St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-02-28
Their Wedding Ride.

world where "a person may feel quite
comfortable and content. Nor are
these so often found in the elegant
residences of our city Inillionaires as
in more homely nooks, in old farm
houses. or, it may be, in some back
woods settlers cabin. But wherever
found, it is always real pleasure to
come to them. and sitting down i'll
some old kitchen chair, perchance, feel
that exquisite seuSe of content which
seems to pervade the very atmosphere
of the place.
Such "A spot is the sitting room, par
lor, living all three ~in one,-
of my old guide, Luke Souman, away
up i'll the country of the Maine lakes,
on the bank of a river with long
Indian name, which it is quite unnec-
essary to wrestle with here.
1t is Il low, small house with an old
hemlock tree at one corner, and big
! bowlder with swamp of raspberry
| briers at tbs back. In front runs the
river, over its lodges and gravel bars,
up to the very door in spring, down
under the bank in September. All
around the little clearing and across
the river are woods, woods, black
evergreen woods. with here there Il
lofty pine and many birches.
Here live Luke and Elvira; or
'"Niry," as he always calls her. He
guides" traps and hunts, with now
and then day of farming, after his
! fashion, i'll the little clearing. The
! forest sill has game enough to he in
tcresting; and here l love to come
| every autumn for week, and if pos
sibe week in April for the trout
fishing.
There is one old chair with a basket
bottom and basket back, and broad
old arms. 1t has besides patchwork
cushion, not very thick. As soon as |
have arrived and have taken in my
gun-case and fishing-rods, 'Niry pats
up the little thin cushion and sets the
! chair-my chair-in the corner of the
huge fireplace.
Luke in the meantime sits down to
| talk about what he has done through
the year; while 'Viry is soon cooking
something for our next meal. The
humble house is always clean and
sweet. The food cooked has good
honest flavor; and we sit at the square
Kitchen table that is covered with Il
white factory cloth, and talk of what
has transpired since we last met. The
fire gives ont Il ruddy, CHEEKY glow,
and i'll the evening as we sit before it,,
the light plays on the raftered ceiling,
and on the brown inside walls. against
which hung Luke's guns, traps, axes
and sn0wshOes.
f. Heads of caribou peep out from the
corner. A ar-skin is stretched on
the wall 10y the outer door, and next is
Il bundle of AK helves and some strips
of well seasoned ash.
But the most notable ornament is
the head and antlers of huge male
moose, placed just over the big fire
place. The spread of the great pal
mated antlers is over five feet. The
head itself is enormous, and tufted
beneath the chin with wilderness of
deep seal-browu hair.
One can imagine what a forest mon
! aIOlI ii tk.,t a.,r,i..I +l.at maj aStir
head When | first asked for the
story of its capture, Luke laughed and
looked ut 'Niry, who also laughed and
blushed little, for it is an odd and
rather romantic story. 1t interested
me very much, and | give it in sub
stance below.
1t was the day before Christmas
and Luke Souman, then robust you'll
of nineteen, and comely, blue-eyet
Elvira Mcleod, year younger, wert
to be married that day. In the even
ing, according to the local usage IL
that region, all their young friend,
were to visit them for il sort of ''wake'
or ''rOuSe."
This rouse was not after the manne
of the rude charivari with which
; wedding is sometimes saluted in Can
O ada. but merely Il friendly gathering o
the unmarried acquaintances of th
newly welded couple, who, i'll pre-
tended grief at losing them from thcl
\ former status, seek to delay the nup
tials by sitting up late with them
There were certain other old-time Ger
emonies, handed down from the lon
past.
The Methodist minister, Mr.. Beck
u with, had been sent for to otficlate Il
y the marriage, and was expected at te
d o'clock in the forenoon. But Mr.. Beck
with WAS stationed at Rochelle, tOnl
teen or fifteen miles away aud ther
had been, only a day or two before,
heavy snow fall that literally hurie
that whole northern country to tn
depth of nearly three feet on a leve
with drifts in many places eight an
,t ten feet deep.
II The road leading southwark thToug
the forest to Rochelle had been ''brO<e
III OPEN with an OX-team ; but ut til
season there was little or no passin
from the settlement to the towns hC
low. 1t was feared that Mr.. Beckwit
would not get through, or, hearin
that the road was blocked with snow
would not start to come.
Ten o'clock struck then eleven an
> twelve but tine clergyman did NJ
appear. BY two in the afternoon h
arrival became so doubtful that Il
Youthful Luke determined that II
marriage should take place in spite
snow and weather, harnessed Il stO
work-horse into a ''pung," and, wra
y ping 'Niry comfortably i'll buffalOes al
, blankets, set off for Rochelle in scar,
of the clergyman.
4. 1t is not often that a Methodist mi
lister fails young couple in such
crisis; there seems always to be IA xii
:. of bond of sympathy between clerg
--- men in this denomination and you
people everywhere.
Mr. Beckwith had started prompt
at half-past seven that morning.
r half-past eight he was wallOwing il
~ drift and had broken his harness.
At nine he was on his way aga
At ten he was in another snOw-bar
in which he broke his sleigh thil
Obliged TO turn back, be procured a
other team ana started again. O
y. o'clock found him wading through I
drifts. with nine miles between h
ush and his destination. He had done
attn best and was not discouraged.
ngs, IL, frst rot his sUeetbeart snu,
iiug -. ~. -, ,,nJ ther ,vb;nnad