The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1886-04-06
MOHAWK'S WITCH.
Lucky Brom Van Warker Chosen
to Wed Her.

bfViu OIL w I'D hOi w % youuS hlah
of fine physique, good-looking in the
full scceptation of the term, and highly
esteemed by the good honest Dutch in
the valley of the Mohawk. His parents
died when he was about eight years of
age, leaving poor little Brom and q
five-year old blind sister, without q
dollar in the world to scramble up the
hill Of life as best they could.
The good, benevolent old dominic,
the Rev. Thomas Romeyn, who attended
to the spiritual needs of the Dutch and
Indians, became SO much interested in
little Brom. that he. at his own eK-
pense, sent the child to Albany to be
educated People wondered why the
good dominic should incur such an ex-
Pense when his salary and yearly dona-
tions amounted to but trifie more
than four hundred dollars.
Sometimes, as he sat writing SER
mon, his good wife would attempt to
demonstrate with him relative to what
she deemed needless expense, where
upon the old man would deposit his
goose quill pen upon she table, with
draw the long-stemmed pipe from his
mouth, deliberately knock the ashes
from the pipe bowl into the box of sand
at his feet, and in the most solemn and
impressive manner exclaim: ''Cast
your bread upon the waters, and after
many days it shall return unto " ~
He would then return to his pipe aid
pen, and the good wife had sense
enough to know that it would be folly
to attempt to resume her subject.
Brom remained at Albany twelve
long years, and when he returned to
Caughnawaga, his childhood's home,
he found everything nearly as he had
left it, natural wear and tear excepted,
as the lawyers say.
People during his absence had grown
older-boys had become men-girls
had become women; and now and then
could be seen an old gray-haired per-
son who had climbed up and up, and
stumbled down and down, and pressed
feebly forward, until the entire circuit
of the globe of life had been made, and
the weary wanderer rested at the start
ing point-the land of childhood
The natural scenery had changed but
little.
There was the same old river wend-
ing its majestic course onward to the
Hudson; there were the same old fiat
boats slowly crawling up the river with
al their owners phlegmatic patience.
There was the same old rock i'm the
river from which the little village de-
rived its name aughnawsga.
There was the impetuOus Cayadutta
creek, twice as large then as now,
roaring and plunging with unrestrained
haste into the Mohawk, as though
heartily glad to escape from the cold,
bleak and unacceptable region north of
he. Mohawk. 733s
Brom was too proud to exist mere
arone upon the charity of others. So,
when he was offered the position of
yiifiage school teacher at sixteen dol
lars per month. OF twenty-six days, and
board around the district, he gladly
accepted the offer.
Ii is no exaggeration to say that he
had q pretty hard time of it. 1t cost
30 much beside his board to live. and
contribute to the support of his blind
sister, that, when the old year went
out and the new year came in, there
was nothing left with which to start
upon the new year.
But he was bgave-hearted and ener-
sretic, and possessed of an indomitable
power of viii. Every time he felt like
1ainting by the way5side, he would &C
and visit, the blind sister, and taking
her delicate little hands in his own,
gaze silently into her sightless eyes,
and think of their childhood days be
fore the poor girl met with q horrid
acoidsntt@howan taey 10 rempedoo and
1ezned toEetAep through tbe' long sum
msx ,days, gathering Wild flowers along
the banks Of the Caysdutta,, and hunt
ISdt baSIs il iaSs Mohsw now viii
&c s2hHd mot Act long since gone 3
Hsssen they wosla knsel dc THERE
side and repeaA tie beautiful nrA4e1