Sharp County record., 1914-12-04
[Continued from page IL

fast covering the eartn, ueepel dllu
deeper, until no horseman could
travel. So Sherrod, as we shall
call our hero, decided to stay under
shelter until the weather should
moderate. During the long, cold
weather Sherrod could not stir, but
he learned to like the kind and gen.
erous family of Hawkeye, and es-
pecially the deaf mute girl, who en-
tertained him by popping corn and
roasting penders, and by trying to
learn him how to talk by signs.
But the long, cold winter began
to give way to the warmer south
breezes. The song of the bluebird
and the low, mellow cooling of the
dove were heard, and Sherrod knew
that springtime was near and be-
gan to make arrangements to pro-
ceed on his travels. At this juncture
Hawkeye proposed to hire Sherrod
by the month to do general farm
work and to accompany him on
his hunting trips to the Black river
swamps and Oil Trough bottoms,
where he had a little shanty. At
this shanty Hawkeye had hewn out
some long trouehs to hold the meat
and oil of the bears he killed, hence
the name of Oil Trough. Sherrod
found Hawkeye to be a bold bear
hunter He wore a suit OF bear
skin and looked as rugged as the
bear, but in his home ne was as
kind and loving as a woman. Sher-
rod assisted in capturing many
bears, the hides, flesh and oil OF
which Hawkeye sold to the small
keel boats which foated White
river and took the hunters products
to New Orleans. Sherrod was pref
ty we'll employed between work on
the farm and the bear chase, which
was schooling him for the rugged
life and hardships that were yet in
store for him.
But the spring, like the winter,
was soon gone and the hot summer
had come, and Sherrod found leis-
ure enough to attend several pro-
tracted meetings and picnics in the
vicinity 1t was in August, when
all nature seemed to relax its en-
erey and reality seemed to give
way to fiction; when the dog star
rays seemed sinking into oblivion;
when the woodpecker was digging
deep holes in the old dead trees to
store away his winters food; when
the house martin was circling high
in the evening breeze, teaching the
young to fly and preparing for the
long Journey to the southland,
where the winter months are warm
and the tropical sun ever shines on
the golden orange orchards, and
where they can enjoy eternal
spring; while all nature was thus
relaxed Sherrod strolled across a
narrow stretch of GLADE land cover
ed with "huckleberry" bushes, lying
to the northeast of Hawkeye's Tav-
ern.
He came to a lone pine that lift
ed its huge trunk high and spread
its branches wide in the air, and
appeared to be the father of the
su rounding forest Around this
pine long, green moss covered the
ground. Ferns grew around the
roots of the great pine and every
thing seemed to invite repose, 50
Sherrod stretched himself upon the
green moss and eazed up at the
white clouds that iloated to the
northwest. The roar Of the water
fall on Curia Creek was distinctly
heard. There was d road or trail
just to the east and Sherrod heard
the rattle Of hoofs over the stones,
and, raising his head, he saw three
horsemen coming down the road
He lay back close to the earth and
the three men drew nearer and