Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-03-11
lCopwtoht Secured All Riohts Reserved-l Driven From Sea to Sea,
 Or, JUST A CAMPIN'.
BY 0. O. POST.

in the window and campfire burning brightly in front of the cottageP
 If life were flame feeding upon the body which it inhabits, then it would be easy to understand how men sometimes grow old in a day-how the hair may turn white in night for one man may live more, suffer more in an hour, than comes to others in 8 lifetime.
 The posse sent to evict the home steaders had gone directly to John Par sons cottage from Ritchie's: but they were preceded by Mrs. Ritchie, who, frightened by the threat of men to tear the shanty down over her head if she d.d not at once leave it. had caught her babe from its cradle and ran directly to the Parsons homestead, where she ar rived almost as much dead as alive, and had imparted the dreadful information, believing it to be true. that every dwell ling on the ranch was to be torn down, and had urged Mrs. Parsons to take the oh -dren and fly with her to some place in the hills where they could hide from those who were bent upon a mission of destruction, and whom her excited im- agination had magniiied into a small army, ready for any outrage upon the persons as well as the property of those against whom they were sent
 Mrs. Parsons was scarcely less agi- tateu at the terrible news than was she who brought it; and Erastus who had listened without saying a word to the story of the outrage. made no objection to the proposition, but helped to make into a bundle the scanty wardrobe of the family, and in company with tho frightened women and chi dren crossed the creek upon little foot-brlige made of blanks, and placed them all within the shelter of the bluffs on the opposite side, and a little further down, where they would be out of sight of the posse either from the cottage or from any point on the road O. CT which they would pass in continuing their work of de struct;on.
 This done, in spite of the pleadings of the little girls and Mrs. Ritchie, and the almost commands of Aunt Martha" as he had always called Mrs. Parsons, he returned to the cottage and careful ly examined the rifle wh ch he had been allowed to purchase when the journey across the plains began. and also that of Uncle Johu,'' which hung over the door between the two apartments. Then he closed and barricaded as best he could the doors of the cottage and waited.
 He had not long to wait, for very soon the posse, composed of dozen men. halted in front of the dwelling, and the leader advanced and rapped loudly on the door.
 It is probable that the posse had lin gered little, knowing the direction in which Mrs. Ritchie had fled with her child, and guessing that the family to whom she would impart the informa- ton of the destruction of her own dwell ing would be frightened therci into leaving also, and thus enable them to svold the scene winch, in justice, it must be said was no pleasure to them; and evidently they thought that the the squad remarked as he halted the men:
 Guess we shan't have to frighten anybody to death here to get them to leave"
 He was right. The occupant of the cottage was not frightened. but in another minute the officer was. for lie heard the click of rifle lock and knew that t ere was not only some. body within, but that that somebody meant business; and, hastily stepping back off the porch, he said to the men: Nobody at home here; guess we've done enough for one day, anyhow; let's quit and go home." And in another moment the whole posse was out upon the road and headed in the direction from which they came.
 It is more than possible, it is prob able, that the officer did not intend to destroy the house from which this little family had fled, and wh ch Erastus Hemingway had determined to de- fend at the risk of his life.
 It was one of the best cottages i'll the whole ranch and was too valuable to be destroyed if the family could be those nearest it had been destroyed result in its abandonment, if not inn mediately, at least within very short time; and the purpose of the posse in stopping at all had been to add to the fright of its occupants by threats and by their presence: instead of which their leader had received fright him. self, which induced him to move a lit tie more rapidly than was his wont, and to keep his person well sheltered behind the wagon in which was de- posted the axes and iron bars, by means of which they had carried on their work of destruction at other places.
 When Erastus was satisfied that the men were really gone, he unbarricaded the door and returned to the anxious group behind the bluff.
 At first they could not be persuaded to go back to the house, the little girls crying and begging their mother to ''hitch right up and go back to tho States" where at least their lives were safe; but finally venturing far enough out to take a look, they saw approach ing man, whom Mrs. Ritchie recog- nized as neighbor, and were reas- sured.
 The neighbor proved to be another of the evicted squatters looking for shelter for his houseless family. and when John Parsons and Bill Ritchie refined up their heated ponies in f. ont of the cottage that night, it was the only one standing xxyif 0f