Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1884-12-22
What Davy Fearnought
Found one Christmas
Eve.

auu IL WAS Quile du uuueTtdhluS "
emlgrate to their western limits yet
many a hardy New England family
sought homes there, Notwithstanding
the perils, both of the journey and
those to be met with at its end.
On the banks of quite a little river,
which the Indians had long before
designated as "Big Deer Creek, =
two families from Vermont had built
for themselves homes on grants of
Government land.
esquire Bloxham, as he was us
ually called by his neighbors, boasted
of having Puritan blood in his veifs.
one of his ancestors having come
over in the Mayfower. The Squire
was a blacksmith by trade, had a
fair education, and was an upright,
honest man, whose word was as good
as bond. Moreover, he was justice
Of the peace, and man of great hu-
NOR, wholly unlike what Puritans are
imagined to be.
David Fearnought's spacious log
house, with mill and wheelwright
shop attached, was nearly two miles
further down the stream. As his
name denotes, he was afraid of moth
ing animate or inanimate jovial,
ever ready to oblige a friend, but
staunch and firm to stubbOrnness
when he once decided IA point. Ev-
cry one loved sturdy ''Davy' as he
was familiarly known. He had a
good, motherly, hard-worklng wife,
three stout, grown sons, then two
very pretty, intelligent daughters !;
and the youngest of his family was a
boy of twelve years, very like his
| father, and also bore his name.
There was ford to the creek be-
tween his and Squire Bloxham's s
house, and half mile from the ford 3,
on the blazed road, passing through
the forest, lived a family named Dig
ger, in an old log cabin, of whom lit
tie was known except that they APP
peared miserably poor. The man was
ostensibly, shoemaker, but he got
little work, or, rather, seemed not in
clined to work, though he looked
rough and hearty enough. He culti-
waited bit of cleared ground on which
the cabin stood, but much of his time
was spent in hunting and fishing. He
was sulky, morose person, whom
few liked, but his family excited the
pity and charity of the neighborhood.
Mrs. Digger was pale, delicate
woman, who seemed as muckscsst OF
place in the backwoods' cabin as
would bird of Paradise in an owls
nest. She was the mother of four
children, two boys and two girls
the girls were the youngest. and deli
cate as the poor mother; the boys
were rough, hardy, and frequent com
panions of their father in his eXcur-
sions. No one knew the history OF
the poor, lonely wife, but all fell
sympathy for her, and not unfre-
quently offered aid in the absence ol
her surly husband. Alarms had beer
often excited in the earlier history OF
the settlement regarding Indians, and
a block house of sufficient security
had been built of huge logs, within
easy access of all but it had been
many months now since any fear OF
depredations from them had been en-.
tertained.
The summer previous to the open.
ing of our story had been one of much
rain, but the autumn had been pleas
ant, and fair crops gathered. The
Christmas holidays were approaching
and nowhere are they more enjoyed
than in the little settlements almost
beyond the limits of civilization. The
entire population of s'Deer Creek
settlement had been invited to par
| ty, or what was there called a quilt
ing bee for the women and corn-husk-
ing for the men. Every one was to
90 in the morning, before dinner, and
to remain all night, for, as Davy
Fearnought said, it would be "mon-
strous bad drivin' at night, as well as
dangerous" and many had come from
twenty miles off, for people in new
countries think no more of going
twenty OF thirty miles to a neighbor's
to spend the day than person resid
ing here on college Hill," would
think of going down to the Capitol
Squire Bloxham and family, consist
ing of the Squire, his thrifty wife
two grown-up sons, and three rosy
plump daughters, the youngest no
over ten years of age, were all a
Davy Fearnought's by nine O'Clock oil
the morning of the day before Christ
mas, "for," said gentle Mrs. Blox
ham, "the days are SO short now, i
one doesn't get to work by min
O'Clock in the morning, especial,
quiltin' work, there can't be mucl
done, and nothing like work will b
done arter candle-light.
The young folks were to hav
! games, fortunes tried, and to end u
in a regular country dance, for whic
the lower floor of the mill was an ex
cellent place, lighted up and trimme
with evergreens and plenty of mistle
toe, which, in great quantities, gre
on the aged oak trees in the fores
near by.
Now, although the Digger family
by courtesy, had been invited, no on
: expected to see them at the "bee,