The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1904-05-12

as. nearest pclxhbor---t~o bachelor wood
pr. men-- ~ere two miles away across An Ar
an- IL The lake. Our visible resou -ces vel
er- provisions enough for few months. . yol
ID, of old oxen, one COW and . wagon a.
plow.
ID Ca the whole, we had good times. Fis
% and game and berries were abundant, an
fl and We rigged sailboat from big foui
cared sklf which had been left at an aban
z, doned sswmill, Doris and Edith, like man,
at Minnesota girls, were good lake sAiiors.
We spent much time In open season hunt /
ng for ginseng plants. AZ wo each car
IN ried tin bucket and butcher knife will
I'd long blade, we we're able to take up root
. with plenty Of earth and to transplant them
successfully.
I'd We had rival.sang-dixg In our woods
he too. The Pillsger Iadians, whose reserva-
!, lion line Was but few miles away, we're
y energetic hunters Of the root. There was
ID one band Of several men and women that
u We ustd to meet frtqucntly. The women
., would scowl and mutter Angrilv when they
!, saw the green leaves Of the .'sapgr root In
d our pails.
+ 0ae day In our cond season Doris and
b Edith met four OF these sQuaws, who bold
e ly attacked them, took away their ginseng
: roots and beat them with switches. This
was too much for me, and despite Doris's
k entreaties, / got my gun and went after the
! indians. knew where their camp was,
but went first after the Cosby boys
our bachelor neighbors.
When they heard my ttory they also took
. their guns. Then we rowed across the lake
! and made those Plllagers psck their wag-
ons. We drove them six miles, over log.
aing-rosd, to the line Of their reservation,
where we bade them never again to set foot |
on our lake shore.
| When got home, late At hight, Doris
and 4 iith were both CRYING, 10 far that
something dreadful had happened to me.
Doris admitted that the lndans should
have been punished.
But, she said, we shall have more tiou-
ble with them, they're go vindictive.
| 10 September one Of our oxeI--.he fat.
test disappeared under circumstances
which made 1t certain the animal had been |
stolen. We were sure that Hawks band"
as our Pillsger rivals were called, lai TAX I
en- the OF and killed l. for beef.
The next spring this band again camped |
In our vicinity, this time pitching their lod t
ges at the north extremity Of Big Fish Il
Lake. Several times Doris and Edith, Q
while sang. hunting, met the squaws who
had punished them with switches but the a
women offered no hostile demonstration, z
and the girls would not let me take any Il
offensive action. 81
But all that spring and summer we were ID
careful not to leav, our house and our la
growing ginseng pl'ch u protected.
The next spring, however, as the Indlana er
had offered US no further mischief, and OF
there came on beautiful weather for the al
ginseng We were less careful. We "
had now, neatly fenced, proft-payipg ed
plantation Of nearly one thousand seed on
bearing roots.
Then Little Hawk and his three women sd
upon our plantation, and robbed tn
is Of one hundred Of our choicest plants. he
II we had not returned early that after Of
loon our three years. work would have an
'one for nothing. As 1t was, we caught ve
he scawps at the beginning Of their foray. stt
They saw us or heard Us as we came up tel
be path to our house, and we saw them po
our ecu.tling fgures-as they plunged In
0 the bushes at the opposite edge Of our pei
learing. They ran toward the main shore III
the lake. We knew that they had crs
anoe in hiding down there, and that we car
ould not hope to catch them on foot. fed
Doris, thoroughly angry, proposed that ant
e should chase the rsscals In our sailboat, ed
nd recapture the stolen roots. The NAL wa
rd was pulled up In the bay back Of our bee
ouse, with qlarter- mile OF rushes 10 her ! 4
ath to the lake. sho
1t seemed to me hopeless undertaking, tur
1t we ran to the boat, and while Doris !
ID Edith rugged the ssil, polled the s.
allard through the rush field and out up tur
! the rough waters Of Big Fish. The
Ind was blowing 9 stiff breeze straight eon
,wn the eIpbt.mIle stretch OF omen water. labt
It the Indian canoe was already q mere
eek, going into the teeth Of the wind and
bbing like distant waterfowl. u
Doris handled our sheet rope, the tiller, v
d Edith, who was light, slender girl, "
,od at the masf, where she could watch -
. quarry and report progress. We ran u
enough away from the wind to get w
sed, and after twenty minutes Of swift, M
'ugh rough calling, Edith gave the order ,,,o,
tack. ~
Port your helm little, Ross, she called ~, -
,sently; and little later, We're going w
latch them on the third tack she an a :,
lDced, gleefully, and we can eatily up w
them II they don't heave our roots ;. :,
ard n.y.
'ut soon there came one Of those March
alls which made the issue doubtful. Nv
, wind did not change, but suddenly,
clouds came nying out Of the north W.,
Il. The water ahead Of US grew black al,
tumbled, and In no tims our sail was "a W,
,king 10 spripg Northwestern.
did not seem At all certain now what W.,
should be able to do In that 70 lgh wat T.. !,
The MIllsrd was q stou'. well.buAt ~,
/, but st that moment she sadly needed
ast. The pounding at her bow would a.,
J have knocked 9 Il shter boat to pieces 49,.
gasty wind bew the tops of the curl. o.,
rollers and the spray fell like rain upon =.
Doris snd could zee nothing At TWEEN. W. ~
ards. Filth saiil stood clinging to the - ~ =,
!, and with hand shielding her eyes - g,
! the wind. -,
ere catchidg them now sbe called IN