davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-04-15
His Story.

nv Leon ". Bruce. l6, Townsend.
The men in the little country store
were comfortably seated in chairs and
on boxes listening to the stories told by
the old men of their younger days. sud
denly they were aroused by the clang
of the door and peculiar looking object
entered. As the object advanced into the
room they saw il was man with a
hat pulled down over his eyes. HIS
clothing was torn and his shoes were
full of holes.
The man took seat near the stove and
began rubbing his hands and remarked
at is rather cold for tramps to be lay
ing out"
After getting warm he began looking
at every man with keen look. as If to
find a familiar face He looked from
one to another. and as his glance fell
on Silas Heminway his mouth twltchen'
and jumping to his feet he went
over TO where Silas sat and looking
him in the face said; well, | guess
YOU do not remember me, but do you
remember a boy by the name of Henry
Webster who was brought up on a
farm near here and left home when
eighteen? Well, | was. that boy
Silas sat with a puzzled look upon his
face and finally said, 81 guess ! do re-
member And where have you been all
these years.
The old man sat down near the stove
and with chuckle began his story.
"After that city girl gave me the slip
started out west. | had to work my
way, and work being scarce had hard
pull. / Travelled from place to place,
working my way the best could and
begging Once was started in business
but was soon pulled down by some
toughs. At last l decided to return
east, and selling the last of my clothes
and working hard ! saved up little
money and l landed in this place last
night without cent. And now I'm 60
ing to live on the old place the rest of
my life. Now my advice to you boys is,
Stick to the farm"
The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-04-15

lsrssr, and thsr VAS lots Of music. too.
On a winding channel OF sster seaa'
. mile long. were soins eean run u
machinery. The SRI and her sls'ef .e.A
the baat Nennont and went Tor .'u.'
After a little while they eans 10 dafA
,lsee and Ahs Vas searrd, es, IN lev
minutes they came out into The iitht
Just as she hogan 20 enjoy her ride y
sane 10 an end, and after they sos on
ths Loat she saw the machinery that ran
n. There MAS another boat that ran on
a traek for a long distance thcn went
into the water, and II seemed a. though
xan would get drowned, with bis
splash and then out again 'ef. quick anu
YOU we're all right. Lake s,u'nsisaii,o,au
Is lust below the eiiyi u Is large iaas
and lots OF canoes aud boats sah ON "
The girl was rather honesick ana s''e
decided 10 go home the last part OF May
IL, lister came as far as fitchbnrs Win
her on the eleeire cars and the little
rlr came from there 10 Bellows faiis
alone. II being the first time she sas
ever ON the train alone she felt ratier
tlmld. She got OF the train at bellows
Falls ufiu went Ahih wv NWNHr s
wait for her parnts. She saw her
father como 10 the door 10 sec u she Was
their. and he did not notioc her par,
tIculnrly aud - did not speak, nor dld
The rirl. for shr thought her father would
know her. You sec he did No, because
she had a new coat and ha, on and her
hair was combed different 20 u made
her look different The little giri sa'h
her father walked away booking yer!
much discouraged. probably thinking she
would not come until the next train, but
sim be kept looking. not liking TO give
II up. The girl felt so surc That UNI,
man was her father that she followed
him, and at last she came up behind
him and said to him, "Hello. papa' hello,
papa" but no answer. 50 she walked
along. And soon she spoke to him agar,
and he heard her this time and looked
around and said. "Where did YOU come
FROM" And the father was very much
pleased 10 see his little girl and They
went home that day. II was long
tourney from the girls home. She was
glad TO see her parents after an alb
sence of five weeks from her dear home
in the country and to tell them and her
friends all about the nice time she had
ON her Journey to the city.
The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-04-15

-. ..,t . ds, shs gre. homssiek ana
ens az her brothers esffsa nsf 49, ~,
NJ h.ek. As they entered tis hoasN -,
.s.ndfsthsr said. -HannsiA, nav -
snI,hsd your edaeaiieas 70 sm's a.
..,,sJ sYs,. sir" After ths hfs' as,
w.n, r.ulsrly through TIC -ho's
, - ~ ,sashsr giving her = nap e'sf,
20" '.,l-ns,r IN = bsd made np an ono "
the desks, - -, ,a-aaV nrfr
moi enioyrd In the yoanFsf aass ~ 80
srandrnothsr. There acre no s'""
.nd everything ~as hosne-maae, -,
Ons time candies werr srehhs ~
- 80 ,earc. and miiisns Nrfr hesae"
~. a. e.mlnr winter The fa'hsf &c,
,ss,sJ ,hs iattsst sheep Of The noek anu
si,,sd n. getting 20 pounds of 'ailss 70,
sandle,. meat for the winter an" N"''
for the mitirns. iii. 81,
a.. ,,andma's mother generally SCI
,,w days in the fall for making
a wears supply Of candles. lhe 'A ~,
vas tried out In large kettles ono va!
and the nrx, day u was put 'n'o W.
It'll, and hung alternately IN thc nv
mac. the one replacing the other ~i'ei,
h. ,,Ilow began 20 cool She a,iaei'ea
s.w lengths of candle wicking 10 esoh
til and laid them erosswise on a
eouple Of long poles placed between W. W.
ehairs Zach rod OF Sicks was dlpp'u
,n,o ,he kettle OF no, ,allow and taken
hack 10 their place between ,he ena lll-
They were dipped until the desire" sue
m, wool was spun into yarn and inc
rirls OF the family knit u into stockings
and mitiens. .,
Nv Rrandmother's stint. at the age OF
IA. was TO spin a certain amount OF yarn
and sometimes knit a pair OF mi',ens
each day. She was allowed TO 20 visit
ing Saturday II she could knit six pai''
IN Eve DAYS, which she did occasionally;
The bear were very plentiful al tm'
nIaee and destroyed much OF the crops
once the father brought back before
br,akfa,, three bears which he had killed
The boys Of the family had great love
and talent for music but they had no
musical instrument and money was
scarce. They made a bass VOL ana
earned money for a violin by burning
charcoal in a charcoal pit In the woods at
night, and many happy hours were spent
with the instruments thus secured.
You can see by my story that al,
though the children OF long ago worked
hard and were deprived Of what we call
necessaries. they were just as happy ana
enjoyed just as many good times as We
tndaN
The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-04-15
A Rich and a Poor Boy.

INV Hazel Stevenson, II, hihsdai'i
w. y, H.
ons. unon a tlm- a Girl and boy
,,s,e nlaVlns GU, in their big dooryard,
The boy had his things that he played
IN, ~ had bIeycles and everything be
',sn,eJ 10 nIay with. One day the little
49,, uas o,,i nlayinr in his ward. and q
80, hoy eams along and looked over the
,.nc, al The rich hoy's flowers, and the
- l,,v aid. IL don't want any poor
h"Ss losk,ne a, nv flower" and then ihr
-, Inv w,n, away again.
HE ,leh hoy went into the house
and asked his mother u be could g.
s.,,ying mi. mother said. "Yes, YOU
80, a. and o., me a nail full for pies, "
"a ~ he ven, an, 10 get some berries.
H. ca,.e 10 a ditch, and he said 10 him
-, Sscan iump over this muddy
a,,sh,-
lie tried and he Jumped In the middle
n, n lie was irving TO get out, when
he heard footsteps coming nearer and
nearer. and when they reached him II
- a. mo-, hov he saw In the morning
i,.,LIn. =, his aow,rs
H. ala 90 him. ali Won heip me out OF
~ d,,ch I will give Won ali the money
/ have GOT and the boy said. II don't
,.sn, ,en, monev. hut / viii help YOU
~, az, a.. Sams
'" wn T.. no, an, NJ The ditch. the poor
h., ..nnJ AZ. o,h,, boy's nail and shoes
~, had bcen lost in the ditch The
a
The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-04-15

-, ,,.,o,sd 10 sseh othsr Man and
s,ha, pls,ed together ~hsn hs, rr
,oans and had been soihF ,"s a.
nssIs tao years when 'hsif ioiAs
sidsi 10 now. About tao issf, s
,'ss.,ns into The wes, Mary ana Aiuha'
- married and built thsin . ha'ne
,a,a,ng the Hawkins farm, Tic" ue'
-, ,hs remainder Of ti,ssI hHrs. INV
el,a,,n s.o bofn 10 ihsini The hfs' =
IA. named for his father. The .sA,, = -
ns,,sd for her mother and The uh'a .
rirl. naned Dorothy. A. .,.,,, -.
One Sunday morning ~ MAY. s -
wear after Dorothy Mas born. ,he , III.
,snllIrs decided 10 50 10 church ihsi
ssd lad NO trouble with tho indians an"
ran "a thlnk that they SrFr gong w.
\. ssfs. They maohed the church az
la, and decided 10 stay 10 all OF u''
ar,,lng,, for In those days The incruhs'
Ia.,ad ali day, When they Hctr ",
,nynlnr home they had got abou, hal'
way When suddenly two Indians aPP,v.
ed in the road In front OF ,hrin. ,i,
Hawkins aud Mr., Brown ralsra u'e',
rIa,, and arrd. The two Indians Juihpeu,
ln,o ,he air, yelled their death cry anu
dronned 10 The ground, pierced IN ,h'
Nh ~ the bullets. Eight more IN
I,sn. snranr from the bushes and began
shc,,ins their bows and arrows AZ us
n,,lr marty. Mr. Brown shou'eu'
.ch.,gr an them, nun your horse
straight At theml" and they ala 20; ~,
Indians were knocked down ana Ai'i,u
by the horses feet. Little Mary vas INC
only one who rccri,ed a wound she wa,
M, In The shoulder by one 81 the indians
arrows. After this they had no 'roup'e
with the indians
Little Mary was unconscious Tor W.
DAYS, then She began 10 get better ~.
had recovered 30 far n TO be able 70 -,
nm when shc caught cold In the wound
and died. The others lived TO good o''
age. ,.,n,,
Rrown. IT.. enlisted as a sharpshoo'er
and six months later became captain oil
his regiment. He went on many spying
rxpeditions, and In many dangerous
nlae,s. but was always fortunate
enough to get back TO his camp without
the enemy seeing him, or at least cap
turing him. lie was promoted many,
,imcs. After the war he received a gold
medal for his bravery. lie was once
wounded so that he could not hgh' ioi
about three weeks. but after he reco''
cred be went back 10 the army and re,
eeiyed back his old office. lie died April
81, 1859, in his old home, after SICK
ness OF two weeks.
Dorothy married man who became
rich soon after their marriage. and lived
In New York. After his death, Deem
her l6. 1873. she went back to live with
Arthur. where she died two years later
Her children. John and Alice, were both
In college at the time Of her death, and
both graduated three years later. Boti
married and are living happily in Ne"
York
The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-04-15
Tim Squirrell's Story.

(By Agnes Graham, Is, Warwick, Mas
"Tell us story! Tell us a stoE
was the cry that greeted Tim Squirrel I
he came in from his evening walk. y
he answered in this, fashion:
ut was typical November morning
Father Snow during the night had pN
down his first layer of blanket, coyerns
the leaves, brown dry grass, rocks, t'e'
branches and the whole clearing with D
inch-thick. white covering. The roof q
the great house in the center of the clea..
ing and opposite from mine, was coyeFa
with this warm white blanket. Even u!
own little home was made warmer %
account of the snow.
"My wife, Tiny, and had been storing
up nuts for the cold winter, and got "
that morning to finish our work. but !
the snow was on the ground, we coulan.
start GU. as usual, At this moment,
we were discussing the days work bei0A
our front door, we heard lot OF shoaf
ing, and looking across the road TO in
house saw the Gray family stanals
before their door. They seemed to q
rejoicing over the snow. ..
"The father, Mr.. Gray, stood WIZ
milk pail in hand, talking to his wife WIZ 4.
held the baby in her arms. Out IN us
yard, the Gray twins, called Elinor ans
Everett, boy and girl of Is years, wes
having school fight, as snowfall hgH
is sometimes called. J..
"'Papa,' called Elinor, sometime touH
won't you please 60 up in the attic aD'
get our snowshoes?' :,
"'Oh, yes! Please added Everett
"Of course Mr.. Gray assented aas
before noon we saw the twins tying ' y
their snowshoes. l wanted to fohV.
them. l was bound to follow theh'
in spite of my wife's coaxing, wen n.i
GAS l was leaving my wife canss
We'll, Tim, if you are lost in the ioiJ.'
remember how l tried to keep you pau
81 nodded. Goodbye l called ~.
skipped across the snow to WEI si
Elinor and Everett and their noun
Broncho Bob, were standing. -.
Everett had a gun over his Shou w.,
and Elinor's bow and arrows were .v ~
hers. l did not let them see me ",
hid in some shrubbery until they s ,Ss;ni
and then l kept few yards o. .h,n
them. sometimes going overhead u Lin. lin
in the branches and sometimes WilisA
over the newly fallen snow. :,
"On and on they went-only stoP Xxi
to glance around and to stretcn, D
keen ears to hear some faint sound
Suddenly the dog gave sharp j. IL i,
and running to the foot of INC res,et.
tree began circling around it. n and
held his gun in position for shoous nj
cautiously advanced nearer the ll tcd
l could have talked ] would ha'e
The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-04-15

.sesms ssr, -ess. and saaa lasHasa .
~ t.ks mr. 10 Dr, cFss, a. go go.
lad. sho told hsf that lhsls Va, - !.
n. ms. II sss ton late W. ga
s,ssral ottsfs, but thfy all ,sii ~ =.
Thing. MethsF sas hfeksh-irsFts9 =
isthrr said be had rather i 81 :. lsss
Wsli. II sas not hong isfuIf d. &sst.
a., eame. and ~as blind, Al ~
y sn,ed 10 dir. bat ! say hss 4 h.
mo.i.sr. 80 ! tTssd "a l. s..sFi,. -
never eried sArpi shsn sss aa
Ibrn Miss Sinclair eaHsS, ard isss.
almost happy again, Il b iatt l-a
,Ifal World, ! feel that i j. s45srs hs
sad or gloomy"
urlen pui = soft liilr era t,zs
her neck and Kissed hers bui tr "a
sas nothing, her heart sas 10 a.
A. they walked along ~ brsl.a
mad they camr 10 a gyp,ls gsah u |
,hr gypsies were all out IN ifsi 4
boiling some soup In q b. ifH tf,is
.Iiow do YOU do, ehlldVu M ; /
old gypsy queen. "Mould tag As !
have your fortune tnlaf
Inc children thanked hrF Politely <
declined. a. they wcFe very marh isss
ened by her.
sWell. do come In and ~ by ~
then" she coaxed In a winning ter
The children thought ], uaa.d 10 -
rude Of them 90 rfasr tbs 10 =.
consented and followed her iH.
suddenly Helen felt soinrih.Hs e e
hand and looking down She saa "a, y
gypsy girl had stolon her RAG ~
screamed bu, was quickly silrnoed b =
old gypsy mother. who made hra 3
home az once.
When they got homo. they iald a.I
parents about II and Mr. Af.hlz
promised 10 buy Helen a rms. b., az
Toned her no, 10 90 70 far aFa.n
This Was the last afternoon keha -,
out. She was taken violently u y
next day, and seemed TO get vors i've
the start. Her mother sent for 4 5osz
and he said that there was no hoFs J
was heart trouble.
Her father was sent for, and ihy o.
that her days were numbered.
The las, sad day came, her pl'r,a
bade her a sad goodbye. Then Hs1
came In and went 10 her bedside
Rena was very weak and spoke /. 4
low tone: Goodbye, Helen dear =.
never can come TO New York 10 ses .
but hope We shall meet in have
Goodbye for now, We will meet lsn
in better place where can see yea
The little blind girl was happy &C
again.
The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-04-15
Clyde's Experience.

nv lola NJ Gleason, -, East Jamaica.)
aOh. dearr' sighed Marion Jennings,
thinning there was no one but herself
in the room. But Grandma, VINO had
come in to get her work, heard her eN-
clamation =,
"What is the trouble, deary:" she
asked. -, ),
20 Grandma, how you startled me,
cried Marion, starting up, u dld not
know that you were near"
~ heard you sigh" said Grandma,
sand | thought that something must
be the trouble. Now won't you tell
Grandma, deary, what it Isl"
"Oh, / have let myself get dlscour-
aged. Grandma. 1t seems as though
everything went wrong" :.
"You must not feel like that, deary,"
said Grandma "Now get your menoihg
and let us go out. on the porch"
So Marion and Grandma spent the
afternoon together on the porch. Grand
ma did not find Marion very talkative
and wondered at the change. :,
The next day at school Marion could
not confne herself to her books and
when she returned home that night her
folks were much surprised to learn she
had failed in two of her studies.
"There surely must be something
wrong with Marion,'' said Grandma
"Marion never has failed in her lessons
before" Mr.. and Mrs. Jennings had al
so begun to notice the change in their
daughter.
That evening, as Grandma quietly en-
tiers the parlor, she finds Marion with
her face down on the sofa, sobbing Dit
terly. Beside her lies letter. Grandma
stops and gazes with wonder. She
hears Marion say: "Oh, what shall
do? Shall l tell them3 Oh, no! 1t would
break mammals heart to know Clyde has
gone astray."
Grandma hardly knew what to do, but
decided to tell Mr.. and Mrs. Jennings.
81 must get that letter and read it,
said Mrs. Jennings. She stole softly to
the parlor and, seeing Marion had
sobbed herself to sleep, she carefully took
the letter and carried it to where Mr.
Jennings and Grandma were. The let
ter read as follows:
"My dear Marion:-
feel that l must 1nIOrn you VI .i'
change in Clyde. / often see him
around with the worst set of boys in thu
village. have been dreading to tel
YOU, but felt it my duty. Your brother
seems to be the most intimate with Harry
Swink, who has a very bad reputation
Hoping that you will not take this tot
hard, remain,
"Your sincere friend,
elizabeth Newcomb."
"What shall we do?" asked Mrs. Jen
nings.
."We NAV have to take him from
school, replied her husband, "buf l vii
investigate the matter. 1t may not b
Just as they picture it." ;,
Mrs. Jennings arose and carried tn
letter back where she found it. MarioI
The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-04-15
The Journey of Little Girl to the City

CBy Nettie johnson, 10, Townshend.)
A little girl of about twelve years OF
age, who had always lived in the country,
went to visit sister who lived in
large city in an adjoining state. Her
parents carried her to Saxtons River,
where her sister met her, and the fol,
lowing Monday afternoon they started
on their journey to the sisters home III
the city.
Some of the places she remembered
passing through were Cold River, West
moreland, Keene, Grafton, Fitzwilliam
and Winchendon, where they changed
cars. 1t seemed like long trip to the
girl, and she watched anxiously for the
name of each station, hoping it would be
her destination, but she enjoyed her
ride on the train, admiring the beauti-
full scenery and places of interest that
could be seen from the car window
About dark they arrived in the city.
Everything was new to the girl, and
the big stores and sights usually seen
in a city made her eyes open pretty
wide. Her sister lived about a mile
from the main part of the city and she
thought it reminded her little of her
own home, only there were not many
brooks, but more ponds and lakes
One pleasant afternoon they took
walk up to Bancroft Tower. This tower
is built entirely of stone and from the
top one can get fine view of the city
and the beautiful parks. They went
into a greenhouse and saw many diner
ent kinds of plants and flowers, especially
carnations and roses of all kinds. They
went to the City Hall. where she saw
many fine drawings. :,
At Lincoln Square there was a small
station-Main street was south of the
square and at the right is the Court
House. On their walks to the city they
used to pass by large wire mill, which
seemed very long to the girl. One after
noon they went to Polls theatre to see
Buster Brown and his dog Tige ,per-
form on the stage, and after the per
Torrance, as the people passed out, ne
gave each one postal with Buster
Browns picture on it. There is a pretty
park at Greenhill and a big pond where
the fish will come to the surface fol-
food that people throw in to them
Above the pond is reservoir. In the
evening many lights can be seen in the
distance.
One evening they went to the Clut
House, which is situated on an island
to a party. There were about 90 peo-
pie present and they passed pleasant
evening playing games and having good
time socially. There was big fireplace
in the house and bright fire burning If
it. The girl had never seen a fireplace
before and she thought it was very nice
One day the girls sister said to her
'Wouldn't you like to ride on somt
ponies?" She wondered if she meant rea
ponies, and thought she would be afraie
if they were, because she had never rid
den on a pony; but that evening they
went to White City, where there were al
kinds of amusements, and then she found
the ponies were not real, but it was tn
merry-go-round, and so they both rod
on it and had a fine time. There wer'
flying machines which she thought looket
like hens eggs away up in the air, onl!
The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-04-15
Early Settlers.

(By Clarence X. Lewis, 10, Williams
ville.)
About the year 1900 many people were
crossing from the east to the west side
of this country. Some were going to
farm; others to work in the mines. A
great many were successful and soon
became rich; many were taken sick and
died. and others returned to the east
poor.
1t was a very dangerous trip on &C
count of the fierce Indian tribes who
lived on the spoils they captured from
the white people. The roads were very
poor, where there were any. 1t took
long time to cross the country, for there
were no trains in those days.
Two families who were neighbors in
Vermont decided to try farming in Ohio.
1t was bright day in April when they
started for their new homes Many OF
their friends came to bid them goodbye.
Some brought food for them, for they
would be on the road a long time and
would need a large quantity. They
planned to build their homes near each
other for defense against the Indians.
After four months hard travelling they
reached the place where they decided to
build their new homes. They had to live
in their tents for about week, until a
log cabin could be built. 1t was large
enough for both families to live in until
another could be built. The nearest set
Element was Is miles away 1t was a
small village of go dwelling houses. a
church. one store and gristmill. Here
is where they did their trading.
In Mr.. Hawkins family there were
three children. Mary, girl of Is, was
the oldest, followed by John who was Is,
and Harold, aged IL, who was always
called upon to do errands. Mrs. Haw-
kins was / small woman but very brave.
In Mr.. Browns family there were only
two child ten-Arthur, young man OF
| 10, and Harry, sickly little fellow OF
five. These two families were very
The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-04-15

-piteh into him. Hiram cried Dallas.
Hiram stepped toward him bsi ~
that joe picked up the buffalo skin "
~hieh he had bern wrapped, anu ian
down the road where Tom sas waiting
Ior him With a horss and sisleh.
-Wrll. how did ,hs Joke safs sses'
Tom, as joe ers~lod sala Tia isish
.Jake r greaned Joe. tho leAs = on
me. sams IL my ribs are bf"Asi'
russs, and iher's bunch On my h'a"
as big as your hsi." -,
Joe and Tom kept very silsn, r.ssfa'
ms thr adventure, but Hiram ana pai'
la prclalmed the defeat far and near
After this Hiram became quite roPu.
lar, aud Dallas never deserted her hfs'
beau,