Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1885-03-20

1t was even with the top OF our CABIN
windowsl Then the sun came out and
meltld it little, then it froze hard,
and there was the best shoeing' snow
you ever saw. By this time Mrs. Lee
had gone about half crazy over not
having her baby; and she felt SO bad
about, it that | offered to take my shoes
and slip over to Carr's and bring the
child over to her.
" To tell the truth, / wanted baby
around the house to make things pleas
ant til ough the winter"
=" A 6d6g, TO make things pleas
anti Is the man crazyp' murmured
the. engineer But Uncle John went
on without noticing that remark.
Nellie was about three years old,
not very large for her age, but strong
and he rty, and l thought / could
knock up some kind of rough sled at
Carr's, bundlcher up well, haul her up
to the top of the divide then sling
her on my back, and the rest of the
way was all down hill.
"Wcll l got to Carr's all right,
made my sled, stayed all night, and
started off bright and early the next
morning.
"Gcntlemen, were you ever in the
mountains about sunrise in the winter
time, with the snow covering every
thing, and an icy crust all over it? Mop
Well, then, you've missed one of the
most dazzling sights that man ever saw.
All the colors of the rainbow, all tho
hues of all prec Gus stones-ruby, sap
phire, pearl, emerald, diamond-tlash
from every twig of every tree; the trees
are pillars of frosted silver, and under
foot "A sea of crystal mixed with fire..
1t reminded me, that morning, of the
hymn had recently been hearing Mrs.
Lee sing:
Jerusalem, the golden,
With radiant glory blestl
Beneath thy contemplation
Sink heart and voice Opprestl
With jasper glow thy bulwnrks,
Thy streets with emeralds blaze;
The sardius and the topaz
In thee unite their rays;
Thy splendent walls are lucent
With hyacinthinc light -.
The light that has no evening,
That needs nor moon nor sun,
The light divine and golden,
The light that is but one!'
81 had stopped u moment at the head
of Lost Trail Creek, to look down the
canon at the marvellous scene, when l
heard little Nellie, whom had forgot
ten for few minutes. call out:
"Oh, what bid pussy! Unkie John!
Unlie John, see the bid pus 3y-tat!'
Il looked around, and there, Just
above the trail, and not the length of
tlhs log from the sled, stood the finest
specimen of mountain Ion think
ever saw. Twas queer, but at first
sight, / didn't feel bit afraid =
in fact, hardly surprised, at seeing him
there. am not a poet, as you know,
but was so near to one that morning
that really think l had forgotten for
the moment that there was any such
thing as danger or death on earth.
''As i looked at him, my first thought,
derived, suppose, by an association of
ideas from the hymn which had been
running through my head, was:
"Leonenl de tribe Jude
''He was so stately and massive, so
dignified and-I can't find any word to
express his look but magnanimous-
that for moment l felt nothing but a
kind of wondering admiration.
"Then, in flash, l woke up. There
was that blessed baby, holding out her
little hands and calling: Pussy, pussy!
pity passy come an pay wiz Nellie
Come to Nellie, pussy; Nellie love 90. )
And there, not ten yards away, facing
her. was that yellow brute, a cruel,
savage, greedy beast, who might the
next second ugh! it makes me shiver
now to remember it. And to think
that l was as powerless to help or pro-
tect her as she was herself that the
slightest move on my part would prob
ably only hasten the tragedy:
80 we stood there, how long don't
know. Nellie coaxing and pleading, her
eyes sparkling, her black curls dancing,
her rosy cheeks glowing, and her little
mittened hands outspread to the grim
beast that stood, with head turned u
little to one side, watching her steadily,
and as motionless as if carved out of
rock.
II dom know whetherit was instinct
or desperation that at last made me
step slowly backward, pulling the sled
after me. Foot by foot the distance
widened, the great cat keeping his yell
low, UNIV mixing eyes on Nellie, as she
slowly turned her head to keep him in
sight. | think we might have left him
there, ii she, despairng of his coming
to her, had not turned TO me and cried:
'Unkie John, p' ease let Nellie get
out and pay wiz her bid pussy-tat!
''This seemed to break the spell which
had held him, for he stepped slowly
down into the trail and followed us.
backwards | went, drawing the sled
with my left hand, and keeping my
right on the butt of my revolver, ready
to fire if the worst came to the worst,
and he crouched for spring.
'If any of you want the hardest Job
you have ever had, just try walking
backwards up a steep, icy trail, on
twelve-foot Norwegian snow-shoes, not
turning your head to see where you are
going. i didn't dare turn around, nor
take my eyes OF the tawny beast that
was following us. Every now and then
he would stop and rub himself against
q tree, arching his back. and purring in
a deep, mlilled bass, just like COM
mon house-cat only hundred times
as loud. Then he would turn out from
the trail, quicken his pace a little, and
for a hundred yards or SO, walk abreast
OF the sled, then drop TO the rear, cross
TO the other side. and do the same thing
there; and then saunter lazily on be-
hind again.
''After the first five or ten minutes,
lost good deal of my fear of him, he
seemed SO peaceable and good-natured;
but didn't know what minute his
temper might change. AT last, | saw
break in the trees ahead, and knew
we were coming to timber line In q
few minutes We were out in the open
pass, within quarter of a mile Of tho
divide.
''As we drew away from the woods,
our self-appointed attendant seemed to
conclude that he had escorted us as far
as pollteness demanded, for he stopped
and Auntohnd 1a q .ua odimhnd NUM-