The Arizona sentinel., 1885-12-05


 su rounding country with her eagle
 eyes until she was rewarded by seeing
 one Indian, alone, crossing a corn-field,
 on ''long lope," two or three miles to
 the northward.
 ''It is as I thought she said to her.
 self; ''there is now but one. There is
 no use of trembling before a retreating ] foe"
 The next morning, however, she set
 about preparing for his return with his
 comrades.
 'Indians never can get enough maple
 sugar." she said. "Ihey are sure to
 come for some of mine. I will be ready
 for them"
 But to her children she said, cheer
 fully: We will make shoemaker's
 wax to-day, for fathers waxed ends;"
 and hanging a good-sized three-legged
 pot upon the crane. she put into it bees
 wax made from wild honey-combs, tal-
 low and clarified pine pitch, and after
 boiling it until it was just the right con-
 sistency to wax hard when it was cold,
 she slipped it back upon the crane and
 waited. TEe next day was Thanksgiv-
 ing. Grandma Stevens was early astir,
 she had her baking in the brick oven,
 and at daybreak climbed the tall, vel
 low pine tree, left standing near the log-house door for a lookout. Con-
 cealed amid its thick, dark green
 branches she waited, despite the nip ping frost, until the light was sufficient to allow of her scanning all the sur rounding country. An! what was that? She was not mistaken. She had been to the very top of the great pine during the night, and far away by the shore of the lake had seen, like a star, an Indian campfire. Now she saw them start out in Indian file, one by one-hardly perceptible to any but her own wonder fully strong eyes, exceeding even the eyes of an Indian in strength of vision.
 Quickly descending the tree she gave the children their breakfast and sent them away to the block-house, telling them to return with their father. and as many others as chose to come, after the meeting for prayer anl praise and Thanksgiving had been concluded.
 She then warmed the shoemaker's | wax until it was a thick, glutinous 1 mass, poured over it a quart or so of | hot maple syrup, and then went into |
 
 ready, and to watch for her visitors 1 She was well acquainted with their | ways that she had not planned in vain. | They came, as she had suspected they | might, in war-paint and feathers. with | their weapons ready for intimidation or to reGiet into erferonce, but sho belng | quite alone felt no alarm. At sight of | the first 9rotesquelY painted face peer iY,or Iol, i'd f,.oo q land, she threw handful of sugar upon the fire, thus dereivino the In uiaIIs, wn0 nave Keen sense Of smell, into the belief that rot of maple syrup, then upon the fire, had boiled over; and wild with delight at the first sniff they ran with long, light, rapid steps for the dwelling.
 She had purposely left open the outer door of her kitchen, that the long, pale beams of the November sun might stream in, and that the appetizing fumes from her dinner might not fail to outside the house.
 The leader, who was few steps ahead, peered into the large room, found it vacant and seeing the big pot over the fire rushed in to help himself to the waiting feast. There were wooden spoons and plates and pewter porringers sitting about on the shelf and the rude table. The foremost h. dian at the first dip got spoonful of syrup, and as he tasted it gave grunt of intense satisfaction, and two or three of his followers did likewise. By that time they had lifted the pot from the crane to the cleanly swept hearth and were dipping into it like starving pigs Sooner than it takes me to tell this story they were all bowling with dismay and fear Their hands were covered with the rapidly cooling wax, their mouths were full of it; the more they attempted to free themselves, the worse predicament they found themselves in.
 At that moment Grandma Stevens, having gone out by '.blind'' window of the ''other room," appeared at the outer door. She was a tall, fine-look- ing woman, with commanding pres ence that was now enhanced by crim- son satin gown with yellow satin bod ice, ruff about her neck and lace frills in the bottom of her elbow sleeves. A high comb and false curls increased her height. and the Indians, who had never before seen any woman dressed in any, thing save the plainest, simplest home spun garments, believed 6 spirit had ap- peared to them. The apparition, as the confused and awe-struck Indians believed my great-grandmother to be. looked at them in well-feigned sorrow and amazement. She pointed to the kettle and to their pitiable plight and shook her head, wrung her hands, and beat her breast in distress. Then go- ing to a dresser she brought out a basket full of golden brown Jumps of broken cakes of sugar and poured it upon the table before them to show them that it was free, and that she was glad to give it to them. Taking occasion to grease her hands as she was stepping about, she took spoon- ful of wax from the iron pot, dex- trously rolled it into ball, put it into her mouth, took it out again, tossed it into the air, and then back into the pot.
 The poor Indians had no further 1oubt that she was sent by the Great Spirit to punish them, and awaited their doom, some of them with closed mouths and helpless outstretched hands, in stolid silence, others muttering, spluttering, { 'pitting and choking. When the thought occurred to them to take ' heir weapons and flee, they found the I loor of the cabin closed, and made fast n way they could not open, and that ( heir bows, arrows and hatchets had disappeared. {
 At this juncture came the shoemaker, i lis child1.nrn nd hic f,-inndr f,c,,n 1 f