Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-04-09
How Kitty Got Lost.
BY EDWARD EGGLESTON.

1t doesn't do men good to live apart
from women and children. | never knew
II boys school in which there was not n
tendency to rowdysm; and lumbermen,
sailors, fishermen and other men that live
alone with men, are proverbially a half
bear sort Of people. Frontiersmcn soften
down when women and children COME
but | forgot myself, it is the storv you
want.
Burton and Jones lived in shanty by
themselves. Jones was married man.
and finding it hard to support wife in a
''down east" village, had emigrated to
northern Minnesota, leaving his wife
under her fathers roof, until he should be
able to ''make II START He and Burton
had pre-empted" a town site of three
hundred and twenty acres.
There were perhaps twenty families
scattered sparsely over this town site ut
the time when my story begins and ends,
for it ends in the same week in which it
begins.
The parties had disagreed quarreled,
and divided their interest. The land was
also shared between them except one
valuable forty acre peice. Each of them
claimed that piece of land, and the quarrel
had grown so high between them that
the neighbors expected them to "shoot at
sight" In fact it was understood that
Burton, who was on the forty acre place,
determined TO shoot Jones if he came, and
Jones had sworn to 90 out there and shoot
Burton, when the fight was postponed by
the unexpected arrival of Jones' wife and
child.
Jones' shanly was not finished, and he
was forced to forego the luxury of fighting
his old partner, in his exertions to make
his wife and babe comfortable for the
night, for the winter sun was surrounded
by "sun dogs" Instead OF one sun there
were four, an occurrence not unfreaucn,
in that latitude. but one which bodies A
terrible storm.
In his endeavor to care for his wife and
child, Jones was mortified little, and
half regretted that he had been so violent
about the piece of land. But he was deter
mined not to be backed down, and would
certainly have to shoot Burton or be shot
himself.
When he thought of the chance of BEING
killed by his old partner. the prospect was
not pleasant. He looked wistfully Mt Kitty.
his two year old child and dreaded that
she would be fatherless. Nevertheless, he
would not be backed down. He would
shoot or be shot.
While the father was busy cutting wood,
and the mother was busy otherwise little
Kitty managed to get the shanty door
open. There was no latch yet, and her
prying little fingers easily swung it back.
y Onst nf wind nlnnot l.
away. but she caught sight of the grass
without, and the new world seemed SO big
that the little feet were fain to try and
explore it.
She pushed out through the door, caught
her breath again, and started away down
the path bordered by spre grass and the
dead stalks of the wild flowers.
How often she had longed to escape
from restraint, and paddle out into the
world alone. So out into the world she
went, rejoicing in her liberty, in the blue
SKY above, and the rusty prairie beneath
She would find out where the p,th went
and what was the end of the world What
dId she care If her nose WAS blue with cold,
and her chubby hands red as beets Now
and then she paused to turn her heal
away from II rude blast. IL forerunner of IA
storm, but having gasped moment, she
quickly renewed her brave march in search
OF the great unknown.
The mother missed her, but supposed
that Jones. who could not get enou.h of
the child's society, had taken the little pet
out with him. Jones. po1r fellow, think
ing that the darling was safe within chop.
ped away till the awful storm broke upon
him. and ut last drove him half smothered
by snow. and half frozen with cold. into.
the house. When there was nothing left
but retreat he seized i'm armful of wood
and carried it into the house to make sure
OF having enough to keep Kitty and his
wife from freezing in the coming awiul.
ness of the night. which now settled down
upon the storm beaten and snow binding
world. 1t was the beginning of that
horrible storm in which so many people
were frozen to death, and Jones fed not
too soon.