; when it
appeared that they We're unaware that She
had followed them, and had seen nothing Of
her, either going or returning.
Search is Immediately commenced 10y the
| mother and elder sisters, who explore the
woods all the way to the pond, without iud-
ond earpa.t calIs of fbe cbiid,s n,,ne ore
only follo,,od hy rororherotino echoes from,
the rontt,in .ides The fotbsr ,,lov,in,, il,
tbc GelJ Loar. ,i,o o,rer c,il. and ioins ibe
so,rcbcrs IIo .,,..o.esi. ,i,,t ,,oi,ftr .,c,
bos f,lln, o.l.e,, ,,,,c,, s,,,,, rcls ,,Loro III,
NAV have sat down to rrst ar IN NAV. and
docs moi hear tbeir caus IIo roisrs bis nun
voice IN the bjgbost nitcb ond in tbo Still.
ness of fiat Anril ,norninc bis cali to his
cbild r;obt boro bacn Loari for ,ilns Itnt
tbsre ia no answer mo v.oods ,r.. nny,
mora and moro ,y;1.lv s.o,cbod Evo,v
nloce tbot could he snrnoscd ,o co,ceol n
cbild j. eva,,i,nd orJ tLo r,ro,,oo, IL snert
hefore tbay nra ,,,oroof IL I, occ,,rs 10 tLe
father tLat tbo ch;Id max, have faIlen into
tbo ,.onJ ,,ti,bor ba - draaJ;n,, ,l,a
discovery thot he evnects Tbs ,norrin of
The uond il sandy. and be InnLs fnr Et,le
."c pohu H. ealuN anu he louhs LOT htte
footprints III 'he sand nut can ma none
ne peers ailNl"uaiI mo lhe water nut iails
10 make the dreaded discovery Meantime,
II occurs 10 the mother that' "hlie they have
oeen looking lor Lucy III the woods she may
nave heiSell returned To the mouse, "a posi-
piiiiy that she wonders thsy ana not thnk ol
oeloreD ana, WIN her daughters nufrles
nome. Inc Kitchen door IS OPEN Just as
,hey leit II; Dut no trace OF Lucys having
oeen there Is visible
he iather also returns home, and meets
ms lainiiy near ms door, about To- return TO
the woods. Neither has any discovery to
report TO the other. lie casts an anxious
look at the sun which Is noticed 10y both
ihothef ana daughters. he sun Is already
past the meridian, ana mas commenced ms
descent OF the western SKY. Absorbed m
the anxiety OF the search, they had taken no
thohght oi t1e hlglt "l Time ana thef
usual dinner hour had come and gone, I'M
noticed by any OF them. And the lather had
forgotten mat he had ieit his oxen ~ the
YOKE, attached TO th' iulnW. BESIDES the
posSioillty tnat Lucy nlsht nave ialleh INTO
the pond and been drowned there are other
possibilities which all have thought OF, but
none have dared trust tongue to name.
lhere are beasts OF prey wolves certainly,
ana perhaps other "i'd beasts upon the
mountain Aud there are hosule siVagea ln
me vicinity Lncy may nave been carried
OIL by wolves or indians. As we slall have
occasion 10 speak ol thes' po,slnliities again.
let MS, Tor the sake OF hreVity and dlsunc-
ton designate them severaily rs the woli
theory, the Indian theory, aud the pond
theory
Night IS coming aud an appalling sense
OF Their situation seems, simultaneously with
the fathers glance at the sun, TO seize both
parents and children. All possible theories
and fears seemed to occur to each Of them at
once. HE mother burst INTO loud, heart
rendlng wall oi despair, Nainly calling her
child by name My Lucy my Lucy She
reproaeheS tifst herself, and then her daugl-
ters and even her husband for care lesSness
IN not looking alter the child, and again
walls out her deSpairlug cry for her Lucy.
Nor Is the grief OF the sisters scarcely less
than their mothers. Aud the father hini-
self is, for the moment, completely ml-
manned, and undecided what 70 do. Lucy
}, the pet aud darlingol his life. lie rushes
wildly back into the woods, shouting the
ehild's name at the top OF his voice, which
breaks and quavers under the burden ot
grlei that mas come over MIN bnt IA a lew
moments ne returns ana cans ms laihliy
INTO the mousse lie has plan ne Wili ap'
peal 70 ms ie'gnporS TO come ana help nun
one daughter snall 60 IN one direction the
other shall 60 m another ne VIII go TO town