The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-25
LEARNING TO WRITE"

little childish treble would pipe out some
foolish question like this:
"Say, grandpa, when you were little
boy did people build fires with the same
kind OF matches they have now?"
And grandpa would smile and twirl his
thumbs round each other between his
clasped fingers. He would never make
any haste to answer foolish questions, and
he never reproved the little folks even
when they asked the same thing for the
hundredth time. He understood perfectly
that the question was really only hint
that it was q good time 10 begin story-tell-
ing, and he enjoyed it as much as the chill
dren did.
"When l was little boy" he would be-
gin after thinking his way very carefully,
''when l was boy we had never heard of
such thing as matches nor had anybody
else.
awe used to build our fires with flint
and finder, and it was not always an easy
thing to do.
"Itwas thought careless, shiftless thing
to let the fire 90 out in the first place.
"In the year 1855, when / lived in the
mountains of New Hampshire with my
father and mother and my little brothers
and sisters, We had more wood than any
thing else.
"a huge fireplace was built across one
end Of our log house, and nobody counted
only the trouble OF cutting it, and the trees
had to be felled anyway to make clearings
to raise our crops OF corn and wheat and
potatoes.
"Great fires blazed in the fireplace al
most all the year round. But at night or
when the weather was warm, live Goals
were covered deep under the ashes, where
they would keep the fire for q long time.
''Of course, if the fire went out, we could
borrow from our neighbors. and many q
time 1 have gone several miles on horse
back to bring back pot of live Goals, safely
buried up in ashes.
NOW I am going to tell you of something
that happened tonne when Twas ten years
old that came very neal leaving you chill
dren without any grandpa.
MY father sent me to neighbours, five
miles through the woods, to say that there
would be service at the log schoolhouse
next Sunday and everybody must come
and bring dinner and supper along, SO
they could make day of it.
Mother didn't much like to have her boy
go through the woods alone. especially as
it was~cold weather and the ground was
covered with snow.
CATER a while, when it began to grow
dark m other began 70 worry, just as
mothers always did and always will. She
couldn't help being scared, even If she was
the bravest woman i'll the world, just like
your own dear mother.
"You see, she knew that there were bears
in those woods-yes, real live bears-and
she knew that they were hungry just at
that time, too.
Gall the neighbors had lost pigs and had
found bear tracks in the snow near their
pens.
"Well, finally, when it got pretty dark,
mother began to cry. Then our good dog,
Tray, came and looked into her face and
licked her hand, and asked, as well as a
dog could, what was the matter. and
whether he could be of any use.
"'0h, Tray my mother said to him, go
and find Charles
"Tray was happy right away, and he
kissed his mistress hand, as If he wanted
to tell her that he would fix everything all
right, and then she opened the door and
the faithful fellow took to his heels.
pretty soon, sure enough, Charles came
rushing in at that same door, almost fright
ened to death.
There's bear up the roadp he man.
aged to say. And then my father took
down the gun, that was always ready, and
hurried out.
"Sure enough, there was bear. Charles
and the bear and Tray had found each
other at the same time. Tray had chased
and was lodging around him, keeping al
ways in front and barking like mad. 1t
seemed as if Tray understood that he must
keep the bear from following Charles, and
even that it was best to keep him till
somebody came with gun.
''Well, my father could shoot just as
well as he could preach, and when the
neighbors came to service at the log school,
house there was fresh bear meat enough