The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-04-23
AT SLAB SIDES.
The Jolly Time the Girls Had
Tharp

Slab SIDES When you WILL Several Of
US in whom the pioneer spirit is not YET
killed by civilization accepted gladly
and went
The house was ours, and whatever
provisions we might find-butter an6
bacon in the depths of the 'cave,
young onions, lettuce and radishes ir
the garden. So we provided ourselves
with other necessities for a stay Of sew
eral days, and laden like bargainday
shoppers got off at the station nearest
Slab Sides, Mr.. Burroughs woodland
home.
We had bread enough to supply a
boarding house for week-though we
did not know it-chops, cucumbers,
salad dressing, alcohol and Strawberries.
At the village store we stopped to add
potatoes and eggs, articles which cum
bered us SO heavily that we We're driven
to deposit some of our luggage at the
farm.
After long, weariful climb up the
wooded hills in the gray Of dull after
noon we came to Slab Sides, somewhat
forlorn in spirit. We found the key In
it's chink between two slabs in the upper
right-hand corner of the eft-hand win
dow. The great door swung wide and
we said we were at home, but with
evening and a storm gathering outside,
and within black hearth and a bare
writing table stripped Of everything ex-
cept a few stray papers and worn-out
penholders, instead Of our kind hosts
| hearty hand-grip, we began to feel a
! little doubtful about the joys of pioneer
ing.
But housekeeping pressed upon us;
broom must be found and the earth
swept, cots for the night provided,
water brought from the spring, fire
built, dinner cooked, table set, dishes
washed. So with praiseworthy zeal we
began these operations. The sweeping
was comparatively simple, but the fire.
building-that was another matter!
Finding a generous supply of cut logs,
birch and pine, we proceeded to gather
brushwood by the roadside for kindling.
After many such excursions, plus the
large sacrifice of newspapers and the
frequent immolation Of ourselves as
bellows, we succeeded In filling the
room with clouds Of blue smoke. The
draft of the chimney, be 1t said, Is per-
feet; but not so was our art Of flre-mak-
ing.
Our next step was to send out an ex-
petition of two to get water from the
spring, perhaps one-eighth of mile
away 1t was deliciously simple to lie
fiat on the grass and dip a pail into the
bubbling darkness, but the expedition
had a more arduous task, nothing less
than to lower by strings jars contain
Ing chops and cucumbers for future
use; in other words, to put the provis-
ions into the refrigerator.
We lowered faithfully but the Jars
at first upset all our theories of gravity
by obstinately floating, later fell over
on all sides, admitting water to battle
the chops, and at last sunk to the bot
tom, dragging with them the broken
string.
BY the time that the provisions had
been rescued and established, and
fierce dog. investigating from the near
est house, frightened off, twilight was
coming on. The expedition started
back bravely with It's heavy pail, and
on the way stopped in the garden to
gather vegetables for dinner. Here
again lack of experience filed us with
painful questionings. Are all gardens
so soft that whenever you step off the
boards you are embedded In black loan
up to your ankles? Why do the small
est onions always have the most bios
sonny tops? Radshes, now-are all rad
ishes deceitful? You pull with all your
and get-a button, but here a
dropping, disheartenedl looking bunch Of
leaves yields rich bounty.
Filling our arms with tender, pale |
green lettuce and incidentally frlghten-
ing away an elderly prosperous rabbit |
bent on the same errand as ourselves, |
we returned to the house to find that |
the fire had gone out and the boy with |
the rest of the luggage and the milk
had not arrived.
One pioneer with sinking heart vol |
for the twilight walk through |
the woods down the mountain to the
farm. Charged with treachery, the
small boy went to q corner Of the
house and wept, evidently finding life
too hard. Two girls were bribed for
pennies to put the bag into toy cart
and drag it part way up. When their
failed them at the entrance of
he black woods the pioneer pushed on
alone, bag in one hand and tin pail of
milk In the other.
She arrived in the blackness of night,
tut found the candle lighted and dinner
we'll under way. The soot-furred iron
,ettle on the crane was steaming, new
potatoes were knocking against the lid
# their steWpan, lettuce and radishes
we're washed, strawberries were picked
md the table was set.
Only the chops remained to be broiled
,ver the red wood embers. Aiming
ourselves with Mr.. Burroughs favorite
Implement, an old toaster, week melt in
urn and patiently sizzled ourselves,
while the chops remained pink, cool and
Indifferent. In evaporation we laid
hem down on the embers and they
caught fire, and when we
ought the medium by turing the {
caster on end they fell out into the
shes. At last they were served, faux ,
She's" we remarked, and sat down to a {
o'clock dinner.
We had planned to sleep out of doors ,
II the porch in the woods, anywhere :
nder the sky; but as we STEPPED out
ito the blackness and felt the silence
eating against our ears we withdrew, /
nj, covering oul Hre, With tinlorous 8
tops crept upstairs to the spare (
Oom,' with its rustic bedstead of sill
er birch Awful tales of linely houses 7
the woods being sacked and their in r
wellers butchered narrowed Our men,
q