The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1904-03-11
"Poor father! He laughed aloud


"Poor fsther! He laughed aloud
with relies.
what a girl our little Keturah ISL
! he said, exultingly. She's having a
concert out here on the edge of the
wild woods so as to cheer up the home
folks. She has all Mother Nature, in
Guiding old Cumberland (pointing to
the mountain range) for an audience
TN never forget the scene when we
reached camp. With one accord we
stood still in the shadows. There was
a great glowing camp fire, in front of
which Keturah stood with flushed face.
She was still singing at the top of her
voice and still fiddling. Moses was on
one side of her, Abe on the other, the
former playing on the banjo, the latter
on an old tin horn. Grandfather, who
was both aged and feeble, stood lit
tie apart, clapping two tin kettle
covers together with all his strength
and looking most ludicrous. His face
was unusually pale. In the front
wagon, mother was sitting away up
on the drivers seat with our two baby
boys, Isaac and Jacob. Mothers face
looked unearthly white in the glare of
the camp fire. She was ringing big
cow bell that we had brought along,
thinking that we might have occasion
to use it on the cow. Our party
seemed to be struck dumb for minute.
Jonathan and l knelt down with our
hands over the mouths of our two dogs
to keep them from bowling at the hor-
rible noise, as they were longing to do.
Father regarded the performers with
an expression of worried surprise. AS
for Cyrus, he was the first to speak.
Well, if this don't beat the Jews,
he said. This is the most Internal
noise l ever heard. l believe they've
all gone crazy
THE din was indescribable. We'd
never heard anything like it, Did you
hear the so-called music in the Japan
csc village at the worlds fair? Well,
that sounded something like Keturah's
concert. Our dogs broke away from
us, bowling. Presently father stepped
out OF the shadows and Keturah saw
our little sister made a rush for
fathers arms. She managed to say
wolves, and then tainted in fathers
arms. When she came to father said:
You must have driven them away.
There were three, but they're all dead
Then all tried to tell the story at
once. 1t seemed that soon after father
and Cyrus had started after us boys,
Keturah, thinking to spare mothers
aching head, began preparations for
supper. She was broiling a venison
steak over the camp fire when she
heard twigs cracking and horrible
yelps, the sounds coming from the belt
of wildwoods near by. Her presence
of mind was wonderful. She had heard
somewhere that music had a peculiar
influence over wolves. Dropping the
broiler and steak into the fire, she
shouted to mother to get her fiddle and
the other instruments and the kettle
covers. In a moment the concert was
organized, and not too soon, for out of
the shadows came one, two, three
hungry, bowling wolves. We had the
guns and rifles, so there was not a
weapon of defense. The concert was
the only hope. 1t began without pre-
liminaries. The audience of three re-
ceived it with whines of distress,
turned tail and with dropping heads
disappeared. But the concert never
tagged. There were no intervals.
"'You see father, said Keturah, we
didn't dare stop playing until you
came
Il never knew another girl like our
Keturah,' said grandfather, so brave
and thoughtful and wise!'
Nor L. father spoke gently, and the
next moment he was on his knees, and
we all followed his example.
Lord God of Heaven and Earth
he said, fervently, we thank Thee for
sparing the lives of our dear ones from
being devoured by wolves and from
burial in the horrible green slime Of
the sedges. We thank Thee, too, for
our blessed. brave Keturah Amen
1.-THE Amen went echoing around
from lip to lip.
Supper was late that night, but it
was worth waiting for No one missed
the venison that had been burned up.
Cyrus cleaned two of the wild ducks
that We boys had shot, and we all, eX-
cept Isaac and Jacob, had hand in
the roasting Country Gentleman