The Red Cloud chief., 1921-06-23
CHAPTER !.

Which Describes the Journey Of Sam.
son Henry Traylor and His Wife and
Their Two Children and Their Dog
Sambo Through the Adirondack Will
derness In 1881 on Their Way TO the
Land Of Plenty-Furthermore Il De.
scribes the Soapine Of tho srim-
steads
In the early summer of 1881 Sam
son Traylor and his wife, Sarah, and
two children left their old home near
the village Of vergennes, Vermont,
and began their travels toward the
setting sun with four chairs, bread
board and rolling-pin, feather bed
and blankets, q small looking.g glass, a
skillet, an ax, pack basket with a
pad Of sole leather on the same,
water pail, box Of dishes, a tub Of
salt pork. rifle, teapot, sack of
meal, sundry small provisions and n
violin, in double wagon drawn by
oxen. Ii Is pleasure to note that
they had violin and were not dis
posed to part with II. The reader must
not overlook its full historic signifi-
canoe. The stern, uncomprOmlsing
spirit Of the Puritan had left the
house of the Yankee before n violin
could enter II. Humor and the love
of play had preceded and cleared a
way for II. Where there was fiddle
there were cheerful hearts. A young
black shepherd dog with tawny points
and the name Of Sambo followed the
wagon.
If we had been ut the Congrega-
tional church Oh Sunday we might
have heard the minister saying to
Samson, after the service. that II was
hard to understand why the happiest
family I'm the parish and the most be-
loved should be leaving its ancestral
home to go to II far, new country OF
which little was known. We might also
have heard Samson answer:
"It's awful easy to be happy here
We slide along in the same old groove
that our fathers travelled, from Yer
gennes to Paradise. We work and
play and go to meetin' and put a shir
plaster In the box and grow old ant
narrow and stingy and mean and e
up to glory and are turned into saints
and angels. Maybe that's the bes
thing that could happen to us, bu
Sarah and kind O. thought we'd tr,
new starting place and another rout,
TO heaven"
Sarah and Sampson had been raise,
on adjoining farms just out Of tn,
village. lie had had little schooling
but his mind was active and well In
clined. Sarah had prosperous rela
tives in Boston and had had the ad
vantage Of years schooling In tina
city. She was a comely girl Of
taste and refinement unusual In tn,
place and time of hei birth. Man!
well-favOred youths had sought he
hand, but, better than others, sh,
liked the big, masterful, good-natured
humorous Samson, crude as he was
Naturally In her hands his timber ha,
undergone some planning and smooth
Ing and his thoughts had been gent.
led into new and pleasant ways.
Let us take a look at them as the
slowly leave the village of their birth
The wagon Is covered with tent clotl
drawn over hickory arches. They ar
sitting on seat overlooking the oxe
In the wagon front. Tears are stream
ing down the face OF the woman. TIL
mans head 10 bent. His elbows ar
resting on his knees; the hickor
handle OF his OK whip lies across hi
lap, the lash at his feet. He seems I
be looking down at his boots, into III
tops of which his trousers have bee
folded. He is rugged, blond, bearde
man with kindly blue eyes and
rather prominent nose. There Is
striking expression OF power In tn
head and shoulders Of Samson Traylo
The breadth Of his back, the size {
his wrists and hands, the color ,
his face betoken man Of grei
attitude is the only evidence Of EN-
tion which he betrays In a fe
minutes he begins to whistle q live
tune.
The boy Josiah-familiarly calls
Joe-sits beside his mother. He
slender, sweet-faced lad. He
looking up wistfully at his mothe
The little girl Betsey sits between hi
and her father.
That evening they stopped at II
house OF an old friend some mil
up the rusty road to the north.
Here we are-goin' west" Sar
son shouted to the man at the doc
step