Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-02-16

hter. Our cinderS were made by
tting the sap Of green timber drip
to hot ashes. Often deer's tallow.
lars grease, or raccoOns oil served
IF shortening. and the leaves Of the
Id raspberry for tea. Our neighbors
ent to mill at Canton--a journey of
Fe days, going and coming. with an
team. and beset with many difficult
es. Then one of them followed the
p Of stump for his mortar and tied
s peste to the Dough of tree. With
rope he drew the bough down. which.
it sprang back. lifted the pestle that
Found his grain.
But money was the rarest of all
ings in our neighborhood those days.
arlash. black-salts, West India pipe
hves and RATS of timber brought
sh, but no other products of the
rly settler. Late that fall my mother
We a dance, a rude but hearty pleas
ing that followed a long conference
which my father had a part They
agreed to turn TO, after snowfall, on
G overland, cut a raft of timber
Id send it to Montreal in the spring
If things had come. including D'ris
idle. so that We had chairs and bed
eads and other accessories of life
bt common among our noighbors
N mother had a few jewels and some
he old furniture that her father had
ven her-really beautiful things.
t,>oa tn ,,,l b,
owed them to those simple foil, with
mighty pride in her eyes.
Business over, D'ri took down his
idle, that hung on the wall, and made
q strings roar as be tuned them.
Zen he threw his long right leg over
c other, ana, as he drew the bow,
S Zig foot began TO pat the floor
od pace away His chin lifted, his
hgers flew. his bow Quickened. the
btes seemed to whirl and scurry,
eht-footed as a rout of fairies. Mean
hilc the toe of his right boot counted
e increasing tempo until ii came up
i'd down like a ratchet
Darius DIN was mostly of slow and
Der manner. TO cross his legs
hd feel fiddle seemed to throw his
BART open and put him in full gear.
zen his thoughts were quick. his
es merry, his heart was a fountain
JOY. He would lean forward, sway
& lis head. and shouting zip" as
bow hurried. D'ri was a hard
orking man, but the feel Of the fid-
warmed and limbered him from
e to finger. He was over modest.
aking light of his skill if he ever
'oke of it, and had no ear for COM
iment. While our elders were dane
s and others of my age We're play
Q games in the kitchen--kissing-
lines with a rush and tumble in them,
iss-in-t he-corner. hunt-the- squirrel.
hd the like. Even then l thought
was in love with pretty Rose Mer-
man. She would never let me kiss
pr. even though had caught her and
bd the right.
My mother gave me all the school
g I had that winter. A year later
ey built schoolhouse, not quite a
lie away. where l found more fun
an learning. After two years l
louldered my AK and went to the
wer-land with the choppers every win
morning
My father was stronger than any of
EN- except D'ri. who could drive his
to the bit every blow, day after day.
q had the strength Of a giant, and
b man I knew tried ever to cope
it'll him. BY the middle of May we
Pgan rolling in for the raft. AS soon
they were floating, the logs were
ithed together and moored in Sec
0ns. The bay became presently q
Making, redolent plain of timber.
When we started the raft, early in
Inc, that summer Of 1910, and worked
into the broad river with sweeps
I'D poles, was aboard with D'ri and
other men. bound for the big city
which | had heard so much. l was
visit the relatives of my mother
I'D spend a year in the College de st
ierre. We had little frame house
b big platform, back of the middle
ection of the raft, with hunks in it
here We ate and slept and told
fories. Lying on the platform there
as large fiat stone that held oui
ri called me in the dusk of the early
forming, the first night out, and sale
10 were near the Sault. l got up
ibbed my eyes, and felt a mighty
hrill as heard the roar of the great
Rpids and the creaking withes, and
PIT the lift of the speeding waters
ri said they had broken the raft
ito three parts, ours being hindmost
he roaring grew louder, until my
hout was as whisper in hurricane
he logs began to heave and fall. anG
aves came rushing through them
heets OF spray shot skyward, coming
own like shower. We were shaker
by an earthquake in the rough wa.
pr. Then the roar fell back of us. anc
he raft grew steady.
Gin us tough twist" said Dri
houting down al me-"lsind Nv twis'
the bit n kick n the side"
1t was coming daylight as we sailed
pto still water. and then D'ri put his
ands 10 his mouth and hailed loudly
citing an answer out of the gloon
head.
"Gol-dum ef it hain't the power II,
thOusan' painters!" D'ri continued
hughing as he spoke. Never SET
othin' jump n kick n spit like the
ir. less it he'd fur on-never n al
ny born days"