Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-14

day il and out, as cooks for the day, and
the boys soon loyalty ranged themselves
:. under Sarah's banner, in a determination
that her days should be not inferior to those
directed by the world-renowned skill of
their mother. Foragers before and behind
would bring in squirrel, or possibly a
| partridge, and once and again wild turkey.
| If these failed, there was the infallible salt
pork, and on Sundays as they did not travel,
with the regularity of the recurrence of the
| sacred seventh day, there was pot of beans.
For, however one place or another place in
| this world may be rated for its loyalty or
disloyalty to that article of food, Essex
county, which these travellers were leaving
forever, will always be the central shrine Of
its most sacred worship.
No, Emma, no, Lilly, this story cannot
last forever, like a Chinese comedy, as you
and would like to have it. So that if you
want to know where they washed their
hands every morning, when they walked
and when they rode, when the side-saddle
was fitted for Sarah, or when she and the
boys tramped on far in advance over muddy
roadways, you must call up some spirit by
the hands of successful medium, or you
must burroy in the old chest, where are left
the diaries and letters Of generation now
forgotten. We must hurry on and bring
them to their destiny; for I will confess to
you here that they were not drowned as they
crossed the Hudson, they were not murdered
in Jersey, they did not die of scarlet fever
in Bethlehem, they were not poisoned at
Allenstown, they were not caught under a
zpowdrift and frozen to death on the crest of
the Alleghenies, and they did not die of
despair when they came to the Western wa
ters and found them too low for navigation.
Here is just one little scrap from letter of
Sarah's to her Aunt Huldah, which you
may read first, Emma, and then you may
pass it over to Lilly, and that shall be all
the detail Of the long journey.
Sarah Parris to HuIdah Whitman.
Ny Dear Aunt Huldah:
/ would write at the head of my letter, in
the true epistolatory style where am, if I
only knew. But all I do know is that we
have crossed what they call the watershed,
famous Allegheny Mountains. And know
this-that last night the boys were talking
Dutch with the children of a Dutchman
who lives at place which Is called Still
ings. But what his name is, dear aunt, I
do not know. So now you are as wise as
am. We have had funny adventure with
the Dutchman's dog, and 1 will tell you
this first of all, though. it is not very i'm
portant. He had this pretty little dog,
which he was very fond of. need not say
that my boys, who are dear boys, were very
fond Of it, too. They PLAYED with it last
night, and fed it, and made it lap milk.
For you must know that we have as good
milk as you have. Our two cows have not
given out at all since we started. There
was one night when they could not keep up
with US, but excepting that we have had
milk all the time. Well, this morning,
do not know how, somebody took the little
dog and put him under the seat of the
wagon, and there he went to sleep, and we
did not find him until we had gone good
many miles. Then Cephas had to ride all
the way back with him, for fear they should !
think we had stolen him. Somehow Cephas |
missed the Dutchman's s son, and he has Just |
now brought us q very funny letter, written |
in the worst English I ever did see, ex-
pressing his surprise at our ingratitude. |
But Cephas will be back soon to tell us that |
he has saved our reputation, though we |
have lost our little dog.
Now, I will begin my story. All the |
wav through the Bay people ran out to see |
us, and our wagon, which was such a |
strange thing to them; and in Connecticut, |
too, we were quite famous; but after we
came into Jersey, people did not mind us |
any more than you mind Parson Bentley's |
chaise. For there were q great many
wagons going forward, and we fell in with (
some almost every day-for we go faster
than most of them do, having such good I
horses. OF course, we go faster than the
oxen, and must confess also that we go
faster than those who have yokes of cows,
as one man had whom we passed yesterday |
One day do the cooking, and one day my |