The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1916-04-25

was rot much Interested In Il, and
anyway l was doing very well by my
self.
After eating our ill of berries, with
two nestfuls of partly hatched quail
eggs for dessert. Lop Ear and wan
dercd circumspectly into the woods
toward the river. Here was where
stood my old home tree, out OF which
| had been thrown by the Chattcrcr.
IL was still occupied There had been
increase In the family. Clnglng tight
TO my mother was a little baby: also
there was n girl. partly grown. who
cautiously regarded us from one OF
the lower branches. She was evident.
~ my sister, or half sister. rather.
My mother recognized me- but she
warned me away when | started to
climb into the tree Lop Ear. who
was more cautious by far than |. beat
a retreat. nor could persuade him to
return. Later I'm the day. however,
my sister came down to the ground,
and there and I'm neighboring trees we
romped and played all afternoon. And
then came trouble. She was my sis
ter. but that did not prevent her from
treating me abominably, for she had
inherited all the viciousness OF the
Chatterer. She turned upon me sud
denly In petty rage and scratched
me. tore my hair and sank her sharp
little teeth deep into my forearm. ]
Loaf n Il ,t,tt. hos
but II was undoubtedly the soundest
spanking she had received up to that
time.
How she yelled and squalled. The
Chatterer. who had been away all day
and who was only then returning,
heard the noise and rushed for the
spot. My mother also rushed, but he
got there first. Lop Ear and I did not
wait his coming. We were of and
away. and the Chatterer gave us the
chase of our lives through the trees.
After the chase was over and Lop
Ear and had had out our laugh we
discovered that twilight was falling
Here was night with all Its terrors
upon US, and, to return to the caves
was out of the question. Red Eye
made that impossible. We took refuge
In n tree that stood apart from other
trees, and high up in fork we passed
the night. 1t was n miserable night
For the first few hours II rnined heav.
fly. then 1t turned cold, and a chill
wind blew upon us. Soaked through,
with shivering bodies and chattering
teeth. we huddled in each others
arms. We missed the snug, dry cave
that so quickly warmed with the heat
OF our bodies.
Morning found us wretched and re.
solved. We would not spend another
such night Remembering the tree
shelters Of our elders. we set to work
to make one for ourselves. We built
the framework of a rough nest and on
higher forks overhead even got In sew.
eral ridge poles for the roof. Then the
sun came out, and under Its benign In
6uence we forgot the hardships of the
night and went off In search OF break.
fast. After that. to show the incon'
sequentiality of life in those days. we
fell to playing. 1t must have taken us
all Of n month. working intermittent
when It was completed we never used
it again.
But run ahead Of my story. When
we fell to playing, after breakfast, on
the second day away from the caves.
Lop Ear led me a chase through the
h. ,.tu
out upon II where large slough en-
tered from the BURBERRY swamp. The
mouth of this slough was wide, while
the slough itself was practically with
out current. In the dead water. just
inside its mouth. lay tangled mass of
tree trunks. Some Of these, what Of
the wear and tear of freshets and of
being stranded long summers on sand
bars, were seasoned and dry and with
out branches. They Hoated high In the
water, and bobbed up and down or
rolled over when we put our weight
upon them.
Here and there between the trunks
were water cracks, and through them
we could see schools of small fish, like
minnows. darting back and forth. Lop
Ear and | became fishermen nj once.
Lying Hat on the logs, keeping per
fectly quiet. waiting till the minnows
came close. we would make swift
passes with our hands. Our prizes we
ate on the spot. wriggling and moist
We did not notice the lack Of salt
The mouth Of the slough became our
fayorite playground. Here we spent
many, hours each day, catching fish and
playing on the logs, and here one day.
we learned our first lessons in naviga-
ton. The log on which Lop Ear was
lying got adrift. He was curled up on
his side. asleep. A light fan of air
slowly drifted the log away from the
shore, and when l noticed his predica.
ment the distance was already too
great for him to leap.
At first the episode seemed merely
funny to me. But when one NJ the
vagrant impulses of fear. common in
that age of DerDetunl insecurity