Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1892-04-14
THE. BRASS KETTLE.

Leave oil spinning, mercy, anu reei
what you've got on the spindle for me-.
There'll be enough, guess, to finish this
web, and I'll put it in without securing.
Thon run over to Wilson's and borrow
Sarahs brass kettle. Well have some
hulled corn tomorrow, now the leach is
up"
1t was late on q May afternoon in
Maine, then an outlying part of Massa-
chusetts, more than hundred and thirty
five or forty years ago. A pioneer S
wife sat at her loom. plying the shuttle
rapidly, while with sturdy blows of her
foot on the treadle, she beat tho wool
yarn into the web.
Her daughter Mercy, pretty, blue
eyed girl of seventeen, who had been
making tho spinning wheel hum merrily
for the last two hours, laid down the
wheel finger with willing Yea,
mother" and piled the less noisy reel,
counting off the threads in low tone.
"Six knots, mother, she said.
at will make enough" replied Mrs.
Cary, her voice half drowned by the loud
clatier of the high, brown old loom in
which she sat. "Wind ii on the quilts. F"
The girl did so. but fingered a bit as
she set the quill box in the loom.
Cant take that piece of cherry rib
bon. mother" she asked, little con-
fusedly.
Yes, yes, child" said tho mother,
somewhat impatiently. 1t was not the
first time Mercy had asked orthe ribbon
and with pleasure in her fresh face, tho
girl withdrew quietly to the other room
of the Lighthouse, where for some secret
reason she now attempted few details
of self-adornment, before she set off on
her errand to the Wilson's.
A ruddy boy in homespun, eight years
old, perhaps, ran in barefoot as Mercy
withdrew.
"Marm" said he, with mysterious
half shake of his head, 81 believe there s
an old Indian out by the log pile. Tige's
oil brustled up, ana keeps looking out
that way"
There, there, Josh, stop that talk!'
cried his mother, sharply. "What did
your father tell you this morning? lie
babe We not TO say Indian again for q
month. There's non, anywhere about
now. Twas nothing more than bear
that Tige smelt."
"I'll bet it isn't bear, muttered little
Josh to himself, as he went out, rebuffed.
"Tige always barks for a bear; but he
never banks, nor growls out loud, if it's
an Indian. Old Jed Haney taught him
that when he was pup"
Tigs, large white and brindled dog,
with broad head, pink nose and strong,
bony legs, was standing in the dooryard.
The hair along his shoulders and back
showed tendency TO rise, and from
moment to moment he turned his glaring
eyes slowly in the direction of the woods
to the southwest of tho stumpy clearing.
Mercy meantime started on her errand
for the kettle. Her mother peered Out
from the loom frame.
There, Mercy, you vain girl?" she
cried, laughing little; for Mercy had
arranged the cherry ribbon in bow al
her throat, and displayed little antique
pin of gold, gift of her grandmother.
She blushed at her mothers good
humored raillery.
"Dont stay" Mrs. Cary added. It'll
soon be night now. And Mercy" she
called again, stopping the loom moment
Take Tige with you. Josh may go
too, if he wants to-"
An interesting legend from the early
folklore of the colony has descended to
us of Mercy Cary's Tip for the brass
kettle. From Casco-now Portland
the settlers had by this time begun tc
push forth into the wilderness, in the
direction of Yarmouth, Brunswick, New
Gloucester and the Saco Valley.
1t was the period Of the French war
with its many Indian outbreaks, which SC
greatly distressed the people. lncited
by the infamous "scalp bounties' an6
Captive bounties" offered in Canada
the savages not only made attacks In
force upon the garrison houses, but
singly, or in little parties, lay in wait on
the borders of the forest, to cut off the
settlers who were at work in their clear.
ings, or going 70 and fro on their long
trips to mill or TO procure supplies.
Many we're thus foully murdered, oil
captured and hurried away through the
woods to be sold to the French in Canada
Young English captives we're then In
much request among the wealthy French
families at Montreal, Three Rivers, Sore
and Quebec, as servants, particularly
Young women from sixteen to twenty
four years old. Scores of girls were
dragged away into captivity, only few
of whom were ever so fortunate as Il
meet their relatives again.
The settlers built block-houses al
places of refuge here and there; ant
scouts were sent out 20 give warning o.
Indian parties. But often their utmos
vigilance failed 20 detect the presence
Of the lurking redskins.
Three miles from the block-houses a
Chepidneck lived the Cary and Wilson
families. Their clearings were on thu
opposite banks Of large brook, the out
let of considerable lake. The ricl
intervale land along the stream offere'
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