The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-05-23
What Not to Do if This Desirable
Result is to Be Fully
Achieved.
Do Not Drive Them to Unceasing
Tasks Nor Forbid Health
full Sports.
Pater and Mater Should Participate in
Their Innocent Amusements-Hap-
by Memories Will Linger.

subjects with headings something like
these: "How to Keep the Boys at Home
or "How to Cause Children to Acquire a
Love for Home," and the subjects have
been we'll ventilated already; but, digress-
ing little for a while, will write few
remarks apart from my subject, but still in
connection with it, beginning with "How
not to cause the boys to acquire love for
home," says writer in Forest and Stream.
To do this effectively, keep them at work
all the time at something, often at the most
disagreeable jobs one can find on the farm,
if the parent is a farmer, or keep them at
work the same in whatever other calling he
happens to be in; if they at any time would
like day or more off for fishing, cunning,
boating, or for some other sport, refuse
them, and at the same time quote some
of DR.. Franklin's old saws about idle
ness. lost time, the consequence of losing
hours, and all that; then if they enjoy
any particular sport, take no lnte-
them how much you disapprove of such
folly? Then if they ask for little cash
with which to buy boat. gun. fishing
tackle, or some other sporting implements,
generally give them negative answer; be-
sides, favor them with good long sermon
want or something like that; or if you
should furnish the funds do SO grudgingly
and let the amount be SO small that it will
barely purchase the cheapest. the poorest
article, or something secondhand. Now,
as the father would go on in that style he
would make a complete success of the plan
to cause the boys to dislike home, and to
leave it as soon as possible.
On the other hand, if parent would like
to have the young people stay at home, or
= 4 L.
if circumstances compel them to leave IL,
to have them cherish many happy memoir
les of the dear old place and its surround
ings, it can be easily done by methods just
the opposite. Pater Familias should on
some day call his boys around him; yes, and
his girls, too, and should tell them that ne
sized, we'll CONSTRUCTED log cabin in a
grove near some lake or stream. The ef-
feet would be surprising. No body of saw
ages in a war dance would cut up more an
tics than would those . people t in the exuber
never dreamed of, too good to be true.
What fun we will have in it. Didn't Dan
iel Boone, Simon Kenton and all of the
other early hunters that We have
read about live or stay in
them, and now we can have one the same as
they did, all to ourselves. Three cheers for
the cabin and for papa, too" They would
think about it day times and dream about
it nights, for they have thought about log
cabins many time before, and read about
them too, for more than three-fourths of
that pile of story books that the boys have
read, treated more or less of log cabins,
Indians, hunters and the like.
As for the expense, it need not be much.
Even if desirable land has to be bought, it
would cost but little and the expense of
building would be next to nothing, for on
most farms there is a plentiful supply of
timber. Besides, the boys, if large enough,
would be only too glad to do nearly if not
quite all the work. Or if the father has no
woodland from which to get suitable quail
ity of timber even then the ;.t e1-
as the material could be bought in
the rough state and the boys, with the as.
sistance of mechanics, could in a few days
prepare the structure, rs well as make the
rustic furniture to be used in it. Then if
it was near lake or a stream, let the boys
have a canoe, a row-boat or a sail-boat, or
all three of them; swings and hammocks
could be hung to the neighboring trees for
the use of the girls. so that there would be
no end of harmless pleasures for the child
rem.
Now and then pater and mater, with
friends of their own ages, might themselves
again wish to be boys and girls for the time
being, and would once in a while go with
their children to the cabin for the purpose
of having regular old-fashioned picnic
now please0 tne younger members OF INT
family would be to think that their parents
enjoyed tho outing as we'll as themselves
With what pleasure would they unpack tn,
baskets and soon the flames would be roar
ing to boil the water in the teakettle, hun.
on the crane in the broad, deep fireplace
Then what jolly time would both old ant
young have together when the table wa
spread; and when the day was over the par
ents would feel that even if both they anl
the boys had lost that amount OF time from
business, the pleasure received by the fam
lily would more than compensate for tn
time lost and the money expended.
And in after years, when the parent
we're no more. the children scattered, tn,
family broken up, and the old homestead
perhaps in the hands of strangers no,
fondly the thoughts of those children woul
revert to their early home, especially t,
that log cabin! 1t would never be etface'
from their recollectiohs.