Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-11-07


 settin.. out from the Ryckort camp, far away n .;car!sley settlement very s~,','I ''"y was hning tucked comfortably in.1., :" s,~aw end bear-skins of roomy Iu,S A his grandmother kissed the rtun1. ': y-et ~t litCc :~c,, she said to tHo G1:vur. sim youth of perhaps ( S'ii, n:
 j., you t,.::,,,:. now, Mart, the goin' won't be too bad? Be you sure the puI~ ain't likely % slump down and up5o,? And then, thcre's the ice! This warm spell must E%v> made it pretty rotten! Will it Le safo crossin' the streams? Somehow CT other, 1 do jist hato lcttin' Arty go along this mornin'r' Don't you be worryin' a mite, marm," responded Mart Babcock, gathering up the reins. Thor ain't no ice to cross, seein's ther' ain't no rivers in our rowt exceptin' the Sicgus. an that's got a bridge to it. I'll look after Arty, trust me. His pad be powerful disapp'inted if didn't bring him along this time, to say n2wthtn' of sll the hands,"
 Well, we'll" said the oil lady, in a voice of reluctant resignation; Il sup pose it's all right; but take keer of him, Mart, as if he was the apple of your eye!"
 It was a soft, hazy, melting day when Mart and Arty set out on their long drive. The travelling was heavy, but the air was delicious, and our travellers were in the highest spirits. The visit to the camp was Arty's dearest treat, and was allowed him three or four times during the winter.
 Toward noon the hazy blue of the e1- .1, while the air grew almost oppressively warm and tho woods wero filled on all sides with the strange inuumerable noises of the great thaw. Tho dull crunchings of tho settling masses of snow at first thrilled the child with a vague alarm. Then, treasured by his companion, he grew interested in try ing to distinguish the varied sounds. The uubending of softencd twigs and saplings, the drr| ping of looscned bark, the stc@lthy tricHilngS of unseen rillets all thC so filled tho forest with a sense of mysterious activity and hustle.
 Every little while Mart stopped to give the floundering horse rest and en- couragcmont Jerry belonged to Steve Doyle; but, being great pet with his owner and dc~oted to the child, and db lllt SiktllS llIllb SOueWnaO too Olu to endure without injEry the hardships of winter numbering. he had been loft at home in lu|ury the last two winters, with nothils to do but mako weekly trip to tho camp on tio little St. Fran cis. In all cases Jerry was treated with affectionate considera ion, which he amply repaid by his intelligence and willingness.
 When our weary tra avclcrs reached the top of tho hill overlooking tho camp, Jerry was pretty woll flag rcd. There was the camp, however, not half milo away in it's clearing at the end of q straight bit of road Arty cluppcd his hands, and stood up to sec if he could catch a El:"1pjo of his father looking out for him; and Mart chir- rIpcd chCCr'Glly to tho horse.
 Just at this moinent the rain, which had been threatening for hour. camo down. It ca,1" down in shoe $. The horse was ul., ! to a run, but tho travellers, ere tL, reached tho camp, were drenched as ii thy had fallen in the river Arty, moreover, was drenchrd in tears for q few moments on learning of his fathers absence; but soon, with the delighted pottings and caresSingS of the three or four woods men who had been left in the camp, the little fellows disappointment was as- suaged, and he was making himself lnerrily at home. The camp, however, seemed to him lonely and deserted; and whom, after supper, getting the cook to wrap him up in an oil-skin coat, he went out to the stable to give Jerry big piece of camp ginger-bre and bid him goodnight, his disappoint- ment welled up again, and he gave way to few more tears on the affectionate animals neck.
 Around the blazing fire little later Arty was himself again. The men sang songs for him and told him stories, and blew little clouds of bitter smoke from their pipes into the brown thicket of his curls. He sat now on one rough fellows 8 knee, now on anothes's, and absorbed all the attention of the camp, and was all lowed by the cook to eat all the ginger bread he wanted. When he got sleepy he was put into his fathers bunk; and, since he was determined to have it so. Mart was allowed to sleep beside him. Arty having gone to bed, there was nothing for his admirers to do but fol- low his example. Their hearts filled with tender memories and generous thoughts, stirred up by the presence of the child among them, the backwoods- men turned into their hunks and soon were fast asleep.
 That night the floods came. The tor rents rushing down every hillside speedily burst the already rotten ice Some miles above the camp a jam formed itself early in the evenings mixed mass of lce-cakes, logs and rub bish; and this kept the water below from rising rapidly enough to warn the camp of it's danger. Just as the gray of dawn was beginning to struggle dimly through the forest aisles, the jam broke, and the mighty avalanche of ice and water swept down on the slumbering camp.
 There was no warning. Men perished in their sleep, crushed or drowned, without knowing what had happened. | The camp was sifnply wiped ont of ex-