Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1916-05-19

water, in the mountain air, outen
doors, gives you a sort O. breakfast
through your nose, afore your
mouth enjoys the taste ont. 1t
sort O. fingers out the pleasure O.
eatin'."
The breakfast over, and the la
bors that followed being done, the
judge asked Hunter John, well,
commander, what are the orders
for the day."
I've been thinkin', said Hunter
John, that there's some new and
pooty wild country down south O.
here. We can work down the noun
tain range, past Hazen's Notch,
keepin' poorly we'll up on the high
lands, across the north branch O. the
Lamoille, to Round Mountain. Down
in the Belvidere section they say
that the settlers are few, n so close
to natur' that they eat rye out O.
the bundle"
Ya-as," said Uncle Ez, back off
up in the Gore there's one O. the
curusest families we ever sot eyes
on; they call 'em the Brudleys
Mebbe we'll strike their coop on our
way if we look sharp nuf. They'er
hid deep in the woods, n as wild as
cartridges. | was strolling off out
in there last fall huntin' ginseng,
when found 'em. There was a log
shanty down in a boiler nook by the
side of brook in the midst of an
acre or so O. stumps. The old man
n his family, eight or ten on 'em,
ware pilin stumps n burnin off, all
duffin in to it like blixin. Twas
bout dinner time n the old man n
his woman asst me to stop n have
suth'n t'eat. | was hungry fer most
anything eatable, 50 | went into the
shanty with the family, and on the
table which was made Of boards
laid on saw horses, was a big wood
en- bowl I should presume to say
! 'tWould hold eight or ten quarts
full O. some kind O. stodge they
called poundin', n a dozen or so of
big wooden spoons. AS soon as we
! all come in the old man holIered
out, "Pow-wow round the poundin'!'
and sech a scramblin' fer them
spoons! You'd a laft ter seen 'em;
n all eatin' out O. that big bowl
like a lot O. pigs out of trough. |
suddenly diskivered I'd lost my ap-
petite fer any dinner. The woman
said, To stand up ter the table n
not be.bashful; ter pitch in while
twas goin'. AS | was leavin' the
house, one of the youngsters
stomped up to me and called my at
tention to the boots he had on; they
were mans sized, and looked as old
as moss lodges n as hard. Said he,
'Them's my boots; dad he give it to
John, the boots; John he give it to
Lige, the boots; Lige he give it to
Dag, the boots; n Dag he give it to
me, the boots The old man asst
me as | was goin' out if I'D hearn
tell whether William Miller had set
the day fer the Judgment, yet; that
he didn't want to have it come II
he n his family know nothin' bout
it n be left way back in the woods
that they wanted The on hand tt
go up with the rest on EN-.
| Il told him I'd see that they wan
left behind, and pint to Gabrie
) where they were"
The tents were struck, and soor
/ the cavalcade was vending its way
southwark; Uucle Ez, who was ia
; miliar with the mountains, acting a
y guide. Following the bridle-patl
t along the course of the brook tina
r went tumbling down over the rock
until it terminated in the rough
;. new made ox-cart road, in the thicl
wood over the other side, they slow
: ly proceeded, frequently meeting
y with the hardy backwoodsman, clat
g in his blue drilling frock, who CAV
them the axehelve grip of "welcom
l. to the mountains" Down the othe
f side of the mountain they came int,