Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1914-05-22

have heard related that at one time
when the cicada, OF "seventeen-vear.
iocusts were on their periodical visits
10 TINS latitude, they ate and DESTROYED
me leaves from all the trees and everv-
tning around, except the leaves and ver
cure IN the trees in Spring Branch Woods
II was notable that they detoured sropnd
thls woods; and many people thouqbt +,
the wood-was under Divine favor
Twas on one of these camp grounds
ana at one of these old camD reat;,,,,s
that we hrst probably got The "giri,
[ FEVER. There was quite nice lo0l,irg
little girl in the town nearby whom,
much admired, and was egof;st;cai
enough to believe she looked with fs,,o-
upon ME. one evening while the parad-
ing was in full swing, I picked M copr-
age enough to ask her to promenade srd
she consented. We walked around The
grounds-both of us frightened almost
out OF our wits. ! asked her 10 90 and
nave some ice cream, and she said. I've
got no money. 20, I have. re-
turned. Well, we continued TO wall and
talked but little-we were scared. snJ
eventually left her at a tent Rut the
ground was broken and I thought that I
had done great deed and / had And
that girl has long since gone from me and
camp meeting scenery. Were the reader
10 ask me OF her fate, ! might reply in
the language of John Greenleaf Whittie-
IN his In School DAYS" poem
Dear girl the grasses on her grave
nave forty years been growing"
All persons are supposed to know that
tnere is great deal of deviltry practiced
on camp grounds, particularly at night.
II any one does not know this, he is NOT
wise. 1t was the fashion at that time NOT
only to have canvas tents, but for The
people to come from the country in GOV
cred carts or wagons, similar to their
going on the bayshore JOURNEYS. Thev
would improvise an old chest. or box of
some kind, and in it stow away two or
three days rations, of the best grub the
household could afford, and the whole
tamily-man, wife and probably half
dozen children - would proceed to the
camp meeting III their covered cart drawn
by pair of oxen. On arriving at the
camp grounds the driver corralled the
oxen somewhere, and propped the cart
body horizontally on the axle, thev were
-hus ready for enjoying the camp. We
nave gone into much circumlocutiou TO
,ealize the little incident that follows
One afternoon, long before the sun went
Town, family in one of these covered
arts had prepared their afternoon meal
II of their viands and good things were
pread out upon their temporary table.
When the mischievous boys, who had
made the plot, crept under the cart and
'ulled out the props. The reader can
imagine the tableau. The cart body tilted
p, and the inmates went out on top of
ach other, in a general pell-mell, topsy-
lrvey, and without regard to decorum.
he good vituals which were scattered
round might have been eaten at another
me. We were not the guilty parties,
nd had nothing to do with the event,
ut state it as part of our recollections of
lie experiences of those camp meeting
avs
At another time woman created much
settlement, and broke up the evening
rvice by running around the circle cry
y fire - but we desist from the un
-intable causes which led up to this ep
ode.
These are part of life's memories that
e never to be repeated but only in -
emory do we live over these scenes.