Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1916-07-14
CHAPTER XVIII.
A WINTER DAY AND CHRISTMAS TINE

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| Winter, with its icy grip, had hold
of the Green Mountains. The bare
granite peaks capped and hooded
with snow were glistening in white
ness, and the dark evergreen, thick
standing hemlock, pine, spruce and
balsam, like fur overcoat, on the
shoulders of the mountains, gave
the look of warmth and comfort.
The hard woods. stripped of their
gorgeous foliage by the frosts and
winds of late autumn and rigorous
drivings of advancing winter, stood
bare-armed and unadorned. ready
to combat the on-rushing host of
Boreas, with its artillery of snow
and ice, like war-ships with decks
cleared for action. Down in the
dells in solemn stiffness the fir trees
stood in robes of spotless white,
woven of snow-fakes, the night
long. Brooks and rills were deep
under ice and snow, and the faint
gurgle of their shut-in waters could
be heard mingling in still under
tones. In roads and fields the snow
was piled up in steep drifts, over
fences and stone walls and banked
high against the low, slant-roofed
houses to caves and gable-end. I'M
dotted whiteness the early riser
looked out upon. From sparse Chin
neys over town in the gray dawn,
great spiral columns of smoke could
be seen curling far up into the sharp,
clear atmosphere. Men and boys
had bounded out and were shovel
ing a path to the barn. The roar Of
the fire was heard in the deep fire.
place, and the women folks were
astir; and soon the smell of pota-
l toes and johnnycake a baking in the
large brick oven, and of frying salt
pork and the steaming teapot greet
ed the incoming men folks from the
barn chores with a grateful sense of
hunger By sunrise the men were
out with oxen, pillow and shovels,
breaking roads so that the stage and
doctor could get through, then went
to the woods, chopping and skid
ding logs and getting up wood-piles.
Before school time the lads turned
out the cattle and sheep to water,
from hole chopped through the
thick ice in brook near by, and
then scampered off to school, with
gleeful shout, drawing hand-sleds
loaded down with well-filled dinner
baskets, and younger brothers and
sisters, all muffied and wrapped,
shutting through the snow with
thick, cowhide boots, their pantlegs
tucked inside and strapped tight to
keep out the snow. clad in garments
of homespun flax and wool, capapie,
they come bounding into the school
house, loudly breathing, and crowd
around the red-hot box stove warm
ing hands and feet a few moments
before school begins. At recess and
incoming. after lunches in baskets
had been thawed out and eaten,
they were lively to improve their
time playing fox and geese" chas-
ing each other over the snowy paths
and sliding down hill on sleds and
shooters, boys contrivance
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made of an oak barrel stave nailed
in the center to a piece of scantling
about two feet high on one end, and
on the other end of the scantling g
narrow board nailed for a seat. Or
this the boys would slide down the
steepest hills, glare with ice, anC
keep their balance. During the
incoming, boys who lived neal
enough would hurry to the barns to
fodder the cattle, scattering humps
of hay or straw on the snow in thu
barn yard when sunny. After schoo
was let out at four o'clock they
t would have fun breaking steers tt
the yoke and driving them abou
hitched to large hand.sled. Bacl
up in the mountain and in the wood
lots of the valley the woodsmen are
getting out their choice timber anc
) hauling it to the mill of hardwood