The Red Cloud chief., 1877-09-06
Among the Scottish Hills.

crowded together, only divided from
each other by deep valleys. They all
grow out of one rOOt-that is, the earth.
the tops Of these hills are high up and
lonely, with the stars above them; and
the wind roaring and raving among
them makes such a neise against the
hard rocks, running into the holes in
them and out again, that their steep
sides are sometimes very awful places.
But in the sunshine, although they do
look lonely, they are 80 bright and beau
tiful, that all the boys and girls fancy
the way to heaven lies up those hills.
In the winter, on the other hand, they
are such Wild, bowling places, with the
hard hailstOnes beating upon them, and
the soft, smothering snow-tiakes heap
ing up dreadful wastes of Wilderness
upon the j, that if ever there was a
child out on them he would die with
fear, if he did not die with cold. But
there are only sheep there, and as o
as the winter comes Ove the tops of
the hills the sheep come down their
sides. because it is warmer the lower
down you come; even a foot thick of
wool OF their backs and sides could not
keep out the terrible cold up there.
But the sheep are not very knowing
Features, SO they are something better
instead. They are wise-that is, they
are Observation-Disclosures, obedience often
being the very best wisdom. Because
they are not very knowing, they have a
man to take care of them, especially
when a storm comes on. Not that the
sheep are so very silly as not to know
where to go to get out of the wind, but
they don't and can't think that some
ways of getting out of danger are more
dangerous still. They would lie down
in a quiet place, and stay there till the
snow settled down over them and
smothered them. Or they would tum.
bic down steep places and be killed, or
carried away by the stream at the
bottom. So. though they know a little,
they don't know enough. and therefore
need a shepherd to take care of them.
Now the shepherd, though he is wise.
is not quite clever enough for all that
is wanted of him up in those strange
terrible hills. and ne needs his dog To
help him.
Well, the shepherd tells The dog what
he wants done. and off the dog runs to
do it; for he can run three times as fast
as the shepherd, and a get up and
down places much better. l am not
sure that he can see better than the
shepherd, but | know he can smell
better. So that he is just four legs and
a long nose to the shepherd, besides the
love he gives him, which would com
fort any good man, e if it were
offered him by a hedgehog or a hen.
One evening. il the beginning of
April, the weakly sun of the easOn had
gone down with a pale face behind the
shoulder of a hill in the background of
my story. And because he was gone
down, the peat-fires upon the hearths of
the cottages all began to glow more
brightly, as if they We're glad he was
gone ut last ard had left them their
work to door, rather. as if they wanted
to do ali they could 10 make up for his
absence. And on one hearth in partieu.
lar the pea.-fire glowed very brightly.
There was a pot hanging over it, with
supper in it; and there was a little girl
by it, with a sweet, thoughtful
face. Her hair was done up in a silken
net, for it was the custom with Scotch
girls to have their hair 81 arranged,
many years before it becamea fashion
in other lands. She vas busy witha blue
stocking, which she was knitting
for her father.
He was out on the hills. He had that
morning taken his sheep higher up than
and Ellen knew this: but il
could not be long now befores she would
hear his footsteps. and measure the long
stride between which brought him and
happiness home together.
But hadn't she any mother?
Oh, yes, she had. Ii you had been in
he cottage that night you would have
heard a cough every now and then, and
have found that Ellen's mother
Was lying in a bed in the room-not a
bed with curtains, but a bed with doors
Ike a press. This does not seem q nice
way of hayi z a bed; but we should all
" glad of the wooden curtains about
Is at night. if We lived in such a cot
age. on the size OF a hill along which
he wind swept Ike a wild rIver, only
en- times faster than any river would
IN, even down a hillside. Through
he cottage it would be spouting. and
and eddying. and lighting all