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A 

EHYTHMICAL  KOMANCE   OF  MINNESOTA, 

THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


MINNESOTA    MASSACRES. 


BY  MYRON  COLONEY. 
il 


ST.  LOUIS: 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AUTHOR. 
1866. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  thu  year  1865,  by 

•?*«.  \  5  -          MYRON  COLONEY, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  United  States  District  Court, 
For  the  Eastern  District  of  Missouri. 


A.  mEBUSCH  &  SON, 

Stereotypers  &  Printers, 
ST.  Louis,  Mo. 


IN  MEMORIAM. 

DIED — la  the  month  of  September  1864,  at  UNION  FARM,  near  Holla,  Phelps 
County,  Mo.,  stricken  down  by  the  bullet  of  a  Missouri  bushwhacker, 
while  with  his  rifle,  "Biting  Betty,"  in  hand  he  was  bravely  defend 
ing  the  home  and  family  of  the  author  of  this  book  from  pillage  and 
assault,  brave  and  noble  Uncle  ANDREAS  M.  DARLING,  in  the  fifty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age. 


IN  the  year  1858,  myself  and  wife  emigrated  from 
the  city  of  Chicago,  111.,  to  Douglas  County,  Minn., 
and  settled  upon  the  lovely  shores  of  Lake  Ida.  Doug 
las  County  is  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles 
north-west  from  St.  Paul,  and  is  reached  by  travelling 
up  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  Eiver  to  St.  Cloud, 
the  head  of  navigation,  thence  up  the  Sauk  Eiver 
Valley  in  an  almost  westerly  direction  to  Osakis  Lake, 
where  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  county  begins. 
Alexandria,  the  county-seat  and  post-office  town  of  the 
county,  is  about  twelve  miles  further  on  from  Osakis 
Lake,  and  Lake  Ida  is  distant  from  Alexandria  about 
six  miles,  still  further  on  toward  Breckinridge  and 
Abercrombie,  on  the  great  Red  Eiver  of  the  North, 
rn 

RI57406 


IV 

At  the  time  myself  and  wife  moved  into  Douglas 
County  there  was  no  beaten  road  over  the  prairie 
further  than  the  little  paper  town  of  Kandotta,  near 
Fairy  Lake.  One  log  cabin,  and  a  very  indifferent 
one  at  that,  had  been  erected  upon  this  site,  a  liberty 
pole  put  up,  a  pole  stable  built  and  the  "town"  had 
an  existence  and  a  name.  We  purchased  ox-teams  in 
St.  Cloud,  loaded  our  household  goods  and  provisions 
into  the  wagons  and  the  journey  was  commenced. 
It  was  in  May  and  there  were  no  bridges  across  the 
streams.  The  Sauk  River  had  to  be  crossed  four  times 
in  the  journey  and  as  it  was  very  high,  we  were  obliged 
to  unload  each  time  and  after  ferrying  our  goods  over 
in  a  small  skiff,  take  the  wagon  to  pieces  and  ferry  it 
over  in  the  same  manner. 

On  our  journey,  at  every  cabin  we  stopped  at,  we 
heard  of  a  Mr.  DARLING  and  his  family  with  their 
teams  and  goods  just  ahead  of  us,  bound  for  the  same 
part  of  the  State,  and  we  hurried  on  expecting  every 
night  to  overtake  them,  but  the  energy  and  experience 
of  the  hardy  frontiersman  widened  the  distance  be 
tween  us  every  day,  and  when  we  arrived  at  Alexan 
dria  we  found  he  had  been  there  some  three  or  four 
days,  and  had  immediately  proceeded  to  his  "  claim  " 


upon  Lake  Darling-,  about  one  mile  beyond  the  town 
in  the  direction  of  Lake  Ida. 

Notwithstanding  the  lateness  of  the  season  Mr. 
DARLING  broke  up  and  fenced  about  twelve  acres  of 
land  and  raised  a  large  crop  of  "  sod  corn,"  potatoes, 
buckwheat  and  ruta  bagas.  He  also  built  himself  a 
good,  warm  house,  and  a  stable  for  his  stock,  and  in 
farm  enterprise  took  and  kept  the  lead  in  all  that  sec 
tion.  He  was  a  most  indefatigable  hunter  and  trapper 
at  the  season  of  the  year  when  such  business  could  be 
made  to  pay,  and  with  old  "  Biting  Betty"  could  shoot 
a  loon's  eye  out  forty  rods  distant  every  fire.  "  Biting 
Betty "  was  made  to  order  for  him  in  Wisconsin ;  she 
carried  a  half  ounce  ball  and  weighed  sixteen  pounds, 
which  every  sportsman  ought  to  know  is  an  immense 
weight  for  a  rifle. 

Mr.  ANDREAS  M.  DARLING  was  born  of  poor  parents 
on  a  rugged  farm  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  his  father,  like  himself,  appears  to 
have  been  a  kind  of  a  "rolling  stone,"  always  keeping 
ahead  of  "civilization."  In  an  early  day  they  moved 
to  western  New  York,  and  thence  to  Ohio,  and  there 
young  ANDREAS  took  the  contract  of  cutting  down  the 
forest  on  the  present  site  of  Cleveland,  Ohio.  When 


VI 

settlers  began  to  be  too  numerous,  he  moved  into 
Michigan,  where  he  married,  thence  into  Wisconsin, 
and  from  there  into  Minnesota. 

He  was  a  large,  well  proportioned  man,  standing 
six  feet  four  inches  in  his  stockings,  powerful,  kind 
hearted  and  true.  No  man  was  readier  at  a  "  raising/' 
"chopping,1'  "logging,''  or  "plowing,"  than  he.  He 
was  invariably  chosen  as  "boss"  of  the  occasion,  no 
matter  what  it  might  be.  He  was  always  on  hand  at 
the  frequent  "dances"  with  which  the  settlers,  for 
miles  around,  sought  to  make  merry  the  long  winters 
of  that  distant,  hyperborean  region,  and  his  "team" 
always  contained  the  jolliest  load  of  young  folks  in  the 
settlement. 

When  the  Sioux  massacres  commenced  I  was  fort 
unately  away  from  home.  My  wife  had  gone  to  Chic 
ago  to  visit  her  parents,  and  I  was  travelling  through 
Indiana  purchasing  sheep.  My  house  and  its  contents 
were  burned  and  several  of  the  neighbors,  living 
higher  up  the  road,  were  killed. 

The  settlers  about  Alexandria  organized  themselves 
into  a  company,  and  electing  Mr.  DARLING  captain, 
hastily  left  their  homes  for  St.  Cloud,  one  hundred 
miles  below.  The  Indians  followed  and  surrounded 


them  nearly  every  night,  but  did  not  dare  to  attack, 
and  finally  the  whole  party  reached  St.  Cloud  in  safety. 

The  crops  had  all  been  left  standing  in  the  fields, 
and  the  cattle,  hogs  and  sheep  were  roaming  at  large. 
Assurance  was  given  to  Mr.  DARLING  by  Governor 
KAMSEY  that  a  company  of  soldiers  should  be  stationed 
permanently  at  Alexandria  very  soon,  and  therefore 
as  soon  as  he  could  find  safe  quarters  for  his  family, 
he  with  a  neighbor  of  his,  Mr.  BARNES,  went  fearless 
ly  back  to  their  homes  and  commenced  saving  their 
crops,  and  as  soon  as  the  soldiers  came  up  they  moved 
their  families  back  again. 

I  never  returned,  but  moving  to  St.  Louis,  com 
menced  trading  through  south-west  Missouri  and  Ar 
kansas,  and  finally  in  connection  with  another  gentle 
man  of  St.  Louis,  purchased  the  HAMILTON  LENNOX 
plantation  of  a  thousand  acres,  near  Rolla,  and  christ 
ened  it  "Union  Farm.1'  It  was  so  near  Eolla,  which 
was  strongly  garrisoned,  that  I  never  entertained  the 
slightest  apprehension  of  trouble  from  bushwhackers, 
and  with  my  wife  and  father-in-law  and  family  did  not 
hesitate  to  move  upon  the  place  at  once. 

I  had  kept  up  a  pretty  regular  correspondence  with 
Mr.  DARLING,  and  believing  him  to  be  in  a  good  deal 


VIII 

of  danger  on  his  claim,  a  mile  from  the  stockade,  I 
advised  him  to  come  down  to  Missouri  and  take  charge 
of  my  property  as  overseer.  As  there  was  a  drouth 
prevailing  in  Minnesota  at  the  time  and  his  family  felt 
lonesome  and  discouraged,  he  consented  and  selling 
out  his  teams,  utensils  &c.,  came  on. 

I  had  leased  the  property  to  my  father-in-law,  Mr. 
CHAUNCEY  TUTTLE,  for  a  term  of  years,  and  he,  rati 
fying  my  arrangement  with  Mr.  DARLING,  gave  him 
full  charge  of  the  farm.  All  went  along  peaceably 
and  well,  until  the  month  of  September  1864.  Myself 
and  Mr.  TUTTLE  had  come  up  to  St.  Louis  on  business 
and  while  here  received  the  following  telegram  which 
fell  upon  us  like  a  flash  of  lightning : 

To  MYRON  COLONET: 

"We  were   bushwhacked  last  night  and 
Mr.  DARLING  was  killed. 

MRS.  J.  A.  COLONEY. 

Alas,  it  was  too  true!  The  dear,  kind-hearted, 
brave  old  man  was  shot  down  while  gallantly  defend 
ing  the  entrance  of  my  parlor.  The  murderers  were 
"  DICK  KITCHEN'S  "  band  of  guerillas,  to  whom,  it  is 
alleged,  the  "WRIGHT  boys,"  lately  shot  by  Col.  BAB- 
COCKE'S  men,  belonged.  The  immediate  instigators 


IX 

of  the  murder  were  two  sons  of  the  former  owner  of 
the  place,  TOM.  and  BILL  LENNOX.  They  have  yet 
to  answer  to  the  law  for  this  most  foul  and  hellish  deed. 

The  military  authorities  at  Holla  sent  over  an  escort 
and  brought  the  body  of  the  brave  old  man  to  town, 
and  buried  him  with  becoming  obsequies  in  the  mili 
tary  burying  ground.  His  stricken  widow  and  her 
children  determined  to  return  to  the  "  claim"  in  Min 
nesota  which  they  did,  and  are  there  at  this  present 
time. 

It  is  for  her  benefit  —  to  assist  her  in  meeting  the 
severe  struggle  of  life,  deprived  as  she  is  of  the 
manly  hand  and  strong  arm  on  which  she  was  wont  to 
rely,  to  assist  her  in  the  proper  education  of  her  chil 
dren,  that  this  book  has  been  printed.  I  do  not  know 
that  it  will  ever  return  what  it  cost,  but  I  trust  it  will 
and  hope  it  will  supply  a  fund  for  many  years  to  come 
to  fill  the  purse  that  the  energy  and  industry  of  him 
who  was  so  cruelly  snatched  away  from  her  was 
wont  to  fill. 

She  now  lives  upon  the  shores  of  Lake  Darling  in 
Minnesota,  while  the  remains  of  her  noble  husband 
lie  away  down  here  in  the  soil  of  Missouri.  It  is  my 
earnest  wish  to  disinter  the  body,  provide  it  with  a 


suitable  coffin  and  send  it  up  to  her,  but  embarrass 
ments  which  have  come  upon  me  from  being  obliged 
to  give  up  the  farm,  and  losses  in  business  have  put  it 
entirely  out  of  my  power  to  do  so,  at  present,  and  if, 
therefore,  after  reading  the  story  of  the  gallant,  kind- 
hearted,  true  old  man,  any  one  should  feel  disposed 
to  enclose  me  a  contribution  for  that  purpose,  however 
small,  it  will  be  duly  acknowledged  and  appreciated. 
"  Biting  Betty "  was  carried  off  by  the  party  who 
committed  the  murder,  as  was  every  other  thing  of 
value  in  my  house ;  but  as  the  rifle  was  a  very  heavy 
one  it  is  thought  that  it  was  left  somewhere  in  the 
State,  and  if  it  can  be  recovered  and  sent  to  me,  a 
large  reward  will  be  paid  for  it. 

St.  JLouis,  Missouri,  October  1865. 

MYEON  C.OLONEY. 


DEDICATION. 

AT  my  desk  I  sit  alone, 
Bathed  in  floods  of  silver-tone  — 
Evening  vesper's  soothing  chime  — 
Musing  on  this  work  of  mine. 
Down  life's  path  I  turn  my  gaze 
Backward  to  my  boyhood  days ; 
Then  returning,  closely  look 
Through  each  grotto,  grove  and  nook, 
Bower  of  ease  and  brambled  wood, 
Long  dark  walks  of  solitude, 
Sunny  banks  and  emerald  lanes, 
Sterile  paths  and  fruitful  plains, 
Down  each  yawning,  black  abyss, 
O'er  each  frightful  precipice, 
Everywhere-  my  feet  have  trod 
Since  the  hour  I  came  from  God : 
Fain  to  find  a  friend  who  ne'er 
Changed  with  fortune's  changeful  year; 
Faithful  friend,  long  proved  and  tried, 
True  when  other  friendships  died ; 

XI 


XII 

To  this  friend  for  whom  I  look, 
I  would  dedicate  my  book. 
Here  are  sunny  eyes  asmile, 
Briefly  lit  — a  little  while  — 
With  a  blast  of  adverse  fate 
They  grow  dark  and  desolate. 
There  are  graspings  of  the  hand, 
Air  and  intonation  bland, 
Giving  place  to  cold  neglect, 
Contact  proudly  circumspect.. 
Oh,  my  soul,  and  is  there  then 
No  true  friendship  among  men? 
Sadly  turns  my  heart  aside, 
To  my  own  dear  fire-side, 
From  the  many  to  the  few; 
One  sits  there  forever  true! 
True  in  sickness  as  in  health, 
True  in  poverty  as  wealth, 
True  though  I  should  go  astray, 
True  when  others  turn  away, 
Oh,  thou  sunshine   of  my  life, 
Loving,  tender,  patient  WIFE, 
God's  best,   dearest  gift  to  me, 
I   inscribe  my  book  to  thee ! 


PREFACE. 


THIS  book  has  been  written  under  the  most  un 
favorable  circumstances,  occupying  the  spare  hours  of 
some  six  months,  for  while  engaged  upon  it  I  have 
fulfilled  the  duties  of  Commercial  Editor  of  the  Even 
ing  News  of  this  city.  It  has  been  written  without 
a  library  or  even  a  private  room  in  which  to  with 
draw  myself.  I  have  had  no  lexicons,  encyclopedias, 
rhyming  dictionaries,  or  books  of  reference  to  assist 
me.  Harpers'  Magazine  and  the  newspapers  have 
been  my  only  helps. 

I  have  sought  no  publishers  as  I  was  almost  entirely 
unknown  as  a  writer,  and  feU  there  would  be  no  prob 
ability  of  my  getting  one.  I  have  grown  up  in  the 
West,  am  thoroughly  inoculated  with  its  rude,  ener 
getic  life  and  its  progressive,  individualizing  ideas. 
Of  course  my  writings  must  be  a  true  manifestation 
of  myself.  I  glory  in  the  spirit  of  American  Ideas 

XIII 


and  demand  for  myself  and  claim  for  all  others  that 
true  and  perfect  equality,  both  in  religion  and  politics, 
that  is  every  human  he  ing's  right  on  earth. 

Faith  in  the  upward  progress  of  the  human  race  in 
spite  of  creeds  and  bigotries,  is  the  corner-stone  of  my 
religion,  and  especial  faith  in  the  people  of  the  United 
States  of  America  is  my  glory  and  pride. 

So  my  book  is  radical  upon  all  subjects,  casting  off 
all  the  old  that  seems  to  have  worn  out  and  served  its 
purpose,  and  taking  up  and  advocating  all  the  new 
that  seems  good  and  true. 

I  do  not  expect  it  is  a  great  poem,  I  do  not  expect 
it  will  find  favor  with  the  rich,  highly  cultured  minds 
of  the  East.  I  have  chosen  my  characters  from  the 
common  walks  of  life,  and  my  story  is  largely  a  re 
citation  of  life's  common  events.  My  hero  is  intended 
as  a  fair  type  of  what  free  institutions  develope ;  a 
hard  working,  intelligent,  high  minded  boy,  a  dutiful 
son,  a  true  patriot  springing  at  once  to  the  call  of  his 
country,  a  free  thinker,  trusting  his  own  God-given 
judgment  to  decide  all  questions  for  him,  a  brave,  up 
right  and  fearless  private  soldier,  an  unostentatious 
officer  and  a  faithful  lover. 


XV 

To  the  best  of  my  ability  I  have  endeavored  to  em 
bellish  my  narration  with  poetical  ornament  and  if  I 
have  failed  then  fail  it  must  be,  as  I  do  not  know 
that  I  can  ever  produce  anything  better.  At  the 
same  time  I  have  avoided  obscureness  of  expression, 
desiring  to  have  every  sentence  and  figure  of  speech 
clearly  understood. 

I  have  committed  no  intentional  plagiarism,  and  if 
there  is  anything  in  my  book  very  similar  to  what 
some  one  else  has  written  before  me,  I  do  not  know 
it  now. 

Hoping  that  my  sincerity,  at  least,  will  not  be 
doubted,  I  commit  this,  my  first  and  undoubtedly  my 
last  literary  venture  to  the  great  ocean  of  the  Am 
erican  Mind. 

MYEON  COLONEY. 
St.  Louis,  Missouri,  October  1865. 


PART  FIRST. 

THE  BEAUTIFUL  HOME -TROUBLE -A  WIFE'S  DEVOTION, 


jfjEEP  within  an  arc  of  locusts,  pouring  forth  their 

4?          odors  sweet, 

Nestled  little  Thornton  Cottage,   white  and  dustless, 

clean  and  neat. 
Troops  of  woodbines  clambered   fondly  o'er  the  low 

verandah,  where 
.RICHARD   THORNTON   read   his   paper,   in  the  spicy 

evening  air. 
Graveled  walks  and   beds   of  flowers,  sweet  exotics, 

rich  and  rare, 
Backs    of    fruits    and    blushing  berries   formed    his 

beautiful  parterre. 
Plots  of  vines  and  clustering  bushes,   round  the  rear 

fence  climbing  high, 
Told  of  luxuries,  whose   freshness  money  sometimes 

fails  to  buy. 

i 


Every  threader   of  the  highway  paused   before  that 

quiet  cot, — 
Paused  in  wishful  contemplation  of  that  soul-enticing 

spot, 
Gazed,  until    their  \veary  spirits   longed    to   flee  the 

outwaici  din 
To    the    peaceful,    sweet    valhalla,    to    the    paradise 

within ! 
RICHARD  loved    his    little    cottage,    dearly    loved   its 

quiet  rest, 

Gowned  and  slippered  and  surrounded  by  the  fledg 
lings  of  his  nest. 
HARRY  THORNTON  was  his  eldest  —  fifteen  summers, 

bright  as  gold, 
On  his    shining    scroll    of    being    had    their    sunny 

names  enrolled. 

If  a   stainless   soul  from  heaven  —  purer  than  eter 
nal  day  — 
Brighter  than   a  diamond    cluster,  e'er  was  plucked 

and  wrapped  in  clay, 
Surely  it    was    HARRY  THORNTON'S  —  looking    from 

those  earnest  eyes, — 
Truthful,    loving,    ever   rising   upward    to   its  native 

skies. 
Next  was  JESSIE,  sunny-headed,    sweet    and    simple 

as  her  name, 
Lovely    little    bud    of   glory,   tinged  with   blue     and 

touched   with   flame! 


Delicate  as  angel  music,  floating  through  a  spirit 
bovver, 

Pensive  as  the  sense  of  being  in  the  souls  most 
blessed  hour! 

Then  there  was  another  presence  that  embodied  all 
his  love, 

Brimmed  with  pleasure  all  his  senses  like  a  bless 
ing  from  above ; 

Hither,  thither,  —  moving  softly,  every  touch  impart 
ing  grace, 

Blended  with  an  air  of  comfort  everywhere  about 
the  place, 

Wife  and  partner  of  his  bosom  —  mother  of  his 
little  brood, 

Sweet  disperser  of  his  sorrows  —  sunshine  of  each 
darker  mood, 

Sunny-hearted,  gentle  ESTHER,  always  quiet,  always 
neat, 

Sure  to  have  his  arm-chair  ready,  gown,  and  slip 
pers  for  his  feet, 

Sure  to  meet  him  with  a  welcome  shining  from  her 
winsome  face, 

Sure  to  twine  her  white  arms  round  him  in  a  trust 
ful,  fond  embrace. 

Oh,  a  true  and  gentle  woman  —  more  than  Iris' 
seven-hued  span 

Typifies  God's  love  and  mercy  —  is  his  dearest  gift 
to  man ! 


There    was   still    another   presence,    bent   in   form, 

white-haired    and  thin, 
'Twixt    whose    ripe    and    longing    spirit,    and     the 

brighter  life  within, 
But  a  segment   of  a   cycle  yet   remained,   a  bar  at 

best  — 
But  a  short   step   to   that   country,  where   the  weary 

are  at  rest. 
ESTHER'S  father,  loved  and  honored  by  the  household, 

one  and  all, 
Spirit-pure,   and    meekly   patient  —  waited    but    the 

bugle  call 
That  should   bid    him  on  to  glory  —  marshal  him  in 

grand  array 
With    the  gathering   hosts   of  planets,   bannered   by 

eternal  day ! 
Who    could    wonder    then    that  RICHARD  —  toiling, 

planning  all  day  long, 
Joyed  to  see  the  twilight  falling,  joyed   to  hear  the 

cricket's  song? 

That,  then  locking  care  behind  him,  he,  with  bound 
ing  heart  and  feet, 
To  his  cottage  and   his  dear  ones    might   go   flying 

down  the  street! 
To   the  casual   observer  RICHARD'S  was    an    envied 

lot; 
But    each    heart    hath    secret     troubles    which     the 

stranger  knoweth  not. 


For  the  world   is   full   of   shadows,   creeping   round 

the   sunniest  door, 
And    each   hearth-stone    hath    its   phantoms,    grimly 

wrought  upon  the  floor ! 
One  sad  evening    RICHARD  tarried  —  came  not,  still, 

the  hour  was  late 

When  at  length  the  waiting  ESTHER  heard  his  foot 
steps  at   the  gate. 
Tenderly   she   flew  to   meet   him,   love   all  beaming 

in  her  face, 
But  he  startled  her  with :  "  ESTHER,  we  must  leave 

this  dear  old  place ! 
That  vile  serpent   in   our   Eden  —  that  Appollyon  in 

our  path, 
Has   poured   out   upon   us,   darling,   all   the   vials  of 

his  wrath. 
He    has    bought    those    notes   of   HARVEY    and   my 

cottage  deed-of-trust ; 
Times  are  close,   I   cannot  pay  them,   so   he   grinds 

me  in  the  dust! 
How  he   chuckled    as    the    sheriff   closed    my    little 

store  to-day, 
Hissing:    "'You    may  thank   your   ESTHER!'"  as  I 

turned  to  go  away. 
I  was   leaving   more    in   sorrow   than   in   anger,   till 

the  sound 
Of  this  stinging   insult  smote  me,   then  I  felled   him 

to  the  ground! 


6 

Oh,  I  know  that   it   was   shameful    thus  to  yield   to 

passion's  blast, 
But   I    must    have    struck    him,    ESTHER,    had    that 

moment  been  my  last. 
In   the   Syracuse   House  parlor   I   have  held  a  long 

debate 
With  the  BALDWINS  and  the  CHOUSES  that  is  why  I 

came  so  late. 
They  are  friends  of  ours,  my  darling,  and  will  help 

us  to  depart, 
Never  dreaming  that  their  kindness  is  our  bitterness 

of  heart! 
Oh,  to  leave  our  little  cottage,  where  our  lives  were 

knit  in  one, 
Where  those  gifts  of  God,  our  children,  first  beheld 

the  light  of  sun, 
Where  so  long  we've  turned  together    gilded  leaves 

of  golden  years: 
Is  a  bitterness  that  wrings  me,  but  we  have  no  time 

for  tears! 

We  are  young  yet,  ESTHER,  darling,  God  will  streng 
then  us  to  go; 
And  withdraw  ourselves  forever    from   the   venom  of 

our  foe. 
In  the  distant   Minnesota,  where  the  skies  are  ever 

blue, 
We  will  seek  the  quiet  border  and   begin  our  lives 

anew. 


We  will  settle  on  the  margin  of  some  sweet  pellucid 

lake, 
That  shall  sing  its  liquid  sonnets  to  the  listening  fern 

and  hrake, 
And   our   house    shall   be    embowered   in  a  grove  of 

maple-trees, 

Where  the  breezes  chaunt  forever  their  seolian  har 
monies. 
Neighbors    soon    will  gather  round  us    and  we  shall 

not  be  alone ; 
Then  imploring  God  to  bless  us    let  us  hasten  and 

be  gone. 
We   will  pack    up   all   our  carpets,  your  piano,  and 

my  books, 
And  our  furniture    to  charm  us    by  its  old  familiar 

looks ; 
We   will  spend  a  day  in  making   all  our  friends  a 

final  call, 

And  will   stop  and   see  Niagara  Falls    while  jour 
neying  to  St.  Paul ! 
Will   you   go    with   me,   my   ESTHER,    oh   what   say 

you,  loving  wife  ? 
Is  this  too  great  a  sacrifice   for  him  you  took  for 

life? 
Oh!    I  see,   your   heart    is    weeping,   for   the   tears 

drop  from  your  eye; 
There !  We  will  not  think  of  going,  darling  ESTHER, 

do  not  cry !  " 


8 

"  You  mistake  my  sorrow,  RICHARD,  oh,  most  gladly 

will  I  go ! 
I  will  follow  you  forever,  cling  to  you  through  weal 

or  woe ! 
Not  so  much  the  dread  of  going    as   the  sundering 

of  ties 
That  have  bound  us  to  our  Eden,  brought  the  tears 

into  my  eyes; 
So  I  answer:    Yes,   my    husband,   yes,    my  darling, 

brave  and  true, 
Go     where   judgment    seems    to    lead   you,    I  will 

surely  go  with  you! 

We  will  keep  from   out   the   shadows,   gather   sun 
shine  where  we  may, 
Hold    our    golden    cup    of    being    up    for   blessings 

every  day! 
Bear   with  patient   resignation,   all   the   gloomy  evil 

days, 
If  our   Father  sends  us  any,   ever  giving  Him  the 

praise. 
And  our   comfort  in  our  children  will  be  lustres  to 

us  then; 
They  will  seem  much  nearer  to  our  souls  than  ever 

they  have  been, 
They  will  help  us  in  our  toiling,  lighten  every  load 

they  can, 
They  will  both  be  cheerful  workers,  and   HARRY'S 

most  a  man, 


There,   besides,    is   dear    old   father,   who   will   go, 

though  hard  'twill  be 
To  forsake   his  buried    treasure   down   beneath   the 

willow-tree. 
So  I  look  with  hopeful   pleasure    to   the    coming   of 

the  day 
That    shall    find    us   bravely   journeying    upon  our 

westward  way!" 


PART  SECOND. 

SYRACUSE  —  "  BELLE    MISSOUEI'' -  THE    JOCTENEY-NIA- 

GAEA  FALLS  —  CHICAGO  —  STEAMBOAT  KIDE  ON  THE 

FATHEE  OF  WATEES  — SCENES  IN  THE  LAND 

OF  "LAUGHING  WATEE," 


SYRACUSE,  of   Onondaga!   at  thy  name   my   spirit 

<1>          thrills! 

And  thy  presence  drifts  before  me,  girt  by  thy  ce 
rulean  hills! 

Every  avenue  and  alley,  every  square  and  bridge, 
and  street 

In  thy  dear  old  corporation  is  familiar  to  my  feet! 

I  have  strolled  through  all  thy  valleys,  counted  every 
singing  rill, 

And  have  watched  thy  great  heart  beating,  from 
the  crown  of  Prospect  Hill. 

All  between  thee  and  Salina,  where  thy  crystal 
treasures  lay,* 

I  have  wandered  through  the  mazes  of  those  acres 
many  a  day; 

*  The  great  fields  of  salt  vats. 


11 

Oh,   I    love    to   think   upon    thee,    all   these   weary 

years  apart. 
Syracuse !  I  send  thee  greeting !   darling  city  of  my 

heart ! 
Call  to  thee  from   "  Belle  Missouri,"  from  her  rich 

metallic  hills, 
From  her  broad  luxuriant  prairies,  from  her  silver 

threads  of  rills! 

From  her  orchards  and  her  vinyards  and  her  "  sheep- 
besprinkled  downs," 
From  her  rivers  and  her  waterfalls,   her  cities  and 

her  towns ! 
Oh,   remember    her   brave   people,   who    in   battle's 

bloody  strife 
Have   proved    that   love   of    freedom    far   outweighs 

their  love  of  life  ! 
See   their  ever   glorious  ballots,   as  I  hold  them  to 

the  sun  — 

Every   one   a   deed   of  valor  in  the  cause  of  free 
dom  done  — 
Oh,    remember,    how   the   nation    echoed    back   the 

sturdy  blow 
That-  consigned   her  demon,    slavery,    to  its  fitting 

home  below ! 
Oh,  remember,  too,  her  ruins  —  blazing  homes    and 

wasted  farms ! 
And  the  murders  at  her  firesides    and  wild  midnight 

alarms ! 


12 

Oh,  those  lonely,  blackened  chimneys  shall  be  mon 
uments  of  pride ! 
Telling    every   coming    stranger:    "Here   a   Union 

household  died !  — 
Here    for  freedom's   sake    were   suffered     all    the 

woes  that  flesh  can  know, 
Stabs   and    shots,   and    flames   and    curses,    from   a 

drunken,  brutal  foe ! 
Here    amid  wild  desolations    some  true  hearts  have 

ceased  to  live ! 
Thus    for   Liberty  and  Union    giving  all   that  man 

can  give !  " 

Still,  remember r  "  Belle  Missouri "  makes  no.  mur 
mur  of  regret; 
Though  all  mangled,  torn    and  bleeding    she  is  not 

disheartened  yet! 
Like  -  a  queen    she  rises  proudly,  calmly  stem  amid 

her  woes, 
Binding  up  her  bleeding  temples   she  again  confronts 

her  foes ! 
Thank  God!  her  darkness  brightens!  all  rebellion's 

hosts  elate, 
Have  been  driven  in  confusion  from  out  her  lovely 

State ! 
And  now,  in  vales  where  lately  fierce  bloody  deeds 

were  done, 
Houses  rise  up  from  their  ashes!   fences  glisten  in 

the  sun! 


13 

Billowy  fields  of  wheat  are  nodding    joyously    their 

heads  of  gold! 
Scythes    are    singing    in  the   meadows!    plows  are 

crunching  in  the  mold ! 
Then  cry:  "Hail  to  Belle  Missouri!"  Syracuse,  my 

early  pride, 
In  the  seven-times  heated   furnace    has   her   loyalty 

been  tried ! 
She   has   exorcised    her  demons,    clothed   in   reason 

now  she  stands, 
Proud  and  queenly,  rich  and  lovely,  State  of  states, 

and  land  of  lands ! 
Yes,  I  love  thee,  Central  City,  as  did  RICHARD  on 

that  day 
When,   with  all   his   dear  ones   round   him,  he  was 

swiftly  home  away  — 
Borne  forever  from  the  cottage  where  had  passed  his 

early  days ; 
Sighing,  as  familiar  places  swiftly  vanished  from  his 

gaze. 
Sighing  deeper,  as  he  pondered,  why,  in  this  brief 

lease  of  life, 
Man  against  his  fellow-mortal  should  array  himself 

in  strife ; 
Why    with    malice    and   with   vengeance    man    his 

brother  should  pursue, 
When  'tis  better  to  be  gentle,  kind  and  loving,  good 

and  true. 


14 

Face  to  face  with  great  Niagara  BICHARD  and  his 
household  -stand  — 

Awed  to  silence,  lost  in  wonder,  almost  breathless, 
hand  in  hand, 

On  the  deck  of  the  small  steamer,  gazing  at  the 
giddy  crown  * 

Of  that  roaring,  fearful  deluge,  spanned  by  rain 
bows,  rushing  down! 

Spectacle  to  be  remembered  'mid  belittling  things 
of  earth ! 

.NVer  will  grander  vision  greet  us  till  we  know  a 
higher  birth ! 

Several  days  did  RICHARD  linger,  chained  to  that 
enchanting  spot, 

Brimming  all  his  soul  with  mem'ries  never  more  to 
be  forgot. 

Through  the  groves  of  Iris  Island  daily  with  his 
dear  ones  strolled, 

Dreaming  out  the  grand  old  legends  that  the  rush 
ing  waters  told, 

While  the  vast  primeval  cedars,  spreading  wide  their 
verdant  arms, 

Added  coolness  to  the  splendor  of  Niagara's  varied 
charms. 

More  contrite  and  meek  in  spirit,  to  his  Maker  closer 
drawn 

By  the  sermon  of  Niagara,  EICHARD  journeyed  fur 
ther  on ; 


Paused  a  day  to  view  Chicago,  whose  strange  hist'ry 

bears  the   stamp 
Of  the  wild  tales  of  Alladdin  and  his  genii  haunted 

lamp. 
Viewed  with  pride  the  interchanging,  East  with  West, 

and  man  with  flfen, 
By  the   hundred   handed  railroads    and  the  fleets  of 

Michigan ; 
Viewed  the  palaces  of  marble    in  a  long  line    white 

and  new, 
Catching  the  first  rays  of  sunshine    flung  across  the 

dancing   blue ; 
Grew   bewildered   o'er   discussions   of    the   rise    and 

fall  of  grain, 
Corner  lots,   suburban  ventures,   river  frontage,  loss 

and  gain, 
And  with  all   the  vast  importance  of  Chicago  deep 

impressed 
On  the  tablets  of  his  spirit,  he  resumed  his  journey 

west. 
Swiftly  flying  over  bridges    while  the  waters  flashed 

beneath, 
Turning  bluffs     and  threading  valleys    on  they  rattled 

to  Dunleith! 
Where  historic  Mississippi,  vast  and  deep    and  wide 

and  bright, 
In  its  silvery  effulgence    bursts  in  grandeur  on  the 

sight ! 


16 

There   was   hurry   of   embarking,  anxious  fears  for 

trunks  and  freight, 
Baggage  heaped  up  in  confusion,  parcels  crushed  at 

fearful  rate, 
Whistles  screaming,  bells  aringing,  runners  drumming 

for  each  boat, 
Grlad  was  RICHARD  and  his  darlings    when  at  last 

they  got  afloat ! 
All  was  quiet  on  the  river,  brightly  shone  the  stars 

o'er  head, 
Puffing,    puffing     up   the    current,    strongly   on   the 

steamer  sped. 
Perched  on  piles  of  bales  and  boxes,  interchanging 

jests,  the  hands 
Calmly   wait   the    hurried    labor   when   the    steamer 

"  woods"  or  "lands." 
"  Light  the  torches  !  "  "  Throw  the  stage  out !  "  "Who 

can  tell  us  where  we  are  ? " 
"Bad- Axe    Landing!"      "Put    that    freight    out!" 

"  Haul  the  stage  in  ! "  "  Lively  there  !  " 
On    again    the    steamer    pushes,    passengers   again 

subside, 
Silence  reigns  throughout  the  cabin,  all  is  still  along 

the  tide. 

With  the  first  blush  of  the  morning  RICHARD'S  family 

were  out, 
To  behold  historic  places  they  might  pass  upon  the 

route. 


IT 

Rafts  of   lumber,   skiffs  of   Indians,  towering  bluffs, 

and  islands  green, 
Towns   and  landings,  boats  and  woodpiles    were  the 

main  things  to  be  seen. 
Soon   the    sense    of    vision   wearied  —  all   the   towns 

looked  rude  and  small, 
Till,  upon  her  rocky  terrace,  they  beheld  and  hailed 

St.  Paul ! 
Here  they  purchased  teams  and  wagons,   over  land 

pursued  their  way, 
Pitching  tents  at  early  evening,  moving  on  at  break 

of  day. 
O'er   the    rushing  Minnesota   on   a   ferry  they   did 

ride, 
Where  the  battlements   of  Snelling   loom  above  the 

river   side ! 
By  the  side  of  "Laughing  Water"  camped  the  first 

day  from  St.  Paul, 
Sweetly  hushed  to  gentle  slumber    by  the  music  of 

its  fall. 
Then  they  moved  across  the  country  —  lovelier  spots 

were  never  seen, — 
Fairy-lakes  and   groves   of  timber,   rolling   prairies, 

fresh  and  green. 

Then  along   Sauk  Eiver  Yalley,    where   the   Scan 
dinavian  farms, 

Rich  with  corn    and  wheat   and  barley,  add  a  sub 
stance  to  the  charms ! 

2 


18 

Where    in  grand  old  fire-places    merry  flames   leap 

high  and  red, 
When  the  winter's  chilling  mantle  o'er  the  shivering 

earth  is  spread ! 
On  they  travelled  up  the  valley  —  slowly  journeyed 

day  by  day, 
Passed  Sauk  Centre  and  Kandotta,  paper  cities,  on 

their  way. 
Those  were  days  when  speculation's  wild  and  crazy 

tide  ran  high  — 
Fools  mapped  cities  by  the  thousand,  luring  other  fools 

to  buy! 
But  they  failed  to  compass  EICHARD,  though  their 

toils  were  nicely  set; 
Sternly    following    up    a    purpose  —  further   on   he 

travelled  yet. 
Where  the  lakes  of  Douglas  County  wide  their  liquid 

silver  spread, 

And  clean  groves  of  sugar-maples  waved  their  grace 
ful  arms  o'er  head, 
Where  rich  undulating  prairies,  fringed  with  timber, 

Jong  had  lain, 
Pierced  by  streams    and  green  with  meadows,  ofTring 

ready  fields  for  grain. 
Toward  this  fairy  combination,  steadily  did  EICHARD 

tend, 
Where,  at  last,  in  glad  fruition,  his  long  journey  had 

its  end! 


PART  THIRD. 

MEETING  OF  MANOMIN  AND  HAEEY  THOKNTON-LOVE 
AT  FIRST  SIGHT, 


o'er  the  silvery  waters  of  Lake  Ida,  clear 
^P          and  strong, 

On  a  bright  autumnal  morning    came  a  wild  entranc 
ing  song. 
'Twas   a    song   of   Indian   legend,    of   a    spirit  ill  at 

rest, 
Wandering  in  the  land  of  shadows  ever  wretched  and 

unblest. 
How  the  echoes  flung  the  music  back  in  chorus  from 

the  shore. 
As  the  singer  beat  the  measures  with  the  dipping  of 

her  oar. 
Swiftly,  as  a  swallow  gliding,  toward  the  shore  the 

shallop  sped, 
Leaving   rearward    on    the    waters   flashing   lines   of 

silver  thread ! 
19 


20 

Slender,  graceful,  was  the  figure,  clad  in  semi-Indian 

dress, 

And   her  Gallic,   classic   features    true    ideal   loveli 
ness. 
Bare  and  beautiful  young  being    in  this  wild,  secluded 

spot, 
Oh,  whence  come  you  ?  whither  going  ?  but  the  echoes 

answer  not. 
HARRY  THORNTON,  who  was  standing    with  his  rifle 

in  his  hand, 
Gazed  in  wonder  as  the  maiden  lightly  sprang  out  on 

the  sand ; 
Gazed    with   senses   all   bewildered    as   she   moored 

her  little  boat, 
Then  a  crowding  swarm  of  queries  through  his  puzzled 

brain  did   float : 
"Surely,  she  was  not  an  Indian?1'     Ah,   that  sweet 

face  answered  "  no  !  " 
Yet  her  boat  and  strange  apparel  seemed  to  say :  "  It 

might  be  so ! " 

Round  her  neck  she  wore  a  collar    from  the  grebe- 
duck's  glossy  skin, 
And  a  scarlet  woolen  jacket  kept  her  heaving  bosom 

in; 
Jacket   trimmed  with   beads,   and  feathers  from  the 

great  bald  eagle's  breast, 
Thickly  mingled   with   the   plumage   of  the  raven's 

purple  crest. 


21 

Soft    and  white,    her    slim    waist    clasping,   with   its 

pendants  hanging  low, 
Was  a  bead-bound  graceful  girdle,  made  from  snowy 

cariboo. 
Seals  and  charms    and  curious  trinkets,  formed  from 

elk-horn,  polished    bright, 
And   carnelians,    carved   in   figures,   dangled   in  the 

morning  light. 
Then    her   skirt   of   dark   blue   broadcloth,    dropping 

just  below  the  knee, 
Fringed  with  silk  around  the  bottom,  was  as  neat  as 

neat  could  be. 
Eyes   so  large    and  dark    and   thoughtful,   oh,  what 

glorious  eyes  were  those  — 
Eyelids  fringed  with  silken  lashes,  long  and  handsome 

in  repose. 
Oval  features,   cheeks  of  velvet,    teeth  as  white  as 

purest  pearl, 
.Raven  hair,    and  mouth  as  lovely  as  e'er  graced  a 

city  girl, 
Hands  and  feet!  what  tiny  patterns  of  what  hands 

and  feet  should  be! 

Captivating  little  Yenus !  goddess  of  an  inland  sea, 
HARRY  THORNTON'S  heart    is  leaping  with  a   throb 

he  '11  ne'er  forget, 
Through  his  soul  there  flows  a  longing !  young  love's 

tide  has  fairly  set! 


22 

"  Sir,  good  morning, "  spoke  the  maiden,  frankly  giv 
ing  him  her  hand, 
"  Father  lives  away  up  yonder,  just  behind  that  point 

of  land. 
All  last  night  we  saw  your  fires    and  this  morn  your 

white  tents   shine, 
So  I  came   to    bid  you  welcome  to  this  lovely  lake 

of  mine ! 
I  have  christened  it  Lake  Ida,  sister's  name  in  mind 

to  keep, 
Who,  beneath  a  balm  of  G-ilead,   sleeps   that   never 

ending  sleep. 
Father  trades  with  the  Ojibways,   mother  is  Ojibway, 

too, 
And  my  name,  sir,  is  MANOMIN  ;  pray,  sir,  tell  me, 

who  are  you? 
"I  am  simply  HARRY  THORNTON,  those  are  father's 

tents  you  see ; 
We  have  all  come  here  to  settle,  father,  mother,  sis, 

and  me. 
As  the  weary  miles  we  traveled  from  a  far  off  city 

here, 
Little  did  we  dream  of  finding  such  a  sweet  young 

neighbor  near; 
And  when  first  I  saw  you  coming,  like  a  fairy  from 

the  skies, 
Though  my  spirit  drank  your  music,  yet  I  could  not 

trust  my  eyes  !  " 


"  Oh,  sir,  I  am  not  a  fairy  —  nothing  but  a  half-breed 

girl  — 
And    amid    the    tide    of    fashion,    in   a   busy   city's 

whirl, 
When  the  blaze  of  regal  beauty,  loveliness  refined, 

adorned, 
Turned    its   splendors  full   upon  me,   ah  your   fairy 

would  be  scorned ! 
Here  you  see  me  'mid  surroundings    rude  and  rough, 

uncouth  and  wild, 
Clothed  in  all  the  rich  profusion  a  fond  father  clothes 

his  child, 
And  compare  me  with  the  Indian  maids  and  matrons 

flitting  by  — 
There  I  grant  you,  there  's  no  fairy  more  a  fairy  here 

than  I! 
But  before  your  blazing  beauties  I  should  vanish    like 

the  moon, 
Who,  when  full,  is  bright  at  midnight,  but  is  lost  in 

light  at  noon ! 
Don't  say  nay,  sir,  what  I  tell  you  is  the  truth,  you 

may  depend, 
Here,   sir,   I  am   free  and   happy,  only  longing  for 

a  friend, 
Some  congenial,  kind  companion    that  my  heart  might 

twine  around, 
Then  I  would  not  leave  Lake  Ida,  e'en  to  be  an 

empress  crowned ! 


24 

How  I  hoped  that  little  sister  would  have  lived,  but 

all  in  vain ; 
She  was  but  a  ray  from  Heaven,  soon  she  melted 

back  again! 
So  I've  come  to  see  if  you,  sir, —  oh,  forgive,  if  I 

offend 
By  my  frankness,  —  if,   perhaps,  sir,  you  would  be 

MANOMIN'S  friend? 
You,  your   father,   mother,    sister,   all   shall  be  dear 

friends  of  mine  — 
Oh,   my  spirit   reaches   to  you    like    the   tendrils  of 

a  vine ! " 

"What  a  flood  of  blissful  feeling  rushed  through  HAR 
RY'S  heart  and  brain! 
Floods  magnetic  through  his  spirit  throbbed  as  pulses 

throb  with  pain, 
And  he  answered :  "  Yes,  MANOMIN,  gladly  will  I  be 

your  friend, 
And  God  grant,  that  like  a  circle,  this  dear  pledge 

may  have  no  end ! 
Call   me  HARRY,  treat  me  frankly,  and  how  happy 

we  shall  be; 
Come,  MANOMIN,  come  to  mother,  all  shall  welcome 

you  with  me  I 
I    will  show    you    dear    old    grandpa,    darling    little 

JESSIE  too, 
They  will  join  with  me,  MANOMIN,  in  this  friendship's 

pledge  with  you  I" 


"Well,  then  wait  a  moment,  HARRY,  father  sends  a 

few  wild  geese, 
I  have  also  brought  some  wild   rice,   as  an  offering 

of  peace. 
In  your  tongue  my  name  is  '"Wild  Rice,' "  and  in 

future,  when  you  see 
Wild    rice   all   along    our  rivers,    it    may  make   you 

think  of  me." 

"  Think   of  you  ?  can  I  forget  you !     From  this  mo 
ment,  I  declare, 
Through  my  spirit  flows  a  river,  wild   rice  growing 

ever  there  ! 
Stop,    MANOMIN,   let  me   carry   that    great    pack   of 

heavy  things  — 
Is  this  queer  thing  a  goose,  MANOMIN?  bodkin  bill 

and  speckled  wings  ?  " 
"  Goose  ?  oh,  no,  sir  !  that  is  nothing  but  a  singebis, 

or  loon, 
Which    I    shot     while    I   was    fishing     at   the    inlet 

yester'noon ! " 
"What,  you  shot  it?"     "Yes,  indeed,  sir,  don't  you 

see  my  rifle  here? 
Many  an  elk  has  bowed  before  it,  many  and  many 

a  bear  and  deer." 
Then  she  swung  aloft  her  rifle,   angry    flashing   in 

the  sun : 
"Here  it  is,  sir!  ah,  you  know  not  half  the  valiant 

deeds  it 's  done ! 


Come,   sometime,   to   father's  cabin,  you  shall  see  a 

strange  sight  there,  — 
Trees  festooned  with  fowl  and  venison,  strips  of  elk, 

and  steaks  of  bear ; 
Loon  skins,  of  resplendent  colors,  fashioned  into  capes 

and  hoods, 
Cuffs  and  collars    and  fur  wrappers,  life  crop  of  the 

lakes  and  woods ! 
Such   the   harvest  which  we  gather,   wild  MANOMIN 

and  her  gun, 
But   for  sport  I  never  hunted,  never  killed  a  thing 

for  fun; 
Even  wolves  slink  off  in   safety    which   offends  my 

father  sore, 
Though  I  shoot   them  when  they  venture  round   the 

precincts  of  our  door. 
When  I  fish,  for    food    I   angle,  when    I   hunt,    for 

food  I  kill, 

Often  for  a  starving  neighbor  —  which  is  more  praise 
worthy  still. 

Oh.  improvident  and  wretched,  steeped  in  vice,  de 
spair    and  woe, 
Are    our    poor,    unhappy   Indians  —  but    the   whites 

have  made  them  so ! 
Even  father,  darling  father  —  he  who  loves  me  more 

than  life, 
Through  the  greed  of  traffic  daily    scatters  wide  the 

seeds  of  strife ! 


27 

Oft  with  tears  1  have  besought  him  to  leave  off  his 
hurtful  trade, 

But  he  has  not  hearkened  to  me,  ne'er  will  hearken, 
I'm  afraid!" 

Thus  they  chatted,  pure  and  simple,  frank  of  heart, 
and  good  and  true, 

Naught  of  envious  pride  or  hatred,  naught  of  selfish 
ness  they  knew. 

All  the  world  seemed  full  of  glory,  candor,  honor, 
love  and  truth. 

God !  'tis  shameful  the  undreaming  all  our  holy 
dreams  of  youth  ! 

Presently  they  reached  the  campment,  where,  beneath 
a  grateful  shade, 

Tents  were  pitched  and  fires  build  ed  and  the  daily 
meals  were  made. 

Here  MANOMIN'S  cordial  welcome  caused  some  truant 
tears  to  start, 

But  she  hid  them  as  she  gathered  little  JESSIE  to 
her  heart. 

We  will  leave  her  for  the  present,  happy  in  her  new 
found  friends, 

Twining  JESSIE'S  sunny  tresses  'round  her  tapering 
finger  ends. 


PART  FOURTH. 

THE   CHOPPERS  —  THE   RAISING-— A  GOOD   SUPPER  AND  A 

JOLLY  TIME -INDIAN  SUMMER- INDIANS  - 

ESTHER'S   PEARS, 


JJN   the   wild  and   windy  forest    how  the  cheerful 
o^          axes  rung ! 

While  old  Autumn  on  the  choppers    golden  showers 
thickly  flung ! 

From  the  wrinkled  limbs  of  lindens,  from  the  spread 
ing  tops  of  elms, 

From   the   tall  and   trembling  aspens,  piercing  into 
spirit  realms, 

From  great  oaks  and  balms  of  Gilead,  that  for  cent 
uries  had  stood, 

From  the  silver  plumaged  maples,  pride  .and  beauty 
of  the  wood, 

From  the  button-wood  and  walnut    and  the  ash-tree's 
lofty  crown, 

From  the  iron-wood  and  willows    swept  the  glittering 
treasures  down! 
28 


29 

Axes  rang  and  laughter  bounded,  while  majestic 
over  all 

Rose  the  thunder  of  the  timber,  sweeping  grandly 
to  its  fall! 

All  the  settlers  had  assembled,  sturdy,  brown,  broad- 
handed  band, 

With  their  axes  on  their  shoulders,  come  to  lend  a 
helping  hand 

In  the  rearing  of  a  dwelling  for  the  stranger  just 
arrived, 

Yowing  they  would  never  leave  him  till  his  family 
were  hived ! 

Chopping  down  and  nicely  hewing,  smooth  and  thin, 
the  forest  trees, 

Sawing,  riving,  shaving  shingles,  all  were  busier  than 
bees! 

Bossed  by  Uncle  ANDREAS  DARLING  day  by  day  the 
dwelling  grew 

'JSfeath  that  busy  band  of  workers,  while  their  jokes 
like  arrows  flew; 

Trowels  scraped  and  hammers  rattled,  axes  glim 
mered  in  the  sun; 

Roofed  and  plastered,  floored  and  windowed,  RICH 
ARD'S  house  at  last  was  done. 

'4Nbw  then,  boys,'*' said  Uncle  DARLING,  "many  help 
ers  make  work  light, 

Let  us  move  in  all  this  plunder,  then  we'll  have  a 
jig  to-night!" 


30 

Chairs  and  tables,  bales  and  boxes  from  the  wagons 

were  unbound, 
Beds  put  up    and  in  the  mean  time  two  young  men 

were  sent  around 
To  invite  the  girls,  and  hire,  if  they  could,  old  JIM 

McBRIDE, 

Who  was  a  most  splendid  fiddler    and  a  jolly  chap 

beside  ! 
HARRY  THORNTON  and  MANOMIN  meanwhile  hunted 

far  and  near, 
Trolled  for  trout    and  bass  and  pickerel,  laid  in  wait 

for  bear  and  deer, 
Yisited  cranberry-marshes,  gathered  wild  plums  and 

wild  pears, 
Bagged  fat    pigeons    by   the  dozen,   caught  young 

partridges  in  snares. 
Oh,  the  bliss  of  those  excursions   in  MANOMIN'S  light 

canoe ! 
Oh,  the  joys  that  thrilled  their  spirits   as  they  tramped 

those  forests  through ! 
Many  a  deer  escaped  their  bullets,  lost  they  many  a 

finny  prize, 
When,  instead  of  "bobs"  and  "runways"  they  but 

watched  each  other's  eyes ! 
Yet,  withal,   they  were  successful,  loads  of  fish  they 

daily  caught, 
Piles  of  game  of  different  species  —  every  evening 

home  they  brought. 


II 

To    have    solved    the    question    fairly    might    have 

eternized  the  name 
Of  the  most  sagacious  lawyer,  e'en  of  Philadelphian 

fame! 

In  a  grove  of  sugar-maples  ESTHER  spread  the  re 
past  out. 
What  a  sight   for   Epicurus,   if   that   god   had    been 

about : 
Blue-winged  teals  and  royal  mallards,  fed  upon  wild 

celery  beds, 
Black   ducks,   marsh-hens,   juicy    widgeons,    fat    and 

savory  crimson-heads, 
Plump   wild   geese    and    golden    pheasants,    prairie 

chickens,  young  and  sweet, 
Richly  dressed    and  brownly  roasted,  more  than  fifty 

men  could  eat! 
Broad,   black   bass    and   mammoth    pickerel,   stuffed 

with  highly  seasoned  paste, 
Pike  and  trout,  "all  poured  with  sauces,  cooked  to  suit 

the  daintiest  taste, 
Haunches  of  the  tenderest  ven'son,  juicy  sirloins  of 

the  bear, 
Steaks    of    elk    and    steaming   pot-pies    filled   with 

buttery  grouse    were  there ! 
Berries  stewed  to  crimson  sauces,  vegetables  of  every 

kind, 
Flakey  biscuit,  golden  butter  —  really,  the  bewildered 

mind 


32 

Shrinks  from  the  enumeration  of  the  many  viands 

there, 
Grows  confused    and  lost  in  wonder    at  this  princely 

bill  of  fare ! 
Praise  was  lavished  on  the  hunters    'mid  sly  twinkles 

of  the  eye, 
When    MANOMIN,    quickly  rising,   stole   in    silence, 

blushing,  by; 
HARRY  also  soon  was  missing,  but  the  roaring  feast 

went  on, 
Dishes   rattled,   glasses  jingled,    red  with    blood   of 

demi-john ! 
Fragrant   coffee   poured  its  incense    wide  upon  the 

star-lit  air, 
Savory   smells   of    roasted    dishes   smote   the   senses 

everywhere ! 
Down  along  the  loaded  table  colored  lanterns  hung 

in  range, 
Rendering    the   whole   scene    bewildering,    oriental, 

wild    and  strange. 
Surely,  Ida's   silvery  echoes  never  were  thus  woke 

before, 
Never  answered  back  such  music    gaily  ringing  round 

her  shore ! 
On  the  floor  the  couples  gather,  wild  and  free  the 

music  swells. 

Round  and  round  the  brawny  hunters  twirl  the  hyper 
borean  belles! 


How   they  danced,   and  how  the   music  poured  its 

volume  of  sweet  sound, 
How  all  flew  when  Uncle  JIMMY  called  out  loudly: 

"  All  hands  round ! " 
Oh,  it  was  a  happy  party,  wild  and  joyous,  full  of 

glee, 
All  their  hearts  were  running  over,  full  of  fun  as 

hearts  could  be ! 
Uncle  DARLING   waltzed   and    polkaed,   danced    the 

schottish  o'er  and  o'er, 
Ending  with   the  jig  of  juba    hoed  down  solus  on 

the  floor ! 
Then   the   guests  commenced   departing    and  "  good 

nights"  were  kindly  said, 
Though  it  should  have  been  "  good  morning,"  as  the 

east  was  getting  red, 
And,  before  the  echoing  laughter  of  ihe  party  died 

away, 

Level   beams  of   silvery  sunshine  registered  a  new 
born  day! 
ESTHER,   after   briefly  slumbering,   bathed  her  face, 

and  changed  her  gown, 
Then,  assisted  by  MANOMIN,  went  to  work  to  "settle 

down." 
Little  JESSIE  and  her  grand-pa    still  were  sleeping 

over-head 
In    the    yet    unfinished    chamber,    on   a   temporary 

bed. 

3 


34 

Long  they'd  watched  the  noisy  frolic    with  a  truly 

childish  zest, 
Age  and  youth,  at  last  succumbing,  wearied  out  they 

sought  their  rest. 
How  they  slumbered,  sweetly  slumbered,  —  while  the 

sun  rose  bright  and  high, 

Pouring  floods  of  glory  earthward,  through  a  cloud 
less  autumn-sky. 
HARRY  and    his  father   early  —  scarcely   seven   by 

the  clock,  — 
"Went  to  felling  stable-timber  for  the  housing  of  their 

stock. 
Ere   they  went    the  little  table,  nice  and  cosy,  had 

been  spread, 
Glorious   coffee,    breast   of    chicken,    yellow   butter, 

snowy  bread, 
Were  the  items  all  sat  down  to  —  HARRY  by  MANO- 

MIN'S  side  — 
Glowing  thoughts  were  his  that  morning — oh,  their 

range  was  wild  and  wide ! 


Now,  that  ESTHER  and  MANOMIN  had  the  field  unto 
themselves 

How  they  worked !  They  raised  the  cup-board,  scour 
ed  and  put  up  the  shelves, 

Washed  the  floors  and  cleaned  the  windows,  tacked 
the  front-room  carpet  down, 


Moved  in  RICHARD'S  walnut  book-case,  dusted  clean 

from  base  to  crown, 

Hung,  on  cords   before  each  window,  nice  white  mus 
lin  curtains  up, 
Scoured  basins,  knives  and  sauce-pans,  washed  each 

plate    and  dish    and  cup, 
Made  the  beds    and  hung  the  pictures    and  the  mirror 

on  the  wall, 
Nailed   some  hooks  up   for  the  rifles,  also  some  for 

hat  or  shawl. 
Out  of  chaos  they  brought  order,  and  before  the  set 

of  sun 
They  had  finished  up  their  labor    all  that  they  could 

do  was  done. 
Snugly,  in  its  cumbrous  package,  left  to  lie  another 

day, 
Waiting  brawnier  arms  and  sinews,  mutely  the  piano 

lay. 
Evening  came,  and  all  were  gathered  round  the  fire's 

cheerful  light, 
Once  more   happy  and   contented    RICHARD'S   heart 

brimmed  with  delight. 
Worn  and  weary  with  their  labor    early  all  retired 

to  bed, 
JESSIE  and  MANOMIN  going  to  the  little  room  o'er- 

head. 
Thus  auspicious,  rich  with  promise,  opened  RICHARD'S 

new  career, 


'Mid   a  host   of   cordial  neighbors,   on  a  prospering 

frontier, 
Blessed   with  health,    and    strength,    and    patience, 

cheerful  heart    and  willing  hand, 
Teams  sufficient,  and  utensils,  rich  and  fruitful  vir 
gin  land, 
Snug  and  comfortable  dwelling,  stores  enough  to  last 

a  year, 
Wife    and    children,    books    and    music,    what    had 

BICHARD'S  heart  to  fear? 
Different  dreams  that  night  were  HARRY'S:  scarlet 

waists    and  beads    and  quills, 
Soft  black  eyes  and  thrilling  kisses    to  the  brim  his 

spirit  fills! 
Weary  sleepers,   slumber   sweetly,  we  will   bid  you 

a  "  good  night "  — 
Undisturbed    pursue   your   wand'rings    through    the 

dream-land  valleys  bright. 


the  hazy  Indian  summer,  sweetest  period  of 

the  year. 
All  the  purple  forests  echoed  with  the  bounding  tread 

of  deer! 
And  the  rippling,  splashing  noises  of  the  water-fowl 

at  night 
Filled  the  spirit  of  the  Indian  with  the  throbbings  of 

delight ! 


37 

Everywhere  the  sound  of  rifles  told  of  busy  hunters 

out, 
Every    night    the    glare    of    fires    told    of    Indians 

about ! 
And  the  timid  ESTHER  shivered    as  she  saw  those 

nightly  gleams. 
While   memories   of  Wyoming    ensanguined  all   her 

dreams ! 
'Twas   in  vain  MANOMIN   told   her,   "the   Ojibways 

were  all  true, 
That    they   would    never   raise    their    hands   against 

the  whites,  she  knew," 
For  a  long  time  she  was  fearful    and  would  tremble 

every  night, 
Gather   JESSIE   closely   to  her    if    an   Indian  came 

in  sight. 
But  at  last  she  grew  accustomed  to   their  presence, 

more  and  more, 
Losing   all   her   nervous   feelings,   when   they   came 

about  her  door. 

And  soon  she  had  a  torrent  of  Ojibway  life  to  stem, 
For  her  piano  proved  to  be  great  medicine  to  them, 
And  to  every  nook  and  corner  of  their  Eeservation 

flew 

The  fame  of  that  strange  "  singing-box,"  till  every  In 
dian  knew, 
And  longed   to  see  it,   and  they  came,  both  sexes, 

old  and  young, 


38 

And  for  days  MANOMIN  kindly  explained  in  their 
own  tongue, 

All  about  the  shining  wonder,  all  about  the  glistening 
keys, 

All  about  the  hidden  spirit  that  sobbed  out  the  har 
monies  ! 


PART  FIFTH. 

WINTER  AMUSEMENTS -MANOMIFS  QEIEF, 


JNTER   whitened   o'er   the   country,   bitter  winds 

howled  round  the  door, 
Yet   MANOMIN  came  as  often    down  to  BICHARD'S, 

as  before. 
Oh,  the  Saxon  in  her   nature  daily  waged  a  bitter 

strife 
With  her  low  and  rude  surroundings,  yearning  for 

a  higher  life. 
Like   the   never  varying  needle,   turrn'ng   always   to 

the  pole, 
Ever  so  to  RICHARD'S   dwelling  turned  her  young 

aspiring  soul. 
How  she  hungered    how  she  thirsted    for  the  light 

that  books  can  give ! 
And  within   the   sphere   of    music    seemed   another 

life  to  live! 


40 

There  was  still  a  deeper  passion,  in  those  yearnings 

of  the  heart, 
In  which    love    for    HARRY   THORNTON    played  no 

secondary  part. 
Many  months,  in  all  her  Sittings,  through  the  forest, 

o'er  the  tide, 
Hunting,  fishing,  pleasure  seeking,  HARRY  had  been 

"by  her  side ; 
Wise     and   manly,    honest   hearted,   pure,   unselfish, 

good    and  kind, 
He  was  deeply,  and  forever,  in  her  heart  of  hearts 

enshrined. 
Then  she  loved  sweet  little  JESSIE    with  a  passion 

almost  wild, 

While  —  ah,  love's  just  compensation  —  she  was  wor 
shipped  by  the  child. 
See   their  tresses  intermingle,   ebony  with   brightest 

gold, 

While  MANOMIN  is  relating  all  the  wonders  mani 
fold 
Of  the  grim  and  dark  old  forest    and  the  fern-fields, 

and  the  brake, 
And   the   lost   loon's  mournful   legend,   ever   crying 

round  the  lake. 
Bright  with  happiness  and  beauty,  prone  before  the 

hearthstone's  flames, 
Hear  her    teaching    little   JESSIE    musical   Ojibway 

names : 


41 

"  Nepe,  darling,   means  the  water,  waugh-bo  is  the 

term  for  drink, 
Muck-o-day-muskik-ah-waugh-bo,  ah  you  laugh,  now 

would  you  think 
That  long  name  was  meant  for  coffee  ?      Washkiss  is 

the  bounding  deer, 
Mushkose,  elk — pewauglibec,  iron  —  oh,  you'll  learn 

them,  never  fear. 
Waughpose,  rabbitt  —  bungee,  little  —  buckety  means 

thin,  or  poor, 
Also   signifies   " '  I  'm   hungry,' "    often  heard  about 

your  door. 
Shema,   woman  —  waubun,    morning  —  and  kiagago 

means  "  *  I  've  none.' " 
Waukiagan   stands  for  dwelling  —  boskiasegan  is   a 

gun. 

NessesJiin  means  "  '  you  are  pretty' "  —  listening  HAR 
RY  here  broke  in  — 
"  Let  me  tell  you  then,  MANOMIN,  —  Bungee  shema, 

nesseshin  !  " 
How   she   blushed,    but   still    continued  — "  Mukwa, 

JESSIE,  stands  for  bear, 
Oc-kick,   bucket,   or   a   kettle — popum,    a   stool,   or 

chair. 
NitcMe,  means  a  friend  or  fellow  —  nepoo,  kill,  to  die, 

or  dead, 
Do-do-shaboo  stands  for  butter,   and  bvckwauzMgan 

for  bread, 


42 

Neca  means  a  goose  —  mondamin  singnifies  the  wav 
ing  corn, 

And  chee-no-dm  is  the  zephyr  playing  on  the  lake 
at  morn, 

Muck-o-day  is  rifle-powder  —  weweep,  quickly  —  um- 
ba,  go, 

Scoota-waughbo,  dreadful  whisky,  —  the  poor  Indian's 
direst  foe. 

Oween-in-de-shyon,  nitchie,  is  to  say,  "  '  whence  come 
you,  friend?'" 

Dibbe-mn-ge-gan,  a  circle,  ring,  or  thing  without  an 
end, 

Sha-ki-ess-scoota-wan,  JESSIE,  seldom  drawn  so  leng 
thy,  means 

Those  mysterious  things  your  matches ;  musco-tassa- 
min  is  beans. 

There,  I'll  finish,  for  the  present,  for  your  brain 
has  got  its  fill, 

Let  me  kiss  you,  little  darling  —  you  have  kept  so 
nice  and  still !  " 


Those   were   happy  winter-hours  —  the   old    fiddler, 

JIM  McBRiDE, 
As  a  better  place  for  trapping    also  came   there  to 

reside. 
Snugly  stored  away  in  crannies  of  the  jolly  fellow's 

brain 


43 

There  were  lots  of  queer  old  stories    of  dark  forests, 

glen    and  plain, 
There  were  songs  and  tunes    and  riddles,  there  were 

games  of  every  sort, 
That  filled  up  those  hyperborean  days  with  merriment 

and  sport. 


Quickly  sped  the  merry  winter,  soft  and  warm  the 

south  winds  pour, 
All   at   once,  with   smells   of   daisies,    spring   came, 

singing  at  the  door, 

Came  with  warbling  of  the  robins,  came  with  bud 
dings  of  the  trees, 
Every  foot-print  marked  with  flowers,  incense  flung 

on  every  breeze. 
Out  of  all  those  days  of  softness,  out  of  all  those  days 

of  bloom, 
'Mid  the  fresh  and  virgin  greenness,  'mid  the  delicate 

perfume, 
On   MANOMIN   dawned   the   morning   of  a  sad   and 

bitter  day  — 
Death  had  borne   her  Indian  mother   to  his  dusky 

realms  away ! 
Deep  and  bitter  was  her  sorrow,  lowly  drooped  her 

graceful  head, 
In  the  wide  and  silent  forest,  all  alone  there  with 

her  dead ! 


44 

For  her  father  was  off  trafficking  two  hundred  miles, 
or  more, 

At  Lake  Hassar's  lonely  trading-post,  and  evergreen- 
girt  shore. 

Suddenly,  and  unexpected,  was  her  mother  called 
away, 

Without  warning  her  freed  spirit  left  its  tenement 
of  clay ! 

All  the  day,  prostrate  with  sorrow,  how  she  mourned 
beside  the  bed, 

Pouring  forth  endearing  accents  to  the  cold,  unheed 
ing  dead ! 

All  the  day  the  robins  whistled,  all  the  day  the  blue 
birds  sung, 

All  the  day  with  spring-time  melodies  the  forests 
gaily  rung; 

But  MANOMIN  did  not  heed  them,  lifted  not  her 
drooping  head, 

Never  once  the  silent  cabin  echoed  back  her  cheerful 
tread ! 

In  the  silvery  edge  of  evening    the  old  trapper,  JIM 

McBRIDE, 

On   his   forest-beat   returning,    to   the    cabin    turned 

aside. 
And  from,  him  the  startled  neighborhood  MANOMIN'S 

sorrow  learned 
And  toward  her  little  dwelling   scores  of  feet   were 

quickly  turned. 


45 

Oh,  she  found  no  lack  of   mourners,  many  a  sym 
pathizing  heart 
Strove  to  cheer  her    in  her  sorrow,  or  to  share  with 

her  a  part. 
ESTHER  wound  her  arms  about  her  in  one  long  and 

fond  embrace, 
And,  then  smoothing  back  her  tresses   kissed  the  tears 

from  off  her  face. 
Old   JIM  —  the   brown   and   brawny  —  poked   his   fist 

into  his  eye, 
And,  with  bright  drops  on  it  shining,  vowed    he  knew 

not  how  to  cry. 
EICHARD    THORNTON,  kindly  taking   both  her  hands 

within  his  own, 
Spoke  endearing  words  of  comfort    in  a  sympathizing 

tone: 
"  Dear  MANOMIN    be  not  fearful,  oh  take  heart,"  he 

kindly  said, 
"  Let  your  tears  flow  for  the  living,  they  are  wasted 

on  the  dead  ! 

Oh,  the  change  from  earth's  probation  to  the  spirit- 
life  above 
Is  escaping  from  a  darkness  to  a  scene  of  light  and 

love ! 
Our  own  home  shall  be  your  dwelling-place  —  oh,  do 

not  look  so  wild, 
For,  darling,  we  will  be  your  parents    and  you  shall 

be  our  child!" 


46 

Gently,  then,  did  HARRY  lead  her  out  beneath  the 
budding  trees, 

That  her  fevered,  throbbing  temples  might  be  billowed 
by  the  breeze, 

Tenderly  upon  his  bosom,  while  he  drew  her  aching 
head, 

From  his  spirit's  inmost  chamber  soft  and  tremulous 
ly  said: 

"  Darling,  let  me  sun  thy  sorrow  with  my  spirits  plead 
ing,  warm, 

Let  me  fold  thee  up  forever  from  the  shadow  and 
the  storm! 

Oh,  I  love  thee,  dear  MANOMIN,  shall  my  love  be 
all  in  vain  ? 

Fold  it  up  within  thy  spirit,  as  the  flowers  do  the 
rain! 

Hush !  thy  mother  does  not  need  thy  tears,  for  she 
has  sweetly  flown 

To  that  summer-land  of  loving  hearts  that  soon  shall 
be  our  own. 

Once  within  that  world  of  glory  what  a  joy  will 
then  be  ours: 

Throbbing  on  'mid  constellations  —  God's  eternal  gar 
den-flowers,  — 

While  his  blessings,  like  a  nectar,  poured  from  many 
a  golden  cup, 

Endless  streams  of  bliss  ecstatic,  fill  our  thirsty  spirits 
up ! 


47 

Oh,  MANOMIN,  shed  your  sadness,  for  the  world  is 
full  of  song; 

Every  shining,  circling  season  brings  its  melodies 
along : 

There  is  music  in  the  spring-time,  when  the  mellow, 
tender  breeze 

Whispers  greetings  to  the  grasses  in  angelic  sym 
phonies  ; 

There  is  music  in  the  summer,  in  the  gently  falling 
rain, 

As  it  beats  its  liquid  measures  softly  on  the  window- 
pane  ; 

There  is  music  in  the  autumn,  in  the  leaves  that  float 
about, 

Sadly  sighing,  gently  breathing  their  existence  sweet 
ly  out ; 

There  is  music  in  the  winter,  in  the  softly  falling 
snow, 

Gentle,   unobtrusive  music,   so  delicious  and  so  low. 

Life,  itself,  is  made  of  music:  sweetest  strains  our 
spirits  give  ; 

Let  us  thank  the  God  who  made  us,  dear  MANOMIN, 
that  we  live !  " 


PART  SIXTH. 

SABBATH  ON  THE  FRONTIER -HAERY'S  PHILOSOPHY  AND 
NOBLE  SENTIMENTS  -GAFFER,  OF  THE  HOLLOW, 


the  vines    and  clinging  parasites    and  tops 

of  all  the  trees 
Glorious,  regal,  queenly  summer    flung  her  banners 

to  the  breeze  ! 
And  the  clustering  convolvuli  robed  the  bald  old  cliffs 

in  blue 
And  snowy  white    and  pink    and  red,  while  beads  of 

glistening  dew  — 
Sweet  tears  upon  the  morning's  face  —  hung  flashing 

in  the  sun 

As  royally  he  mounted  up,  his  daily  race  to  run. 
On   Lake   Ida's   sun-lit    surface,   like    white    clouds 

upon  the  dawn, 
Calmly,  somnolently  swinging,  here  and  there  were 

flocks  of  swan, 
48 


49 

While  upon  the  strands  of  timber  edging  round  those 

prairie-seas 
Beat  in  rippling  waves,  an  incense,  odorating  every 

breeze. 
1Twas  a  pensive  Sabbath  morning,  every  energy  re- 

prest 
Nature  joined  in  consecrating  the  Creator's  hour  of 

rest. 
For  it  seemed  as  if  the  noiseless  wave,  hushed  bird, 

and  softened  ray, 
Were  expressive  adumbrations  of  the  humble,  quiet 

way 
She  would  have  us  toiling  mortals,  in  a  tranquil  spirit, 

seek 
To  keep  thee  —  shining  child  of  God  —  thou  first  day 

of  the  week! 
HARRY   THORNTON,    on  a   mossy  bank,  down   by  a 

purling  brook, 
That  sweetly  stole  from  out  the  lake,  was  deep  buried 

in  a  book. 
And  MANOMIN,  sweetly,  silently,  sat  close  beside  him 

there, 
Diademing    with  wild   roses    little   JESSIE'S   golden 

hair. 
For   a   time     with   what   avidity     his   hungry   spirit 

fed 
On  those  burning  words    eternal,  then  presently  he 

said: 

4 


50 

"Oh,  MANOMIN,  I've  been  reading  of  the  life  that 

is  to  be, 
Of  a  white-robed,  glorious  morning,  soon  to  dawn  on 

you  and  me, 
Soon,  I  say,  because  probation,  long,  to  some,  although 

it  seem, 

When  compared  to  life  eternal  is  a  transitory  gleam ! 
And  I  feel,  whene'er  I  ponder  on  the  brilliant  things 

in  store 
For  each  one  of  us  poor  mortals,  on  that  ever  vernal 

shore, 
I  could  bear  all  earth's  afflictions,  go  through  life  all 

blind  and  lorn, 
Daily  groping  to  God's  altar,  there  to  thank  Him  I 

was  born ! 
But   our   minds,   although   immortal,    are    contracted 

finite  things:  — 
As  the  sun  o'erpowers  vision  with  the  splendor  that 

it  flings 
So  we  sink   in  contemplation  of  the  wondrous  works 

we  trace 
To  the  Hand    that  sowed  with  planets    all  the  azure 

fields  of  space ! 

Sad,  indeed,  I  feel,  MANOMIN,  as  I  frequently  re 
flect, 
On  the  mournful,  dark  condition  of  the  masses,  who 

neglect 


51 

To  encourage  the  unfolding  of  those  principles,  that 
shine 

So  bright  in  this  material  life  and  in  the  life  di 
vine  ! 

Oh,  those  reachings  of  the  spirit  after  wisdom,  truth, 
and  love, 

After  that  broad  fellowship  that  binds  the  angel  hearts 
above, 

After  knowledge  of  eternal  space  and  deep  and  hid 
den  things, 

After  primates  and  first  causes  amid  Nature's  mystic 
springs, 

Never,  never  should  be  smothered  by  the  weight  of 
selfish  cares, 

Never,  never  should  be  strangled  by  the  growth  of 
worldly  tares. 

Doubtless  many  a  thrifty  farmer  yearly  tills  his  fruit 
ful  land, 

Never  wondering  how  the  harvest  springs  so  ready  to 
his  hand ; 

Never  wondering  how  or  why  it  is  when  he  has 
sown  so  spare, 

•Such  a  bountiful  abundance  for  his  sickle  should  be 
there ! 

With  no  longings  of  the  spirit  for  immortal  things 
divine, 

With  no  thoughts  above  his  bullocks,  with  no  cares 
above  his  swine, 


52 

Darkly  plodding  on  his  journey    till  he  sinks  beneath 

his  years, 
To  be  born    a  puling  infant,  in   the  glorious  inner 

spheres ! 

Oh,  I  recognize  the  duties  and  realities  of  life, 
Realize  its  heavy  burdens,  know  the  sharpness  of  its 

strife, 
Still,  amid  its  toil  and  trouble,  'mid  its  anxious  care 

and  pain, 
I  would  garner  up  a  treasure  that  should  be  eternal 

gain! 
Not  of  gold,   and  not   of   silver,   houses,   lands,   or 

costly  gems, 
But  of   love,   and   light,    and   knowledge,    Heaven's 

radiant  diadems! 
Years   of   enervating   study,   weary  miles  of   travel, 

sore, 
Will  not  serve  as  open  sesames  to  Nature's  hidden 

door. 
'Tis  a  door  that  swingeth  lightly,  without  chain,  or 

bar,  or  lock, 
'Tis   a  door    that  opens  freely    to  the  humblest,   if 

they  knock! 
While    the  manly  dew   of   labor  gathers  thick  upon 

my  brow, 
As   I  fell   the   heavy   forest-trees,   or   tramp  behind 

the  plow, 


58 

Every  chip,  or  leaf,  or  flower,  every  shrub,  or  bush, 

or   tree, 
Every  sod  1  turn    or  blade  of  grass    speaks  lovingly 

to  me! 
In  the  self  same  earth  embedded,  nourished  by  the 

self  same  rain, 
Side  by  side  the  elm  and  maple,  side  by  side  the  chess 

and  grain, 
Side    by   side   a  thousand   natures,   widely  varying, 

daily  grow, 
Some   maturing   very   quickly,   some   unfolding  very 

slow, 
Never   mingling   in   confusion,   but   from  earth    and 

air    and  sun 
How  precisely  the   right   principles  are  gathered  to 

each  one ! 
Thus  I  daily  learn  the  lessons    taught  by  flower    and 

tree    and  sod, 
While  my  glory-laden  spirit  beats  in  harmony  with 

God! 
Bows  before  the  great  Omnicient,  Omnipresent,  All 

in  All, 
In  the  ocean  of   whose    bosom  worlds   unnumbered 

rise  and  fall! 

Out  of  whose  magnetic  spirit  every  tree -leaf  is  un 
rolled, 
By  whose  love  the  eves  of  heaven    are  all  fillagreed 

with  gold! 


54 

By  whose  power  the  sap  beats  steady  through  the 
veins  of  every  tree, 

By  whose  will  the  winds  are  driven  over  forest,  plain, 
and  sea; 

By  whose  sufferance  the  lightnings  draw  their  gleam 
ing  sabers  out. 

By  whose  guidance  every  comet  keeps  its  strange 
erratic  route ! 

Not  the   smallest  microscopic  animalculum  that  lives 

Ever  moves  without  the  power  that  the  great  All- 
father  gives! 

From  His  lovely  life  the  flowers  catch  their  thousand- 
tinted  hues! 

From  His  bosom  to  the  grasses  flow  the  sweet,  re 
freshing  dews ! 

Every  dream  of  immortality  with  which  our  minds 
are  rife, 

Every  law  that  guides  our  dear  ones  in  the  higher, 
inner  life, 

All  things  in  space  that  go  to  make  the  Grand 
Eternal  Whole 

Assure  me  that  each  living  thing  lives  in  the  Fa 
ther's  Soul! 

We  are  richly  blessed,  MANOMIN,  waked  to  being 
'neath  a  sun 

Where  the  blessed  boon  of  freedom  is  conferred  on 
every  one! 


03 

Every  one !  oh,  God  forgive  me,  I  forgot  the  menial 

black, 
With  his  groans  and  tears  and  manacles,  and  gashes 

on  his  hack! 
I  forgot  the  sobbing  children,  clinging  to  their  father's 

knees, 
As  at  sight  of  the  slave-trader  all  their  young  life's 

currents  freeze, 
I  forgot  the  frantic  mother,  shrieking  like  a  maniac 

wild, 
As  from  out  her  bosom,  ruthlessly,  was  torn  her  infant 

child ! 
Oh,  I  pity  them,  MANOMIN,  but  the  time  shall  surely 

be 
When  God's  bare  arm  from  Heaven  shall  reach  down 

and  set  them   free ! 
What    if  through  our  fields  deserted,  crimsoned  wide 

by  war's  red  wave, 
Over  smoking  homes  just  Heaven  makes  a  pathway 

for  the  slave ! 

What  if  grief  and  death   and  terror,  famine,  pesti 
lence    and  woe, 
Through  our  land  with  desolations,  pave  a  way  for 

them  to  go ! 

What   if  you  and  I,  MANOMIN,  in  that  fearful  reck 
oning  time, 
Gome  to  grief  with  other  thousands    innocent  of  this 

foul  crime  ? 


56 

Could  we  blame  our  common  Father,  at  whose  feet 

the  groans  and  tears 
Of  this  race  have  begged  deliverance  for  a  hundred 

weary  years? 
Are  they  not  as  much  his  children  as  the  whitest  race 

of  men? 
And  from  chains   and  lusts  and  beatings    shall  he  not 

release  them  then  ? 
Oh,  MANOMIN,  our  republic  must  yet  lay  aside  this 

sin! 
She  must  rise    and  cast  it  from  her    as  an  adder  casts 

its  skin! 
Then  redeemed  !  regenerated !  founded  on  true  free- 

dorn^s  rock ! 
She  may  face  all  allied  powers,  never   trembling  at 

the  shock ! 
And  as  luminous  as  God's  great  seal,  set  on  the  deed 

of  day, 
Down   the    shining   path   of   ages    she  may  grandly 

keep  her  way! 
A  Freedom's  star  of  Bethlehem !  —  a  bright  beacon, 

blazing  clear! 
Telling  all   the   shipwrecked  of   the  earth,  ' "  sweet 

freedom's  port  is  here ! r " 
Yes,  I  say  again,  MANOMIN,  we  are  blessed  beyond 

our  ken, 
That  our  day  is  made  so  glorious    by  the  deeds  of 

glorious  men ! 


57 

Glorious  in  their  Christian  virtues,  brightest  jewels 
of  a  state! 

Glorious  in  their  academia,  which  the  world  may 
imitate, 

Glorious  in  their  clanging  presses,  scattering  wisdom 
far  and  wide, 

Dropping  papers,  books  and  pamphlets  at  the  far 
thest  fireside  ! 

Glorious  in  their  independence  and  their  simple 
polity, 

Glorious  in  their  pride  of  labor,  and  their  gentle 
comity, 

Glorious  in  their  friendly  feelings,  holding  out  in 
viting  hands 

To  oppression's  struggling  victims  in  the  trans- Atlan 
tic  lands ! 

Oh,  my  beating  heart  is  swelling  with  a  wild,  immor 
tal  joy! 

And  I  bless  my  God,  MANOMIN,  that  I  am  a  Yankee- 
boy  !» 

"Yes,  but  HARRY,  oh,  how  little  know  I  of  those 
glorious  things, 

I  am  daughter  of  the  forest  where  dark  shadows 
spread  their  wings ! 

True,  the  kind  Great  Spirit  gave  me  a  white  father, 
fond  and  good, 

Then  yourself,  to  shine  upon  me  like  a  sun-beam 
through  the  wood! 


58 

But   my   proud,   ambitious  spirit,   struggling  in  this 

hybride  clay, 
Yainly  plucks  at  clouds  that  gather    and  obscure  its 

perfect   day ! 

Though  I  Ve  always  yearned  for  wisdom    litttle  pro 
gress  still    I  made, 
Till  you  came,  for  darling  father  thinks  of  nothing 

but  his  trade  ! 
He  would  not  have  taught  me,  HARRY,  of  the  glory 

of  the  spheres, 
Where  no  bended  form   or  wrinkles    mark  the  wear 

and  tear  of  years ! 
Nor   have    told   me    of   the   millions  —  millions  upon 

millions  more  — 
Bright,  seraphic,  happy  beings,  living  on  that  shining 

shore ! 
You  have  made  my  heart  a   garden,  where  against 

love's  arches  shine 

Hopes  immortal,  burst  in  blossom,  fanned  by  atmo 
spheres  divine ! 
Oh,   the   future  shines   before   us,   all   the  countless 

coming  years, 
With  a  grandeur  of  God's  smiling    that  so  overflows 

the  spheres! 
Where,   among   celestial  gardens,  crowns  of  flowers 

ever  bloom 
For  the  brows  of  new  immortals  daily  issuing  from 

the  tomb! 


59 

Often  has  my  spirit  wandered,   in  my  wild  ecstatic 

dreams, 
Through  that  land  of  regnant  summer,  by  the  clear, 

immortal  streams, 
Where    the  roses   bloom   forever  and   forever,  loved 

and  blest, 
Even   poor,   misguided   Indians    find   an  everlasting 

rest!—" 
Here  a  sigh  escaping  near  her    made  MANOMIN  turn 

her  head, 
"  Why !  good  GAFFER  !  how  you  frightened  me  !  "  she 

tremulously  said. 
"  Fear  not,  daughter,  peace  be  with  you,  for  I  bring 

you  words  of  love; 
You  are   bidden  to  my  cabin  by  the   shining   ones 

above. 
With  you,  too,  my  youthful  brother,  there  be  those 

that  fain  would  speak, 
Come  with  her    and  learn  together   what  your  eager 

spirits   seek ! 
Come  this  evening,  come  to-morrow,  or  on  any  other 

day; 
I  am  GAFFER    of  the  Hollow,  and  MANOMIN  knows 

the  way ! " 
Saying  which   he   wrapped  his  blanket  closer  round 

his  slender  frame 
And  departed  through  the  undergrowth  as  strangely 

as  he  came. 


PART  SEVENTH. 

SEANCE  IN  THE  FOEEST-THE  SPIEIT  MESSAGE, 


JaoET  and  mellow  fell  the  moonlight  —  slanting  bars 

<&          of  silver-sheen 

Flecked  the  forest  with  a  brightness,  piercing  through 
the  roof  of  green. 

Deep,    profoundest    calm    was    reigning  —  slumber- 
locked  seemed  every  breeze, 

Loons  were  wailing  in  the  marshes,  glow-worms  flam 
ing  'mong  the  trees! 

Like   a  lake  of  molten  silver    Ida  lay  beneath  the 
light, 

Flashing  back  the  mirrored  graces  of  bewitching  sweet 
young  Night ! 

In  a  graceful  semi-circle  swept  the  beach  of  glittering 
sand, 

Where  MANOMIN'S  skiff  was  lying,  drawn  half-way 
upon  the  strand. 
60 


61 

What  an  atmosphere  for  lovers,  everything  conspired 

to  charm  ; 
Even  forest-shadows  wandered  two  by  two    and  arm 

in   arm ! 
Slowly    HARRY  and  MANOMIN    moved  along  toward 

the  beach, 
Tender,   low,    and  deeply  earnest,  fell  the  music  of 

their  speech. 
They  were  talking  of  the  future   and  comparing  hopes 

and  fears, 
Interchanging   vows   and   pledges,   laying   plans    for 

coming  years. 
Castle   building!  sweet   withdrawal    from   real   life's 

bewildering  din ! 
Though  of  millions  who  build  castles    few  there  be 

that  enter  in ! 
At  the  beach  our  lovers  halted  to  decide  which  way 

to   take, 
They  were  setting  out  for  GAFFER'S  —  should  they 

go  by  shore  or  lake? 
"Let  us   take  the  skiff,  MANOMIN,  I  can  row  you 

there,  you  know, 
You  will  get  so  tired,  darling,  if  the  forest-path  we 

go- 
Mother  says  that  you  have  labored    hard  and  faith 
fully    all  day, 

So    I    think    that   we    had    better   take   the   easiest, 
shortest  way." 


02 

"  Oh,   no,   HARRY,   'twould    be    cruel !  all   day   long 

youVe  held  the  plow, 
And  your  arms,  though  strong  and  willing,  must  be 

weary    even  now; 
Though  I  know,  'tis  very  pleasant  in  the  skiff  with 

you  to  ride, 
Still,  I  think   it  will  be  nicer  —  arm  in  arm    and  side 

by  side, 
Through  this  flood  of  lunar  glory,  tinted  by  the  forests 

green, 
For   us   both   to   walk,   my   HARRY,   and   enjoy  this 

glorious  scene."" 
"  Well,  my  darling,  I  am  willing,  even  so  then  let 

it  be; 
Oh,   to  feel  you  ever  near  me   is  sufficient  joy  for 

me." 

So  they  journeyed  on  together,  underneath  the  em 
erald  boughs, 
Living  only  in  each  other,  breathing  love,  exchanging 

vows. 


There  were  few  in  all  that  country  —  trader,  trapper, 

warrior  bold, 
Child   or  woman,  white  or  Indian  —  who    with  truth, 

might  not  have  told 
Strangest  stories  of  this  GAFFER,  things  experienced 

or  heard  — 


Still   'twas   rare   to   hear   him    mentioned,   strangers 

never  heard  a  word 
Of  the  supernatural  doings,  day  and  night  and  night 

and  day 
;  At  his  cabin,  in  the  hollow,  wrought  by  spirits  passed 

away. 
'Twas  a-' subject  all  avoided,  none  could  read  the  riddle 

through  — 
To  your  questions  they  would  answer :  "  I  don't  know, 

no  more  than  you! 
All  I  know,  is,  I  have  seen  them,  felt  their  hands, 

and  heard  them  play 
On  the  banjo,  horn  and  fiddle,  heard  them  come  and 

go  away! 
Where  they  went  to  —  where  they  came  from  —  who 

they  are    I  cannot  tell, 
There's  the  way  to  GAFFER'S  cabin,  try  the  thing 

yourself  a  spell!" 

Perfect  in  its  isolation    GAFFER'S  cabin  darkly  stood, 
Girdled  round  by  quaking  aspens,  in  a  hollow  of  the 

wood. 
Grape-vines  wove  a  woof  above  it,  turning  every  ray 

of  light, 
Not  a  moon-beam  crossed  the  threshold    even  on  the 

brightest  night. 
The   interior   of   the   cabin   was  most  primitive  and 

rough, 


64 

That  no  juggler's  art  was  practised  here  was  evident 

enough. 
One  large  square  room  of  hewn  oak  logs   with  no  floor 

except  the  earth, 
A  heavy   table,    fire-place,     a  single    "bunk,"   or 

"berth," 

An  air-pump  and  a  curious,  rude  electrical  machine, 
With   some   crucibles   and   blow-pipe   in   one   corner 

might  be  seen, 
Three  shelves  of   books,  a  violin,  and   banjo  'gainst 

the  wall, 

A  rifle  and  a  microscope,  a  horn,  and  that  was  all, 
Excepting  some  three-legged  stools,  and  antlers  of  a 

deer, 
All  other  "helps"  of  jugglers  were  clearly  wanting 

here. 
GAFFER,   HARRY    and   MANOMIN,   round    the    table 

joined  their  hands. 
Poor  MANOMIN'S  heart  went  thumping  up  against  her 

bodice-bands ; 
Frightened,  though  she  knew  not  wherefore,  daring 

not  to  speak  a  word, 
How  the  cold  chills  rippled  o'er  her    when  some  little 

raps  were  heard! 
Falling  first  so  soft  and  gently,  now  they  ceased,  then 

came  again, 
Thicker,  faster,  how  they  rattled,  like  the  pattering 

feet  of  rain! 


Then  a  strong  and  heavy  knocking,  like  a  war-club's 

sonorous  sound, 
Bang  three  times  upon  the  table,  then  .smote  dully  on 

the  ground ! 
Instantly  the  darkness  vanished,  fled  before  a  brilliant 

gleatn 
Of  a  phosphorescent  brightness,  making  poor  MANO- 

MIN  scream. 
"  Peace,  my  child,  no  danger  threatens,  oh,  fear  not," 

a  soft  voice  said  ; 

Then  a  white  hand  formed  above  her    and    descend 
ing,  stroked  her  head ! 
In  a  moment  more  it  melted  —  through  the  room  then 

moved  a  breeze, 
Quickly   followed   by  a  moaning,   like   the   moaning 

sound  of  seas ; 
On  the  banjo  now  an  air  was  played  upon  a  single 

string, 
While  a  chorus  of  sweet  voices  sang  as  only  angels 

sing ! 
Then   the   yellow   gleam   grew   brighter,    rose,    and 

spread,  and  grew  more  bright, 
Till  no  space   was  left   for  shadows  —  all    the  cabin 

glowed  with  light ! 
From  the  midst  of   which,  a  presence,  bright    and 

beautiful    and  mild, 
Gazed    in    love    upon    MANOMIN  —  oh,   the   mother 

sought  her  child ! 

I 


Sought  her  child  —  what  mother  would  not?    Rest 

assured,  the  law  of  love 
Is  the  gravitation    bringing  all  our  dear  ones  from 

above ! 
If  the  ether-ushered  spirit 's  free  to  go  where'er  it 

choose 
Then  to  linger  round  its  loved  ones,  what  fond  parent 

could  refuse  1 
**  Oh,  MANOMIN,  fear  no  evil,"  spoke  the  presence 

sweet  and  low, 
"  Love,  instead,  and  peace   and  knowledge    bring  we 

to  our  friends  below ! 
I  can  scarcely  find  expression  for  the  things  I  wish 

to  say, 
Oh,  so  different  lives  the  spirit,  freed  from  its  dark 

bonds  of   clay ! 
We  are   like   to   persons  calling  unto  one  down  in 

a  well:. 
Of  the  glories  of  the  heavens    and  the  landscapes 

we  would  tell, 
"With   the  majesty  of   ocean,    as  its  billows  grandly 

roll, 

And  sublimity  of  mountains    we  would  fill  his  dark 
ened  soul. 
We  would  tell  him  of  the  valleys    and  the  far  off 

peopled  stars, 
Of  cascades  and  brooks  and  rivers  and  the  rainbow's 

sun-dyed  bars! 


67 

Of  the   forests    and   the  prairies    and  the  fields  of 

waving  grain, 
Of  the  grasses,  birds  and  flowers,  of  the  falling  dew 

and  rain; 
But  he  shuts  his  ears  against  us,  saying:  '"Cease 

this  talk  to  me, 
I  have  eyes    and  will    and  reason,  but  these  things 

I  cannot  see  ! 
Long  and  hollo\v  is  the  landscape,  circumscribed  your 

spreading  sky, 
And  I  have  no  faith  in  mountains,  nor  in  rainbows, 

no,  not  I! 
I  know  all   about  the   ocean,  but  its  billows  do  not 

roll, 
Birds  and  flowers  are  children's  stories,  they  exist 

not  in  my  soul ! 
Rocks   and  mosses  are  around  me,  overhead  I  see 

the  sky ; 
Oh,  your  humbugs  don't  confound  me,  by  my  truths 

I'll  live  and  die!'" 
Pitying  him,  we  slowly  lower  down  a  rope  and  draw 

him  out, 
Speech  could  not  depict  his  feelings  as  his  eyes  sweep 

round  about, — 
" '  Oh,  the  beauty,  oh,  the  glory !  to  my  vision  here 

unrolled  — 
God   forgive  my  doubts    when  truly  not  a  millionth 

part  was  told  ! '  " 


68 

So  it  is  with  you,  my  daughter:   you  may  doubt  the 

truths  we  tell, 
For  your  spirit,  too,  is  groping  in  the  bottom  of  a  well! 

So  was  mine  —  oh,  darkly  groping  —  till,  at  length, 

you  know  that  night  — 
A  magnetic   cord    was    lowered,  —  1  was  drawn  up 

in  the  light ! 
And  such  light !  oh,  darling  daughter,  mind  of  man 

cannot  conceive; 
Every  shrub  and  weed  is  radiant    past  your  powers 

to  believe ! 
While  we  move  among  the  forests    all  their  essences 

we   see, 
And  the  wonderful  processes  by  which  nature  builds 

each  tree  ! 
Note  the  sugar  seek  the  maple,  see  the  resin  seek 

the  pine, 
"Watch  the  primates    as  they  gather    to  the  tree,  the 

stalk    or  vine! 
Mountain  mosses,  rocks  and  pebbles,  stalk  and  grass, 

and  ilower  and  weed, 
Ores  and  salts,  as  well  as  diamonds,  insects,  fruits, 

and  roots    and  seed, 
Houses,  furniture    and  volumes,  birds    and  animals, 

and  man, 
All  are  given  different  lustres    in  the  great  creative 

plan! 
All  the  treasures  of  the  ocean    easily  we  can  explore, 


69 

See  its  pearls  and  diamonds  glitter    oh  its  ribbed  and 

rocky  floor! 
Down  its  wide  and  watery  valleys    note   the  endless 

saurian  swarms, 

See  the  sea-plants  widely  reaching  forth  their  hydro 
genous  arms! 
Every  pulse   within  your   body,   every  thought  your 

rnind  unfolds 

Is  as  patent  to  our  vision    as  the  water  ocean  holds! 
We   know  nothing  here   of  darkness,   shadows  dwell 

not  where  we  are, 
Space    is   one  vast  blaze  of   beauty,    hither,  thither, 

near  or    far ! 
Bound  among  ihe  constellations  we  may  freely  flash 

along, 
Swelling  the  eternal  chorus  —  Father  God's  harmonial 

song  1 
By  our  widened,  deepened  vision,  by  our  brighter, 

higher  birth, 
We  would  pray  you  let  your  longings  rise  above  the 

things  of  earth! 

Man  is  an  eternal  spirit,  fruit  of   a  creative  love 
Broader,  deeper,  far  more  boundless    than  your  firm 
ament  above ! 
Not   to   strive   for   place   and    power,  not   to  hunger 

for  renown, 
to   buy   and   sell   a   brother,   not  to  tread  each 

other  down, 


70 

Not  to  heap  up  idle  riches,  not  to  grasp,  with  greedy 

hands, 
Bonds    and  deeds    and  obligations,  broad  domains  of 

idle  lands, 
Not   to  laden  his   bright  spirit  down  with  things  of 

little  worth, 
But  to  love,  to  live  and  let  live,  was  man  sent  upon 

the  earth! 
Endless  circles  of  progression,  starting  at  the  earth, 

flow  on, 

In  which  mill  of  life  the  spirit  ever  is  refined  upon! 
Every   trial,    every   hardship  —  when    God's   plan    is 

understood, 
Will   be  seen  to  be  an  agent   for  the   working   out 

of  good  ! 
Some  experiences  await  you,  and  your  mate  there, 

by  your  side, 
Which,  though  pregnant  with  sad  heartaches,  cannot 

well  be  turned  aside ! 
As  the  forest-tree  is  strenghtened  by  the  rude  and 

ruthless  blast, 
So  your  spirits  shall  be   stronger  when  your  coming 

woes  are  past! 
I  shall  hover  ever  near  you,  whispering  hope  when 

hope  is  low, 
Good  night,  children,  duties  call  me,  all  my  blessings 

I  bestow!" 


PART  EIGHTH. 

MORE  OF  HAEEY'S  PHILOSOPHY -EICEAKD'S  ENEMY. 


's   forest  stood   in  beauty    on  that  calm,  mid- 
^r  summer  night, 

Emerald  foliage  bathed  in  glorious,  golden  seas  of 

lunar  light, 
Air  as  soft  as  breath  of  roses,  nature's  voices  whisper* 

ing  low, 
O'er   the   silvery  water's  surface   shadows   flitted  to 

and  fro ! 
HARRY  THORNTON  and  MANOMIN,  in  the  moon-light, 

side  by  side, 
Sat  together,  with  their  bare  feet  glistening  in  the 

cooling  tide! 
Innocent  and  pure  in  spirit,  happy,  guileless,  loving 

pair ! 
E'en  misanthrope  might  have  loved  them   as  they  sat 

together  there! 
71 


72 

All   the   day   along   the   furrow,    with   hot   feet   and 

dripping-  brow, 
Patiently    had  HARRY  THORNTON    toiled  behind  the 

breaking  plow ! 
And   MANOMIN,  ever  present,  back  and  forth,  from 

morn  till  night, 
"Walking  with  him,  talking  with  him,  made  his  weary 

task  seem  light ! 
Little  sunny-headed   JESSIE,  too,  was  with  them  all 

the  day; 
Sometimes  with  sweet-williams  making  the  near  ox^s 

head  look  gay, 
Sometimes  slumbering  in  the  shadow  of  a  jack-oak, 

thick  and  low, 
Sometimes  butterflies  pursuing,  as  they  flitted  to  and 

fro, 
Sometimes    like  a  sunbeam  darting    'neath  the  trees, 

whene'er  she   heard 
The  vivacious  squirrel  barking,   or  the  whistle  of  a 

bird; 
Sometimes  in  the  furrow  stalking  with  droll  mimicry 

of  tread, 
Till  MANOMIN  caught  and  kissed  her  —  darling  little 

sunny-head ! 
As   I   said,   the  weary  labor  of   the  sultry  day  was 

done, 
In   the  west   there    still   was   lingering  some   bright 

foot-prints  of  the  sun* 


73 

While  the  moon  came   circling  queenly   o'er  a  roof 

of  forest  green, 
Eobing    HARRY    and    MANOMIN   in   a    costly   silver 

sheen  1 
"  How  the  wish  is  rising,  HARRY,  that  I  might  be 

rich    and  fair, 
Learned  and  graceful  as  the  ladies  in  those  far  off 

cities  are  ! 
Then  I'd  buy  a  little  cottage    on  some  quiet  river's 

shore 
Where  we  all  would  dwell  together,  you  should  never 

labor  more ! 
Do   you   know   that   every   Indian   looks    with    most 

supreme  disdain 
On  the  toiling,  sweating  paleface,  slaving  'mong  his 

roots  and  grain?  " 
"Yes,  MANOMIN,  well  I  know   it  —  'tis  the  curse  of 

that  dark  race, 
For  the  rosary  God  blesses   is  the  beads  on  labor's 

face ! 
Not   to   labor  is  to  perish,   rust  and  mold,  stagnate 

and  die ! 
'Tis  to  be  the  only  idle  thing  of  God's  beneath  the 

sky! 
Oh    MANOMIN,  all  is  labor    through  the  universe  of 

God, 
From  the  swinging  of  a  planet    to  tiie  breathing  of 

a  sod ! 


74 

How  the  restless  sea  is  toiling,  and  the  stars  are 

beating  loud, 

And  across   the  waste  of  heaven  flies  a  lone,  un 
quiet  cloud. 
Toiling  seasons  sweep  along  the  earth,  winds  shake 

the  slumbrous  flowers, 
Bright  lightnings  fly    and  rains  come  down  in  frantic, 

sobbing  showers! 
The  burning  sun  swift  speeds  along  the  western  track 

of  heaven, 
Pursuing   night    comes    flying   up    the   eastern   one 

at  even! 
Thus  Nature's  daily  toil  goes  on   forever    round  the 

world, 
No   rest   for  earth,   no  quiet  cove    where   she    with 

sails  all  furled 
Might  sweetly  swing  so  tranquilly    upon  the  heaving 

breast 
Of  God's  eternal,  endless  deep,  like  a  sleeping  swan 

at  rest! 
Oh,  the  yearly  builded  structures  of  the  birds  in  every 

tree, 
And  the  ant's  industrial   lessons  are  God's  sermons 

unto  me ! 
Labor,  labor  is  their  burden,  toil  from  dewy  morn 

till  night, 
If  you  would  be  blessed  and  happy,  if  you  would  be 

strong  and  bright, 


75 

Labor,  labor  without  ceasing,  idleness  begetteth  crime, 
Laboring  nations  are  the  grandest,  in  whatever  age 

or  clime! 
Year  on  year   the  ancient  adage  proves  itself  to  be 

most  true : 
Satan  surely  will   find   mischief  for  each   idle  hand 

to  do! 
But,  MANOMIN,  see  how  nearly  the  round  moon  hangs 

over  head, 
"Pis  the  noon  of  night,  my  darling,  we  must  hasten 

off  to  bed ! 
For  the  cool,  refreshing,  dewy  lips  of  early  morning's 

light 
Ought  to  kiss  us  in  the  furrow,  —  so,  sweet  moon  and 

stars,  good   night ! " 

EICHARD  THORNTON'S  life  was  flowing  peaceful  as 

a  sunny  dream 
Wandering  through  the  vales  of  slumber,  like  a  broad 

and  quiet  stream. 
Health  and  peace  and  bounteous  plenty,  merry  hearts 

and  sunny  looks, 
Toil,  all  silver-edged  with  music,  precious  hours  with 

his  books, 
Were   the   blessings   that  had   settled   sweetly   down 

within  his  breast, 
Filling  all  his  thankful  being  up  with  fullest  sense 

of  rest! 


76 

But    how  oft  from  unseen  nimbi  bursts  an  unexpected 

storm, 

So  defiantly  ignoring  the  fair  promises  of  morn ! 
One  calm  evening,  while  the  sunset  tinged  with  gold 

the  growing1  grain, 

Slowly  o'er  the  rolling  prairie    came  a  solitary  wain. 
Drawn  by  bony,  brindle  oxen,   poor  and  dismal  look 
ing  things, 
And  the  wagon  cover  painted  blacker  than  Appolyon's 

wings ! 

Clad  in  heavy,  grimy  ducking,  armed  with  sharp  re 
lentless  goad, 
Fierce,   repelling,    hairy  creature  seemed  the  owner 

of  the  load. 
Not  a  note  of  childhood's  laughter,  not  a  gleam  of 

woman's  smile, 
JS"ot  a  flutter  of  a   ribbon  once  relieved  that  dismal 

pile! 
Silent,  gloomy  heap  of  blackness,  hail  ye  from  some 

demon's  lair  ? 
One  would  almost,  'neath   the  wagon,    look   to    find 

cerberus  there ! 
It  was  mail-day   and  the  settlers,  gathered  in  an  idle 

throng, 
Gazed    intently   on    the    stranger    corning    leisurely 

along. 
Rough    and  various  the  conjectures  as  to  whom  the 

man  might  be 


77 

As  he  slowly  came  still  nearer,  like  some  great,  dark 
destiny. 

But  they  met  him  with  a  cordial  grasp  of  hand  and 
beam  of  eye, 

Asked  the  news  and  if  the  crossings  of  the  Sauk 
were  getting  dry? 

How  he  liked  the  corduroying  in  the  woods,  which 
they  had  done  ? 

Would  he  take  a  claim  among  them  or  still  further 
travel  on  ? 

At  that  moment,  RICHARD  THORNTON,  having  just  re 
ceived  his  mail, 

Stepped  up  briskly  to  the  talkers,  but  his  cheeks 
turned  deadly  pale 

As  he  cast  upon  the  stranger  one  quick  look  of  wild 
alarm, 

And  prepared  to  hasten  homeward,  when  a  hand  com 
pressed  his  arm. 

Quickly  turning  with  a  frightful,  ashen  pallor  on 
his  cheek, 

Pulseless,  tongue-tied  for  a  moment  he  could  scarce 
ly  move  ov  speak. 

But  'twas  Uncle  ANDREAS  DARLING'S  calm  and  pleas 
ant  eyes  he  met, 

And  a  smile  of  reassurance  gleamed  among  the  drops 
of  sweat 

That  in  his  great  apprehension  had  bedewed  his 
ruddy  face  — 


78 

"  Hold  on,  THORNTON  !  where  in  blazes  are  you  rush 
ing  at  that  pace  ?  " 

"  Ha  !  good  evening    Uncle  DARLING  !  "  quickly  giv 
ing  him  his  hand, 
"  What 's  the  news  among  the  settlers  ?     Have  they 

found  old  TOM  LE  GRAND?" 
"  No,  poor  fellow,  he  's  a  goner  —  ginseng  's  been  the 

death  of  him  — 
Five   days   lost  —  starved   dead   by   this   time — how 

comes  on  old  Uncle  JIM  ?  " 
" Brisk  as   ever  —  full   of   music  —  he's  a   rare   old 

bit  of  clay  — 
He    and  HARRY    and  MANOMIN    went  out  hunting 

yesterday ; 
Away  round  the  head  of  Carlos  where  that  runaway 

is,  you  know: 
JIM  and  HARRY  killed  a  bruin    and  MANOMIN  shot 

a  doe  ; 
So  we  Ve  got  a  world  of  cutlets,  steaks    and  roasts, 

and  fries    and  stews; 
Come  on  over,  Uncle  DARLING,  smoke  your  pipe  and 

read  the  news.1' 
"  Nothing,  sure,  would  please  me  better,  that  I  need 

not  tell  you,  DICK, 
But  I've   got   to  do   the  milking,  as  my  gals  have 

taken  sick  — 
Raspberry  shortcake  's   what 's  the    matter  —  mother 

crams  in  too  much  cream, 


79 

And  the  pesky  stuff  has  laid  'em  flatter  than  a 
puncheon  beam ! " 

"  Well,  good  night,  then,  I  must  hasten,  for  you  see, 
'tis  getting  late ; 

ESTHER  '11  worry  if  the  sun-down  does  not  find  me 
at  the  gate." 

So  they  parted,  KICHARD  THORNTON  hurrying  with 
redoubled  tread, 

In  his  heart  a  wild  foreboding  of  some  great,  impend 
ing  dread. 

"  God  of  mercy,  God  of  justice,  is  there  no  where 
that  I  can 

Hide  me  from  the  hideous  presence  of  this  base, 
revengeful  man? 

Dear  as  was  our  little  cottage,  and  our  friendships 
dearer  still, 

Yet  we  left  them,  vainly  thinking  to  escape  this  man's 
ill  will. 

By  what  methods  he  will  wrong  me  God  in  heaven 
only  knows, 

But  the  knowledge  of  his  presence  rings  the  knell 
of  our  repose ! 

Darling  ESTHER,  angel  ESTHER,  tender  mother,  lov 
ing  wife, 

You  have  merited  a  smoother,  greener,  lovelier  path 
of  life ! " 

Such  the  anguishing  reflections  EICHARD'S  mind  con 
ned  o'er  and  o'er, 


80 

Ending  only  as  his  footfall  crossed  the  threshold  of 

his  door. 
There  the  cheerful  scene  that  met  him  caused  the 

shadows  to  depart, 

Light  his  eyes  with  pleasure's  beacons,  cast  the  dem 
ons  from  his  heart. 
On  the  hearth  a  cheerful  fire  sunned  the  chill  from 

evening's  air, 
While  old   JIM,  forever   happy,    puffed   his  pipe  in 

comfort  there. 

In  one  corner  ESTHER'S  father,  o'er  the  Bible  bend 
ing  low, 
Read  of  that  celestial  city  where   his   spirit   longed 

to  go. 
And  the  table's  snowy  cover,  gemmed  with  ware  so 

pure  and  white, 
And  the  odorous  smells   of   coffee,   filled    his  senses 

with  delight. 
Sure,  it  needed  not  that  ESTHER  should  entwine  him 

in  her  arms, 
Or  have  kissed  his  lips  so  fondly,  to  have  banished 

his  alarms. 
Yet,  the  loving  creature  did  it,  and  I  am   not  sure 

but  he 
Gave  her  back  those  self-same  kisses,  as  he  drew  her 

on  his  knee. 
Then  as  JESSIE  and  MANOMIN  played  some  old  and 

simple  tunes 


81 

Through  his  spirit  flowed  the  sweetness  of  a  thousand 

gathered  Junes! 
And    that    night    while    all    were  sleeping,    quietly, 

without  a  fear, 
To  his   wife   he   turned   and   whispered:   "  ESTHER, 

BOBERT  KING  is  HERE!'- 


PART  NINTH. 

KOBEET  KING'S   CABIN -UNCLE   CABLING  AND   "BITING 
BETTY"-  "BITING  BETTY"  MAEKS  A  STEAY! 


HERE    the    dark    primeval    forest    skirted    Ida's 
eastern  face 

ROBERT  KING  had  built  his  cabin,  in  a  most  secluded 
place. 

No  bright   glimpses  of  the   water,   or   the   shell-be 
jewelled  shore, 

Or  the  sweetly  meaded  prairie    fondly  met  you  at 
his  door!  • 

For  his  cabin,  small  and  wretched,  in  a  gloomy  hol 
low  stood, 

Made  obscurer  by  the  debris  of  the  patriarchal  wood  ! 

And  a  sudden,    firm   conviction  that   this  wretch,  so 
hid  away, 

Was  a  scheming  villain,   skulking  from  the  honest 
light  of  day, 
82 


85 

Forced  itself  at  once  upon  you    when  his  dwelling 

met  your  eyes, 
And  a  hot,    repulsive  feeling  in  your   breast  would 

quickly  rise. 
From  all   friendly  calls   and  visits   in   immunity  he 

dwelt, 
Not  a  neighbor's  heart  toward  him  a  kindly  impulse 

felt. 

For  shamefully    and  scornfully,  to  every  one's  amaze, 
He  'd  slighted  all  the  offers  made  to  come  and  help 

him  raise. 
And  with  but  simply  slighting  them  he  did  not  rest 

content, 
But  to  Uncle  ANDREAS  DARLING  an   insulting   note 

he  sent, 
And  the  tenor  of  the  billet  was,  that  every  one  must 

mind 
Their   own   concerns  more    strictly,    or   they  would 

surely  find 
That   they  had   kindled   needlessly   a   bitter,   hostile 

flame, 
For  he  would  not  suffer  meddling,  under  any  form  or 

name! 
Uncle  DARLING  read  the  missive  with  a  wondering 

surprise, 
Then  a  flash  of  indignation  gleamed  a  moment  from 

his  eyes, 


84 

And  he  took  down  "  Biting  Betty "  from  the  hooks 

just  o'er  his  bed, 
And  dosed  her  with  a  powder,  then  a  sugar  plum  of 

lead, 
And  while  settling  her  stomach  thus  he  quietly  did 

say : 
"  Old  Bet,  I  give  you  warning  now    to  keep  out  of 

that  chap's  way ! 
Because,  through  all  the  settlement    you  can't  deny, 

'tis  known 
That  you  have   got   a   hasty,  fiery  temper   of  your 

own, 
And  if  at  that  old  hedghog  you  should,  some  time, 

let  fling, 
Why,  you  see    as  how  old  Betty    'twould  he  bad  for 

EGBERT  KING! 
But  now,  old  Bet,  my  darling,  let  us  mosey  up  the 

lakes, 
To  wake  up  those  young  goslings    that  sleep  among 

the  brakes, 

And  if,  by  any  accident,  we  meet  this  critter  now, 
For  goodness  sake  old  Betty,  don't  get  me  in  a  row ! " 
So  he  shouldered  her  and  started  through  the  woods, 

and  far  away, 
Crossed  the  marshes  and   the  hollows    and  climbed 

the  cliffs  so  gray, 
And  never  checked  his  footsteps  till  he  reached  the 

gloomy  glade 


85 

Where  the  wretch  of  his  soliloquy  his  dreary  h 

had  made ! 
As  he  passed  the  silent  cabin  not  a  stir  of  life  was 

there 
But  the  dismal  wagon-cover,  swinging  wildly  in  the 

air; 

Not  a  single  bird  chirped  cheerily    to  break  the  still 
ness  round, 
And  "wolf"   was  all  the   "varmint  sign"  he  found 

upon  the  ground! 
On  he  strode  through  groves  of  poplar  and  great  fields 

of  prickly  ash, 
Never   heeding   rents    or   scratches,    or  sometimes  a 

deeper  gash, 
Presently   he   reached   a   hollow     skirting   RICHARD 

THORNTON'S  claim, 
Where    a   lovely   grape-vine    arbor   bore  sweet  little 

JESSIE'S  name. 
Here  he   paused,  for   sounds  of   voices   touched   his 

ever  listening  ear, 
And  he  hid  himself  a  moment,  wondering  who  was 

drawing  near. 
It  was   JESSIE,   and   her   mother    who   were   slowly 

coming  there, 
Talking,  singing,  telling  stories,  walking  out  to  take 

the  air. 
Briskly    stepping   from    his   cover,   with   his   smiling 

eyes  alight. 


86 

He  was  going  on  to  meet  them    when  a  man's  form 

came  in  sight. 
Back     again    behind   his   shelter,    stepping   light  as 

sylvan  elf, 
"  Ha  !  "  he  whispered,  "  by  old  Goshen !  there  's  that 

'tarnal  KING  himself!" 
So  it  was,  and  ESTHER  saw  him    and  endeavored  to 

turn  back, 
But    all   grim,    his   hated    presence    stretched    itself 

across  her  track; 

Gathering  all  her  strength  together  she  prepared  her 
self  to  hear 
Taunts    and    insults    and   dark    threatenings,   as  the 

dreaded  man  drew  near. 
"Ah,   Miss  ESTHER  —  Missis   THORNTON!  —  so  you 

fled  lo  hide  from  me ! 
That's  a  job,  my  whilome  sweetheart,   not   so  easy 

done,  you  see ! 
As  the  hound,  though   slowly  tracking,  finds  at  last 

the  flying  deer, 
So  from  point  to  point  I  traced  you,  till  at  length  I 

found  you  here ! 
Here   I'm   watching,   here   I'm   waiting,   you   shall 

never  know  relief, 
Soon,    again,    I    warn    you,   madam,  you   and   yours 

shall  come  to  grief! 
Well  you  know  my  vow  that  evening   that  you  stabbed 

me  with  your  scorn, 


87 

That  I  'd  wring  your  heart  until  you  cursed  the  day 

that  you  were  born  ! 
Years  and   years   your  joys  enraged  me — years  so 

bitter,  gaunt,  and  grim  — 
Oh,  I  could  have   eat  my  heart  out    in  my  hate  of 

you  and  him! 

But  you  know  the  sequel,  ESTHER  —  here's  that  cot 
tage  deed,  my  dear ! 
That  same  thing  shall  be  repeated  —  you  shall  soon 

be  homeless  here ! 

Yet,  I  think,  on  one  condition    I  would  bid  my  ven 
geance  cease, 
And   abandon   plans   maturing,    soon   to  wreck  your 

present  peace! 
You  are  young,  and  fresh  yet,  ESTHER,  see  the  bloom 

upon  your  cheek, 
Come,  and  feed  me  on  its  roses    in  my  cabin  once 

a  week ! 
Now  there  is  a"  —  "Silence,  villain,  stand  aside,  sir, 

from  my  path ! 
You  have  got  a  tongue  more  devilish  than  the  blackest 

demon  hath ! 
Stand    aside,    sir,    scheming   coward,   base   insulting, 

wicked  thing, 
I  despise  your  foolish  threatenings    as  I  scorn  you, 

EGBERT  KING  ! " 
"Nay,  now  calm  your  ruffled  feathers,  smooth  your 

plumage,   pretty  bird ; 


88 

I  can  force  you  if  I  choose  to,  for  your  screams  cannot 

be  heard.'1 
And   he    laid   his   hand    upon   her;    at   that   instant, 

loud  and  clear, 
Bang  the  tone  of  DARLING'S  rifle,  and  a  bullet  smote 

his  ear. 

Stunned  and  bleeding,  back  he  staggered,  nearly  fall 
ing  to  the  ground, 
And   the   offending  hand  was  quickly  pressed   upon 

the  painful  wound. 
Uncle  DARLING  paused  a  moment,  just  a  moment  to 

reload, 
And   to   cap   "  Old  Biting  Betty,"  forward   then  he 

quickly  strode, 
Heeding  not   KING'S  leveled  rifle  with  its  rampant 

hammer  grim, 
Heeding  not  his  burning  eyeballs,  but  with  eyes  fixed 

straight  on  him, 
Swiftly  up  he  rushed    and  caught  him,  struck  the  rifle 

from  his  hand, 
Then   confronted   and    addressed   him    in   provoking 

accents  bland: 
"Keally    stranger    you'll   excuse  me,  but    you   see, 

I  kinder  thought, 
That  yer  weap'n  was  a  pintin,  jest  now  whar  it  hadn't 

ought. 
May  be   'twas  because  my  eyesight  aint  so  good  as  H 

use  to  be. 


89 

But  I   swow  now  I  felt  sartin    you  was  pokin  her 

at  me ! " 
"  So  I  was,  and  I  intended  to  have  shot  you  through 

the  head ! 
I  can  only  thank  your  blindness    that  I  'm  not  among 

the  dead!" 
"Wall,  it  is  a  pity,  stranger  —  yet  I  kin  see  middlin 

clear  — 
Anyhow,   I'll   bet   a   mink-skin,   that   I  popped   you 

through  the  ear ! 
No  use  getting   riley,  stranger  —  case  with  me  that 

never  pays  — 
Ear-holes  is  the  mark  "  Old  Betty  "  allers  puts  upon 

my  strays ! 
But  now,  neighbor,  if  you  really  want  to  know  what 's 

fer  yer  good, 
Take   yer  pop-gun  up  and  travel  quicker  'n  lightnin 

from  this  wood ! 
And    if   e'er   again   I   catch  you  sneakin  round  this 

holler  here, 
By  old  Goshen !  Betty  '11  bore  you  smack  and  smooth 

through  t'other  ear! 
For  this  ground  is  consecrated,  and  is  not  for  such 

as  you; 
Now  be  off,  you  sneaking  puppy,  and  be  careful  what 

you  do  ! " 
Then  he  turned  to  sobbing  ESTHER  —  for  excitement's 

quick  rebound 


90 

Had  so  left  her  weak  and  helpless,  she  sank  weeping 

to  the  ground ; 
And  to  shocked  and  frightened  JESSIE,  who  in  silence 

had  stood  by, 
Until  now  there  was  no  danger    she  cried  hard  as 

she  could  cry. 
Soothing  words  of  kind  encouragement    so  tenderly, 

he  spake, 
Yowing  if  that  rascal  harmed  them  speedy  vengeance 

he  would  take, 
But  all  the  while  maintaining  that  KING  would  never 

dare, 
To  execute  his  threatenings,  which  were  only  empty 

air ! 
And  fatherly   advising   her,   as   he   left   her   at  her 

door, 
Not  to  tell  her  husband  of  it  —  nor  to  think  about  it 

more  — 
"  For  he  cannot  mend  the  matter,  and  'twill  only  give 

him   pain, 
And  I  know  that  KING  will  never  dare  to  try  that 

thing  again ! 
But   if  he    does,   and   Betty  here   is  called  upon  to 

sing 
Another  of  her  songs  to  him,  then  good  bye,  Bobby 

King! 
But,  ESTHER,  I  must  hustle  off — or,   by  the  'tarnal 

law, 


91 

My  wife '11   think  I've   run  away   with    some   good 

looking  squaw ! " 
So  off  into  the  woods  he  sprang    and  soon  was  lost  to 

view, 
This  strong,  athletic,  stalwart  man,  kind-hearted,  good, 

and  true- 


PART  TENTH. 

MEDITATIONS  OF  A  VILLAIN -"DO  NO  MUEDEE,  EOBEET 

KENG-!"-MANOMIN'S  JOUENEY  — THE  MIDNIGHT 

JLNOEtfDIAEY! 


in  ceaseless,  sobbing  torrents  fell  a  cold,  au- 
^§  tumnal  rain, 

Beating   sad   and    dismal    measures  on   the  dripping 

window-pane ! 
Come  and  gone  had  Indian  summer,  and  the  naked 

forest  trees 
Wailed  and  moaned  and  tossed  their  bare  arms,  cold, 

and  shivering  in  the  breeze. 
All  throughout  the  leafless  forest  unobstructed  swept 

the  eye, 
No  thick  vines    or  matted  branches    shut  away  the 

arching  sky. 
Leaves  of  red    and  brown    and  purple,  white  leaves, 

brightly  spangled  o'er, 
Wet  and  shining    gleamed  and  glistened    like  a  rich 

mosaic  floor! 
92 


93 

ROBERT   KING  was  in  his  cabin,  door  and  window 

fastened  tight, 
Grimly   brooding   o'er    his   vengeance,    by   his   fitful 

fire  light. 
In  his  hand  he  held  a  letter  — "  Yes,1' he  muttered, 

"that's  the  plan; 
Let   the  sale  come  off  at  that  time    EICHAUD  is  a 

ruined  man! 
Ah,  we'll  see,  my  scornful  ESTHER,  how  you'll  writhe, 

and  weep    and  pray! 
Oh,  I  '11  make  you  —  as  I  told  you  —  curse  your  very 

natal  day ! 
As   for   that   great   blustering   hunter every  day 

he  passes  by 
The  old  wigwam    in   the   hollow,   he  this   very  day 

must  die ! 
I'm  resolved  to  stop  at  nothing,  I  will  teach  these 

meddling  fools 
That  'tis  dangerous  to  be  trifling,  children  like,  with 

sharpened  tools ! " 
Then   he   paused,   and   every  feature  wore  a  dark, 

malignant  frown, 
Presently  he  rose,  and  reaching,  took  his  long  bright 

rifle  down: 

Then  again  he  hesitated,  as  if  fearful,  or  in  doubt, 
Suddenly  he  wrapt  an  oil-cloth  round  his  rifle    and 

set  out. 


94 

As  he  neared  the  lonely  wigwam,  lo,  a  figure,  tall 

and  slim, 
With  a  sharp  and  angry  visage,  suddenly  confronted 

him : 
"Stay  your  footsteps,  son  of  evil  —  leave  undone  this 

wicked  thing, 
Listen    to    the   God    within    you  —  Do    no    murder, 

EGBERT  KING!" 
With  averted  eyes    in  terror    silently  had   HOBERT 

stood, 
Now  he  raised  them,  as  the  voice  ceased,  —  he  alone 

was  in  the  wood ! 
Paled  his  face,   short  grew  his  breathings,  frightfully 

his  eyeballs  glared  — 
Then  he  cursed  himself    and  muttered :  "I'm  a  fool 

for  being  scared! 
But  I  don't   quite   like    this   business,   "' murder '" 

sounds  a  little  rough, 
And   I   reckon,   without  killing,   I   can  get  revenge 

enough !  •' 
Like   a   pluckless     beaten    spaniel,   meanest    among 

earth's  mean  men, 
He  at  once  retraced  his  footsteps,  slunk  again  into 

his  den. 


Oncer  again  with  purest  ermine,  costly,  spotless,  soft, 
and  white, 


95 

Winter  tenderly  enfolded  earth's  brown  bosom  from 

the  sight. 
Every  bald  old  rock  or  boulder,  limb  or  log  beneath 

that  sky 
Wore  a  lavish  robe  of  beauty    princes  were  too  poor 

to  buy. 
And  the  trees  that  had  so  sadly    cast  their  garments, 

one  by  one, 

Now,   bedecked   with   winter's   diamonds,    shone   re 
splendent  in  the  sun ! 
It  was  evening,  RICHARD  THORNTON,  holding  little 

golden  head, 
Sat  beside  his  cheerful  fire,  talking  of  the  summer 

fled, 
And   of  absent,   loved  MANOMIN,  who  had  gone,  a 

week  ago, 
Far  away    o'er   sheeted  prairies,  frozen  lakes    and 

drifts  of  snow; 
Far  away    through  leafless  forests,  tangled  thickets, 

groves  of  pines, 
Far  beyond  where  Crow  Wing  River  with  the  Red- 

Eye  joins  and  winds, 
Far  beyond  sweet  Lake  Lelina,  where  the  deep  pine 

forests   roar, 
North  of  Mix  and  Ikwe's  bosoms,  to  Lake  Hassar's 

pine  girt  shore. 
It  was  thought  a  fearful  journey  for  a  stalvyart  man 

to  take, 


96 

How  then  more  than  doubly  fearful  for  a  tender  girl 

to  make  ? 
But  "Pewaubeck"  and  two  other  lithe  limbed  warriors 

brought,  one  day 
A  short  letter  from  her  father,  that  sick  unto  death 

he  lay 
At   the   trading-post   of    Hassar,    straight    her   filial 

love  arose, 
And  she  bade  adieu  to  comforts,  braved  at  once  the 

blinding  snows, 
Scathing  winds,  and  dismal  forests,  shrieking  in  the 

bitter  cold, 
Giving  shelter  to  rapacious  packs  of  wolves    grown 

hunger-bold  ! 
Took  no  thought  of  treacherous  marshes,  miles  and 

miles  of  frozen  lakes, 
Wind  swept  prairies,  brambled  thickets,  snow  piled 

hollows,  drifted  brakes; 
Urged  by  that  most  potent  power,  strong,  deep  seated 

filial  love, — 
Heaven's   law   of   gravitation,   binding   all    its   hosts 

above 
Down  to  kindred  shining  spirits    wrapped  in  earthly 

forms  of  clay, 
Tenderly    forever   watching,   till  death   rends   those 

forms  away. 
Love,  oh  love,  thou  art  the  power  ruling  all  eternal 

things, 


97 

More  resistless  than  the  simoon  is  the  flutter  of  thy 

wings. 
Urged,  I  say,  by  this  resistless  power  of  love  she 

faced  wild  storms, 

Boldly  braved  the  King  of  Terrors    in  its  most  ap 
palling  forms. 
All  that  loved  and  loving  circle  deeply  mourned  her 

dreary  task, 
But  that  she  should  hush  love's  pleadings  and  remain, 

they  could  not  ask. 
So  with  fur-lined  skirt  and  mantle,  swan-down  socks 

upon  her  feet, 
Over- drawn  by  finest  doeskin  moccasins  embroidered 

neat, 
A  broad  girdle  trimmed  with  feathers,  leathern  pouch 

of  brightest  red, 
And  a  quilted   hood  of   otter,  snugly  fitting  to  her 

head, 
Fur-lined  mittens    and  long  armlets  thoughtful  little 

JESSIE'S  gift, 
Nice  light  snow-shoes,  made  by  HARRY,  to  defy  the 

deepest  drift; 
Blessed    and   kissed    and   well  provisioned,   bundled 

snugly,  dry   and  warm, 
They    committed   her,    one    morning,    with  wet    eyes 

unto  the  storm ! 
And  as  RICHARD  thought  about  it,  on  that  howling 

wintry  night, 

7 


98 

Sitting  there  in  all  the  comfort  of  his  cheerful  fire 

light, 
Fears    and   doubts    and   wild    misgivings   made   his 

anxious  forehead  damp, 
And   his   spirit   seemed   to   seek   her  in  her  distant 

snow-bound  camp ! 
Then  mature   reflection  whispered   that  her   guide* 

were  good  and  true, 
And  she  would  not  lack  a  comfort  that  their  cunning 

wood  craft  knew. 


ESTHER  plied  her  busy  needle  with  a  calm,  con 
tented  air, 

While  her  dear  old  father  slumbered  sweetly  in  the 
rocking  chair. 

Lonesome  HARRY  read  the  papers,  heaving  now  and 
then  a  sigh, 

As  among  the  crowded  columns  rapidly  he  glanced 
his  eye. 

"  Father,1'  suddenly  he  uttered,  looking  up  as  if  sur 
prised, 

"Do  you  know  that  in  this  paper  all  our  lands  are 
advertised 

To  be  sold  in  February?  Oh,  it  is  a  burning 
shame  ! 

Many  a  poor  man  down  the  valley  will  be  driven 
from  his  claim ; 


Many  a  poor,  hard  working  fellow,  toiling  on  this 
wild  frontier, 

Nobly  struggling  with  his  hardships,  laboring  on  from 
year  to  year, 

Thinking  that  his  dear  Columbia,  for  whose  glory  he 
would  die, 

Surely  will  his  hard  earned  acres  kindly  give  him, 
by  and  by, 

Now  will  find  on  his  heart's  altar  his  sweet  flowers 
of  belief 

Withered,  blighted,  turned  to  ashes  and  his  house 
hold  come  to  grief!" 

"Yes,  my  son,  it  is  distressing,  and  I  thank  the 
God  of  fate 

It  is  certain  honest  Lincoln  will  assume  the  chair  of 
State ! 

Oh,  he  knows  the  people's  struggles,  and  I  feel  con 
vinced  he  will 

Recommend  and  give  his  sanction  to  a  liberal  Home 
stead  Bill! 

We  are  safe,  if  nothing  happens,  BURBANK  offers  for 
my  grain 

More  than  would  suffice  to  purchase  our  c'aim  o'er 
and  o'er  again ! 

DARLING  tells  me  that  the  threshers,  though  obstruct 
ed  by  the  snow 

At  Osakis,  will  most  surely  come  on  in  a  day  or  so. 


100 

Let   us    therefore    be   preparing,  and   to  BARR  and 

BEDMAN  speak, 
And  to  CANFIELD  and  PREFOUNTAIN,  for  assistance 

by  next  week, 
And  if  then  our  oats  shall  yield  us  half  the  bushels 

all  expect, 
At  the   sale    we  may  be  able   some    poor   neighbor 

to  protect. 
JESSIE,   go   and   get   the  Bible,   HARRY,   son,  draw 

up  your  chair; 
Let   us   thank    our    Heavenly    Father   for   his   ever 

constant  care."" 


In   the    small    and   silent   hours   of   that   same    cold, 

winter  night 
Stole  a  form  across  the  timber  in  the  glaring,  white 

moonlight. 
On,  to  EICHARD'S  log-built  stables    stealthily  it  made 

its  way, 
Stables  straw-roofed  and  begirt  by  stacks  of  oats  and 

ricks  of  hay. 
Suddenly,   above    the    oat-stacks,   leaped  a  wild    and 

lurid  flame  ! 

Oh,  a  deed  so  mean  and  dastard  should  have  crim 
soned  hell  with  shame! 
In  those  stables  RICHARDS  cattle  —  firmly  fastened 

by  the  head, 


Burned  and  bellowed,  roared  and  roasted    till  their 
tortured  spirits  fled. 

Wakened   by   the   awful   roaring  of   the  flames    and 
bellowing  stock, 

Forth  he  rushed!  Oh,  God,  how  dreadful,  wild    and 
stunning  was  the  shock ! 

Souls   of    tears    and    hearts   of   pity,    realize,    oh,   if 
you  can, 

Deep   within   your    inmost   feelings,  all    the   ruin   of 
this  man ! 

Euin  of  this  hopeful  spirit,  who,  but  now,  with  bended 
head, 

Had  poured  out  its  love  to  Heaven,  and  gone  trust 
ingly  to  bed ! 

Faith  persistent   under   evil   is   that  virtue's  highest 
grade ; 

Faith  to  know  the  hand  that  blesses  wields  for  good 
the  lightning's   blade ; 

Faith  like  this  was  BICHARD  THORNTON'S  —  in  mis 
fortune's  darkest  day, 

Steady,  brilliant,  undiminished,  shone  its  white   celes 
tial  ray. 

When  the  first  wild  shock  was  over,  tho-ugh  it  swept 
him  bald   and  bare, 

He   convened   his   little    circle,    on-  his   altar  laid    a 
prayer  ! 

And   although  completest  ruin  stared  him  grimly  in 
the  face, 


JSTo  upbraidings  marred  his  offering  to  the  holy  Throne 

of  Grace. 
He  reminded  not  the  Father  worse  than  other  men 

he  fared, 
But  he  prayed  for  greater  patience,  thanked  Him  that 

their  lives  were  spared! 
Prayed  that   in  the   hidden  future   his  poor    efforts 

might  be  blessed. 
Then   with  quiet  resignation    once  again   he  sought 

his  rest. 


PART  ELEVENTH. 

SAD  EETLECTIONS-PAT  DEEGAN'S  LETTER  — THE  SALE  — 

TEIUMPH  OF  KING-MANOMIN  AEEIVES- "DICK 

THOENTON  IS  ALL  EIGHT ! "  -  SUMMAEY  PEQ- 

CEEDINGS-"  BITING  BETTY" 

SINGS  AGAIN!! 


and   tearful   were   the  faces   gathered   round 

that  morning1  meal, 
Though  with  sweet  contrition  humble,   stricken,  yet, 

they  could  but  feel. 
God  of  heaven,  who   would  help  them?     Their  kind 

neighbors  were  poor,  too; 
Who  would  lighten  their  affliction  ?     What,  oh,  what 

were  they  to  do? 
"  Write  to  friends,"   suggested  HARRY,  friends  who 

live  in  Syracuse." 
"Yes,  we   will,  but  I  am  fearful   it   will   prove   of 

little  use. 
103 


104 

Business  men  are  cold  and  cautious,  and  unless  they 

see  your  need, 
Calls   for   help,   however   pathetic,    they  will   seldom 

ever  heed ! 

Still,  it  is  our  solemn  duty  every  honest  way  to -try 
To  retrieve  an  adverse  fortune,  passing  not  the  un- 

likeliest  by." 
On  the  Cinder  Eoad  was  living  PATRICK  DEEGAN, 

and  his  name, 
If  it  did  not  tell  his  story,  told  at  once  from  whence 

he  came. 
In  the  mist  of  years  departed,  like  a  rainhow,  stood 

a  day 
HICHARD  THORNTON  had  advanced  him  means  to  buy 

a  horse  and  dray. 
Oft   to  him    had   HARRY  written,   of   their  wild  but 

glorious  fare, 
And  of  lovely  Minnesota's  splendid  lakes  and  bracing 

air, 
Of  her  prairies,  starred  with  flowers,  of  her  forests 

full  of  deer, 
Of  her  sweet  cascades  and  rivers,  and  her  fountains,. 

pure  ard  clear; 
Unto  him.    the  touching  story  of  their  fortunes,  so 

adverse, 

In  a  letter,    now    did    HARRY   with    simplicity  re 
hearse  ; 


105 

But  he  did  not  ask  for  money,  never  dreamed  that 

source  to  try, 
Not  believing  PATRICK  DEEGAN  ever  laid  a  dollar 

by. 

But  as  hearts,  o'ercharged  with  sorrow,  seeking  chan 
nels  of  relief, 
In  some  sympathetic  bosom  pour  a  portion  of  theit 

grief, 
In  that  sense  and  spirit  only,  without  thought  of  help 

the  while, 
Wrote  he  to  that  generous  scion  of  the  little  Emerald 

Isle. 
Graphic   letters    EICHARD    also  wrote    to    many   an 

eastern   friend, 
But  their  answers  brought  no  money  his  bad  prospects 

to  amend. 
Meanwhile  on  Time's  rapid  current  came  the  dreaded 

day  at  hand, 
That  should  dawn  upon  them  homeless,  strip  them  of 

the  cherished   land 
Where  they  had,  with  faithful  labor,  built  and  plowed, 

•   and  fenced    and  sown, 
In   their   trustful   hearts   believing   it   must   ever   be 

their  own ! 
When,  at  last,  that  wretched  morning  lengthened  into 

turbid  day, 
Lo,  there  came  this  glorious  letter,  which  had  long 

been  on  its  way : 


106 

"Arrah,  HARRY,  me  darlint,  yer  swate  little  letther 

Came  nately  to  hand  on  this  cowld  blissid  day;  — 
I  was  thrashin'  me  hans,  an  a  cussin  the  weather, 

An  pitying  poor  Hock,  in  the  shafts  of  his  dray, 
When  up  stips  the  postman,  ould  DINNIS   MCFRAZES, 

Wid  the  breath  on  his  whiskers  like  foam  on  the  seas, 
An'  his  frost-bitten  nose  all  as  rid  as  blue  blazes 

Wid  a  "'Here,  Mister  DEEGAN,  >s  a  letther  for  yees!'" 
'Twas  too  cowld  for  a  job,  an  was  fast  gettin  cowlder, 

So  I  whistles  to  Hock,  an  I  jumps  on  the  dray, 
"  '  Och,  sure,  ye '11  not  mind,  when  ye 're  fifty  years  owlder/  " 

Says  I  to  rne  conscience,  "the  loss  of  this  day.'" 
So,  HARRY,  mavourneen,  yer  folks  are  in  throuble! 

Ye 're  burned  out,  ye  think,  by  that  rascally  KING, 
May  the  divil,  bad  cess  to  'im,  bend  him  up  double, 

An  in  hell's  hottest  corner  his  owld  carcass  fling! 
An  it's  all  for  the  lack  of  a  wee  bit  of  sphilter, 

Some  two  hundred  dollars,  I'm  thinkin  ye  said, 
Ye'd  be  swept  clane  and  dry,  as  a  tin  year  owld  philter, 

Wid  never  a  shingle  to  cover  yer  head;  — 
Och,  HARRY,  ye  sphalpeen,  was  ye  thinkin  PAT  DEEGAN, 

Wid  a  long  woman's  stocking-leg  chock  full  of  gould, 
Could  slape  in  his  bid,  like  owld  miserly  REEGAN, 

While  the  f  rinds  of  his  harte  were  turned  out  in  the  cowld  ? 
Not  a  word  now,  ye  gossoon,  I've  put  up  the  money, 

Jist  double  ye  nades,  in  a  nate  little  bag, 
And  up  to  St.  Cloud,  by  express,  to  yees,  honey, 

It  will  come  jist  as  fast  as  the  buljtne  can  wag ! 
An  1  wish,  be  me  sowl,  I  could  come  wid  it,  HARRY, 

To  make  sure,  me  boy,  that  it  didn't  come  late, 
But  I  can't,  an  so  hoping  it  will  not  miscarry, 
I  am,  Yours, 

PATRICK  DEEGAN. 
Plase  acknowledge  resate. 


107 

Softly  down  they  laid  the  letter,  while  a  spirit  of 
relief 

Sunned  away  the  gloomy  shadow  of  their  heavy- 
hearted  grief. 

Though  this  money  had  not  reached  them,  could  not 
for  a  fortnight  more, 

Yet  they  knew  that  safely  waiting  at  St.  Cloud  in 
BURBANK'S  store, 

It  was  subject  to  their  order  —  forty  eagles,  all  in 
gold! 

Ha!  the  thought  was  vivifying  —  made  the  drooping 
spirit  bold! 

Sure,  this  tangible  assurance,  must  induce  the  auc 
tioneer 

To  forego  the  sale  of  their  claim  till  their  money 
reached  them  here  : 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  if  none  demand  it,  thereon  hinges 
everything ! " 

Sank  the  mercury  of  their  spirits  at  the  icy  thought 
of  KING! 

Ah,  their  fears  were  but  too  real,  all  their  efforts 
proved  in  vain, 

KING  exulted  o'er  them  homeless,  he  had  triumphed 
once  again! 

And  he  sent  them  instant  warning  that  before  an 
other  day 

He  would  come  and  take  possession,  they  must  move 
at  once  away. 


108 


Sturdy  squatters,  grim  and  scowling,  gathered  round 

in  little  bands, 
Capped    with  fur    and  clothed  in  buckskin,  carrying 

rifles  in  their  hands ! 
They  were  taking  anxious  council  what  had  best  be 

done  with  KING  : 
Should  they  hang  him,  whip  him,  shoot  him,  had  they 

best  do  anything? 
"Well,  now,  boys,"  said  Uncle  DARLING,  "I've  a 

feeling  that  to-night 
Something    is  ago'n'   to  happen    that  will  bring  this 

thing  out  right !  " 
At  that  moment,  at  the  town-house,  rose  a  wild  and 

ringing  shout, 
Then   another,   and   another  —  what  were    all    those 

cheers  about? 
Once    again   they  were   repeated,    hats   flew  up  into 

the  air, 
What  the  deuce  could  be  the  meaning  of  such  wild 

excitement  there? 
Through  the  gate-way  rushed  a  neighbor    screaming 

to  them  with  delight : 
"MANOMIN'S   come    with    loads   of   money!  hurrah! 

DICK  THORNTON  is  all  right!" 
EGBERT  KING  was   quickly  summoned,  'twas  a  call 

he  did  not  dare 
Disobey,  and  soon  the  villain  came  into  their  presence 

there. 


109 


"  EGBERT  KING,"  said  Uncle  DARLING,  u  we  have 

sent  for  you  to  come 
Here  to  give  up  THORNTON'S  patent,  pledging  you 

three  times  the  sum 
That  it  cost  you,  will  you  do  it?"  —  "No,  sir,  never 

while  I  live ; 
'Twas  my  right  to  buy  his  claim,  sir,  and  no  man  shall 

make  me  give 

Cringingly  a  right  my  country's  sacred  laws  vouch 
safe  to  me ; 
Money  cannot  buy  that  claim,  sir,  all  your  plans  are 

vain,  you  see." 
Jo.  JAMES  then  informed  the  circle  that  MANOMIN 

wished  to  say 
A  word  or  two  upon  this  matter,  ere  they  let  KING 

go  away. 
Stepping   lightly  from  the  circle  to  the  centre    forth 

she  stood, 
Queenly  in  her  radiant  beauty,  little  empress  of  the 

wood ! 
"Friends  and  neighbors!    a   plain   story  I  will  tell, 

brief  as  I  can, 
Of  the  savage  misdemeanors    and  the  crimes   of  this 

bad  man : 
Years  ago,  when  ESTHER  THORNTON  was  a  sweet, 

unwedded  maid, 
Presumptuous  seige  to  her   affections   this   persistent 

villain  laid, 


110 

And  most  stormily  insisted    she  should  yield  and  be 

his  wife, 
Threatening  her,  if  she  refused  him,  with  his  hatred 

all  her  life. 

But  she   scorned  his  threats    as   every  brave,  true- 
hearted  woman  would, 
And  she  married  RICHARD  THORNTON,  first  among 

the  pure  and  good. 
After  many  years  of   scheming,  ventured   plots    and 

sore  defeats, 
Hellish  industry  succeeded    and  he  turned  them  in 

the  streets! 

Seeking  no  retaliation  for  his  utter  overthrow, 
RICHARD  THORNTON  left  the  precincts  of  his  mean, 

inveterate  foe  — 
Foe  without  a  shade  of  reason,  who,  to  further  wreak 

his  hate, 
Like  a  wolf    has  tracked    his  victim    to  this  distant 

frontier  state. 
In  the  woods  he  meets  with  ESTHER  and  insults  her, 

but  his  ear 
Tells  the  story  of  reprisals  made  by  Uncle  DARLING 

here ! 

All  last  summer,  RICHARD  THORNTON,  most  persist 
ent,  soon  and  late, 
Toiled   among   the  sheaves   and    winrows,    sums    of 

money  to  create 


Ill 

For  the  high  and  noble  purpose  of  maintaining  well 

in  hand 
Funds,  perchance,  to  help  a  neighbor,  while  securing 

his  own  land. 

One  month  since  I  left  his  dwelling,  passed  his  oat- 
stacks  one  by  one, 

Saw  with  joy  their  golden  shoulders   bare  and  glisten 
ing  in  the  sun! 
And   his  stable  full   of   cattle    and  his  great  brown 

ricks  of  hay; 
How  these  proofs  of  his  abundance  cheered  me  on 

my  weary  way ! 
Three  weeks  since,  while  all  were  sleeping,  stealthily 

a  villain  came, 
And   he  wrapt    that    wealth   collective   in  one  great, 

consuming  flame ; 
And  an  Indian  says,  who  saw  him,  that  this  man, 

this  fiend,  this  thing, 
Who  so  causeless  spoiled  a  neighbor  was  this  villain, 

EGBERT  KING  ! " 
What  a  fierce  wild  shout  of  anger  round  that  listening 

circle  ran, 
And  a  dozen   gleaming  rifles  straight  were  leveled 

at  the  man ! 
But    MANOMIN  into  order  quickly  waved  them  with 

her  hand, 
Magic-like  she  quelled  the  feelings    of    that  roused, 

excited  band. 


til 

At  her  sign  a  sprightly  Indian  promptly  stepped  into 

the  ring  — 
"  Neighbors,   this   is   BUNGEE-WAUPOSE,   he   it  was 

who  witnessed  KING 
Do  that  dreadful  deed  of  arson,  for  which  crime  men 

often  die"  — 
"  'Tis  a  lie ! "  screamed  KING  in  terror,  "  'tis  a  weak 

and  wicked  lie !  " 
DARLING  stopped   him  and   MANOMIN  quietly  began 

again : 
BUNGEE-WATJPOSE  speaks  no  English,  thinking  that 

he  should  not  gain 
Any  credit  by  attempting  what  he  could  not  render 

clear, 
He  at  once  set  out  to  meet  me,  and  we  made  forced 

marches   here ! 
I  arrived,  and  quickly  learning  EICHARD'S  claim  to 

KING  was  sold, 
Sent  and  offered  thrice  the  purchase  to  that  bad  man 

there,  in  gold. 

But  you  heard  him  scorn  the  offer,  heard  him  vaunt 
ing  of  his  right ! 
Oh,   his  right  to  burn  the  substance   of  a  neighbor 

in  the  night ! 
He   has   forced   poor   EICHARD   THORNTON  twice  to 

drain  grief's  bitter  cup, 
Now,    my   neighbors,   all   I   ask  is,   make   him  give 

that  patent  up !  " 


113 

Scarcely  had  she  ceased,  ere  DARLING,  reaching  forth 

his  brawny  hand, 
.Roughly  seized  KING  by  the  collar  —  "Now,  then, 

villian,  we  demand, 
Without    slightest    compensation,    that    you   give    to 

THORNTON,  here, 
What  is  his,  or  else,  by  Heaven!  we  will  make  it 

cost  you  dear  !  " 
"  Do  your  worst,  I  do  not  fear  you!"  —  "All  right, 

Mister  BOBBY  KING  ! 
Bring  a  rope,  BARR,  quicker  'n  lightnin',  and  we  '11 

see  about  this  thing!" 
The  rope  was  brought  and  noosed  about  him,  o'er  a 

beam  one  end  was  flung, 
By  the  neck,  before  he  knew  it,   high   the  struggling 

victim  hung. 
In  a  moment  more  they  dropped  him,  dizzy,  strangled, 

and  half  blind ; 
Ah,   this   summary  proceeding  quickly  changed    the 

rascal's  mind; 
For  his  ear  had  caught  the  order :  "  Up  again,  boys, 

pull  away!" 
"Men!"  he  cried,  "hold  on  for  God's  sake!  I  will 

do  whate'er  you  say!" 
"  All  right,  boys,  bring  out  a  table,  and  a  pen  and 

inkstand,  too; 
Now,  sir,  sign  this  patent  over,  that  is  all  we  want 

of  you." 

8 


114 


Down  he  sat  while  angry  tremors,  like  an  ague,  shook 

his  frame, 
And  he  formed  a  hellish  purpose  as  he  calmly  wrote 

his  name. 
"  EGBERT  KING,  said   Uncle  DARLING,   as  he   rose 

to  go  away, 
"  Stop  a  moment,  for  this  council  has  another  word 

to  say: 
In  two  days  you  are  required  Douglas  County,  sir, 

to  leave ; 
If  the  third  day  finds  you  lingering,  punishment  you 

will  receive; 
On  the  fourth  day,  any  person,  red  or  white,  about 

this  town 
Is  commissioned,  if  he  meets  you,  like  a  dog  to  shoot 

you  down!" 
KING  passed  out  all  grim  and  silent,  not  a  word  had 

he   to  say  — 
Then  across  the  lake  to  JAMES'  nearly  all  adjourned 

straightway, 
There   to  have  a  wild  reunion,  songs  and  dancing, 

fun  and  beer 

Over  RICHARD'S  change  of  fortune,  just  as  ruin  seem 
ed  so  near. 
But  MANOMIN  and  the  THORNTONS  at  the  town-house 

stayed  behind 
To  partake  a  bounteous  supper,  and  with  brimming, 

joyful  mind 


115 

They  drew  up  around  the  table,  and  discussed  what 

seemed  to  be 
A   most    strange    and    providential    foiling    of    their 

enemy. 


Uncle  DARLING  started  homeward  through  the  woods 

a  nearer  way  — 
"Ah,  what's  that?"     A  long  dark  object,  stretched 

behind  a  log-heap,  lay! 
Boldly   outlined    on    the    white    snow   'neath   a   full 

moon's  golden  glare, 
"'Tis   a   man!    'tis   KING,    by   Heaven!  what's   the 

rascal  doing  there  ?  " 

DARLING  crouched  behind  a  tree-root,  bared  by  tem 
pest  in  its  wrath, 
By  and  by  there  came  the  THORNTONS    and  MANO- 

MIN    down  the  path. 
See!  KING  moves,  his  leveled  rifle    bears  on  KICH- 

ARD  THORNTON'S  brain! 
A  flash,  a  crash !  ah,  lifeless  villain,  "Biting  Betty  " 

sang  again! 


PART  TWELFTH. 

MANOMIN'S  ACCOUNT  OF  HER  JOURNEY -  STARTLING- 
SPIRIT  MESSAGES -THE  OUTBREAK  OF  THE 
REBELLION -HARRY,  THE  PATRIOT. 


m,ouND  the  hearth  of  EICHARD  THORNTON  sunny 
«*  hearts  rejoiced  once  more; 

In  the  grave  of  KING  was  buried  all  their  appre 
hensions,  sore, 
And   about   their   cheerful  fire   they  have   gathered 

now,  to  hear 
All  that  happened  to  MANOMIN  in  those  thirty  days 

of  fear. 
But  her  story  was  a  brief  one:  She  had  found  her 

father  dead 
When  she  reached  the  termination  of  her  journeying, 

she  said  ; 
All  his  furs  and  goods  to  BOLIEAUX  by  her  order 

then,  were  sold, 
Many  thousand  dollars  bringing,  which  was  paid  to 

her  in  gold. 
116 


117 

*'  Then,  with  sense  of  trouble  weighing  sad  and  heavy 

on  my  heart  — 
Trouble   to  my  living  dear   ones  —  with  my  money 

I  did  start; 
And  one  morning  BUNGEE-WAUPOSE  met  and  told 

me  of  the  deed 
That  had   robbed   you   of    your   substance  —  how  I 

urged  my  guides  to  speed ! 
Every   day  I  fought  the   snow-drifts,  and  at  night 

would  sit  and  cry 
At   the    slowness   of  my  progress!     How  I  longed 

for  wings  to  fly ! 
And  with  joy  and  apprehension   how  my  throbbing 

heart  did  swell 
When  I  saw  the  town-house  chimneys!     This  is  all 

I  have  to  tell. 
Now,  my  darling  foster-father  —  best  among  all  men 

I  Ve   known  — 
Use   this   money  I  have   brought  you,   freely,  as  it 

were  your  own. 
Send  to  generous  PATRICK   DEEGAN   twice  the  sum 

he  loaned  to  you, 
As  a  meet   reward   for   friendship,   which  is  rarely 

found  so  true. 
Not  a  word,  now,  father  THORNTON,  for  I  owe  you 

this,  and  more  —  " 
Here  a  heavy  rapping  sounded  loudly  on  the  outer 

door. 


118 

HARRY   rose   and   swung   it   open;   on  its  threshold 

calmly   stood 
That  strange  presence  of  the  Hollow,  silent  GAFFER 

of  the  wood! 
"  Peace    to   all   within   this   dwelling  I "    in  a  kindly 

tone  he  said, 
"  Lo,  I  bear  a  message  to  you  from  the   regions  of 

the  dead ! 
Dead  to  every  low  desire,   dead   to  all   that   is  not 

right, 
But   alive   to    love  and   brotherhood,  to  wisdom  and 

to  light! 
Let  us  sit  around  this  table,  and  a  moment  join  our 

hands, 
There  are  hosts  of   spirits  hovering  from  the  inner, 

brighter  lands!" 
All   drew   up   around    the   table    but    in    RICHARD 

THORNTON'S  eyes 

Shone  a  look  of  incredulity  and  wondering  surprise. 
He  had  never  been  to  GAFFER'S  nor  had  ever  given 

ear 
To   the   mystifying   stories  told   about   him   far   and 

near, 

Until  HARRY'S  strange  experience   taught  him  pos 
sibly  there  might 

Be  laws  in  God's  economy  he  did  not  know  aright. 
Scarcely  had  they  formed  the  circle  ere  some  sturdy 

raps  were  heard, 


119 

Then  a  strain  of  forest  music,  like  the  warbling  of 

a  bird; 
Then  the  table  mounted  upward,  as  if  from  the  floor 

repelled, 
Next  the  name  of   MARY  WARREN  by  the  alphabet 

was  spelled ! 
"  Oh   my    God ! "    said    ESTHER'S   father,    pale   and 

trembling,  "can  it  be 
MARY   WARREN  — my   own  MARY  — is  within   this 

room  with  me  ?  " 
"  Yes,  oh  yes,  ERASTUS  WARREN,  I  am  MARY,  your 

own  wife  1 " 
Said  a  soft  voice   close  behind  him  — "and  though  in 

the  inner  life, 
I   am  with  you  every  moment,   for  the  day  is  near 

at  hand 
When  you,  too,  my   dear  companion,   will  be  added 

to  our  band. 
Do  not  think  the   spirit's  heaven  is  away  in  realms 

afar, 
In  a  walled  up  golden  city,  or  in  some  bright  distant 

star. 
Heaven  is  Love,  and  Love  is  God,  and  God  is  here 

and  everywhere, 
Hence  'tis  natural  that  our  heaven  should  be  where 

our  dear  ones  are ! 
With  what   longing  I   have   waited   for  this   blessed 

hour  to  come. 


T20 

Ere  you  crossed  the  dreaded   valley,  to  inform  you 

of  your  home  ; 
Of  your  home  of  love  eternal,  home  of  wisdom    and 

of  light, 
Where,  your  earthly  errors  spurning,  you  will  read 

God's  laws  aright! 

You  will  learn  that  every  evil  is  the  body's  attribute ;. 
With  the  body  that  it  perishes  as  perishes  the  brute ! 
And  the  qualities  immortal,  such  as  fellowship  and 

love, 
Are  the  only  things   the   spirit   takes  along  with  it 

above  ! 
Oh,  we  have  no  use  for  envy,  have  no  need  of  hate 

or  pride, 

Lying,  jealousy,  or  selfishness,  or  evil,  else,  beside, 
And  having  then  no  need  of  them,  oh,  does  it  not 

seem  plain  — 
As  God  ne'er  made  a  useless  thing,  or  gave  a  useless 

pain  — 
They  should  fall  with  falling  matter  —  being  of  and 

for  the  earth, 
Not   arising   with   the   spirit   to   its   brighter,    higher 

birth. 

See  the  caterpillar  creeping  on  its  belly  in  the  dirt, 
Feeding  on  decaying  matter,  —  by  repulsiveness  be 
girt  ; 
Mark  the  butterfly  —  its   spirit  —  how   it  mounts  on 

wings   away, 


121 

Nestling  down  within  the  flowers,  sipping  honey  all 
the  day; 

Shut  your  eyes  against  this  lesson,  oh  obdurate  heart 
ed  men, 

Let  your  Chinese  wall  of  prejudice  keep  truth  with 
out,  and  then 

Learn  too  late,  if  truth  and  wisdom  in  the  "body  he 
not  sought, 

If  the  "golden  rule1'  and  charity  on  earth  be  not  out- 
wrought, 

As  a  penalty,  your  spirits  will  be  naked,  weak,  and 
poor, 

When  your  guardians  kindly  bear  you  to  this  love-lit 
angel  shore ; 

And  each  one  in  ways  of  loveliness  be  long  a  puny 
thing, 

Wanting  years  to  reach  its  God-head.  Thus  it  is 
with  ROBERT  KING, 

Who  is  here,  too  weak  to  manifest  —  and  wishes  me 
to  say 

That  through  ignorance  and  prejudice  his  life  was 
thrown  away; 

And  the  high  and  noble  lessons  in  his  sinfulness  he 
spurned, 

Under  many  disadvantages  now  slowly  must  be  learn- 
ed; 

That  his  dark  and  stormy  passions  did  not  know  this 
second  birth — 


122 

They  are   buried  with  his  body  in  the  bosom  of  the 

earth  — 
Yet  their  memories  blot  his  spirit  like  a  moth-patch 

or  a  stain, 
So  he  comes  to  ask  forgiveness,  for  the  many  hours 

of  pain 
He  has  caused  you,  RICHARD,  ESTHER,  and  each  one 

within  this  room,  — 
Oh,   he   sees    he    is   forgiven,    swiftly   vanishes   his 

gloom ! 
Brighter  glows  the  God  within  him,  wild  with  joy  his 

pulses  dance! 
O'er  the   bright   celestial  highway  swiftly  now  will 

he  advance! 
By  and  by,  returning  earthward,  you  will  find  him 

strong  and  bright, 
Purged  of  all  self-condemnation,  hallowed  by  Eternal 

Eight ! 
He  will  often  stand  beside  you  —  though  so  distant 

seems  this  shore  — 
And  will  give  you  love  and  guidance  where  he  gave 

you  hate  before ! 
As  the  clock  ticks  off  the  seconds,  so  remorseless,  one 

by  one, 
You   will   all   come  dropping   homeward  when  your 

primal  life  is  done. 
You  will    then    behold    how  different  is   the   great 

creative  plan 


123 

From  the  narrow,  cramped  conceptions  of  materialistic 

man. 
You  will  learn  that  every  erring  soul  on  sin's  wild 

ocean  tossed 
Safe  in  God's  conservatory  moors  at  last  where  naught 

is  lost! 
You  will  learn  that  the  aspirings  of  the  selfish  sons 

of  earth, 
Pride  of  wealth,  and  place,  and  title,  and  aristocratic 

birth, 
Are  mere  wallowings  in  the  mire  —  all  unworthy  the 

great  prize 
That  awaits  you  in  God's  mansions,  in  the  bosom  of 

the  skies ! 
There,  at  last,  I'm  sure  to  greet  you,  on  those  ever 

verdant  lawns ! 
So,  good  night,  have  faith  and  patience,  till  your  day 

of  promise  dawns  !  " 


Quickly  passed  the  broken  winter  to  that  happy  house 
hold,  there, 

All  their  joys  were  pure  and  perfect,  not  a  harsh 
word  or  a  care 

Ever  ribbed  with  gloomy  wrinkles  the  calm  forehead 
of  their  peace ! 

Indeed,  their  sum  of  happiness  seemed  daily  to  in 
crease. 


124 

But  at  last  that  charm  was  broken  by  a  shock  that 
shook  the  world! 

A  tempest  flight  of  treason's  shells  from  rebel  cannon 
hurled  I 

And  Columbia's  cry  for  armies,  from  old  Sumpter's 
battered  wall, 

And  the  thundering  tread  of  millions  answering  to 
that  clarion  call ! 

On  the  flashing  wings  of  lightning,  through  the  art 
eries  of  the  mail, 

To  the  nation's  farthest  corners  flew  the  wild,  ex 
citing  tale  ! 

From  the  workshop  and  the  furrow,  from  the  ware 
house  and  the  strand, 

From  the  cities  and  the  forests  men  were  hurrying, 
gun  in  hand; 

From  Oregon's  wild  mountains,  and  from  California's 
mines 

Hosts  of  large-lunged,  brawny  patriots  came  to  swell 
the  loyal  lines! 

All  the  land  was  hung  with  banners !  from  tall  masts 
and  taller  spires, 

From  roofs  and  windows,  cliffs  and  poles,  forth  flamed 
those  altar  fires ! 

Ah,  this  national  uprising  was  a   spectacle  so  vast, 

All  wonder-struck  and  motionless  the  world  looked 
on  aghast ! 


125 

The  poor  slave's  millennial  morning  dawned  at  length 

upon  his  sight ! 

Struck  forever  from  his  horizon  was  slavery's  wretch 
ed  night ! 
Gross  forms  and   base  conditions  went  staggering  to 

their  fall, 
And  an  era,  bright  and  shining,  full  of  blessings  unto 

all, 
By  High   Heaven's   Great   Sanhedrim   was  decreed 

the  very  day 
Eebet  cannon  rang  the  curtain  up  on  treason's  tragic 

play! 
To   the   listening  circle  HARRY  read  the  news  that 

April  night, 
And  a  sense  of  sure  bereavement  made  their  hearts 

grow  still  and  white. 
For  they  saw  a  noble  purpose  shining  forth  in  every 

line 

And   lineament  of   that   brave  boy's  heroic  face  di 
vine  ! 
One  bugle-blast  had  snatched  him  up,  crowned  with 

iron  his  fair  brow, 
Built  a  wall  of  steel  between  them,  he  was  all  his 

country's  now! 
But   they  murmured   not   at   laying  even  him,  their 

only  boy, 
Their  bright  glory  of  the  present,  their  perspective's 

calmer  joy, 


On  the  altar  of  their  country,  trusting  Him,  whose 

care  profound, 
Noteth   even   every   little   bird    that    falleth    to   the 

ground ! 
Still,  a  painful   silence   settled   on  those  hearts,  but 

now  so  bright; 
One  by  one   they  bade  each  other   then  a  kind  yet 

sad  good  night! 
Poor  MANOMIN  sought  her  little  room,  and  shutting 

to  the  door, 
In  one  swift  wild  rush  of  agony  sank  sobbing  to  the 

floor! 
Alas,  poor  lonely  wild  wood  flower,  her  heart,  that 

had  so  late 
Been  rendered   by  the  touch  of   death    so  void  and 

desolate, 
Had   warmed   again  beneath   the   sun  of    HARRY'S 

genial  eyes  ; 
And,  oh,  he  filled  and  spanned  that  heart  as  rainbows 

do  the  skies ! 
Alas,  poor  lone  MANOMIN,  she  knew   no  youth  like 

him 
Could  for  a  moment  sit  at  ease  when  treason,  armed 

and  grim, 
Sat  at  the  door- ways  of  our  land,  with  insults,  taunts 

and  sneers, 
And  robbed  and  burned  steamboats  and  trains,  like 

filthy  buccaneers ! 


127 

She  felt  within  her  inmost  soul  that  he,  with  purpose 

strongly  set, 
Would  rest  not  till  in  loyal  lines  the  sun  gleamed  on 

his  bayonet! 
"And,  oh,  how  many  must  be   killed!     Great  God 

above  me,  must  I  feel 
This  flower  goeth  from  my  heart  to  be  cut  down  by 

Southern  steel? 
Oh,   those  lists  of  killed  and  wounded!  how  we  all 

shall  dread  to  read  ! 
Lest  hearts  we  now  think  desolate,  shall  be  desolate 

indeed  !  " 
Morning  dawned,  and  every  riser,  as  they  came  into 

the  room, 
Saw  a  little   sight  that  saddened,  deeper  still,  their 

spirit's  gloom: 

It  was  only  HARRY'S  rifle  standing  up  beside  the  door, 
And  a  little  bundle  lying  at  its  breech  upon  the  floor  ! 


PART  THIRTEENTH. 

THE  MOWEES-THE  EACE- UNCLE  DAELING  AHEAD- 

JESSIE  AND  HEE  GEANDFATHEE-HAEEY'S  LETTEE 

CONCEENDTG  THE  BATTLE  OF  BULL  EUN, 

an  early  July  morning,  fresh  and  cool  the 
dew-drops  hung, 

Bending  down  the  heavy  meadow-grass,  where  scythe- 
stones  gaily  rung, 

And  sturdy  brown  armed  mowers  laid  the  wild  thick 
harvest  low, 

With  such  ease  and  grace  of  motion  that  it  seemed 
but  play  to  mow! 

With  an  even  stroke  the  mowers  swung  their  scythes 
at  easy  pace, 

Till  at  length  some  boastful  whetstone  rang  a  chal 
lenge  for  a  race! 

With  firm  lip  and  swelling  muscles  grandly  swayed 
each  lithe  form  then, 

And  the  merest  boys  among  them  stoutly  played  the 
part  of  men. 
128 


129 

Uncle  DARLING,  from  the  centre  —  with  wide  swarth 

and  forward  tread  — 
One  by  one  cut  round  the  mowers,  till  he  came  far 

out  ahead; 
And,   with  rollicking  good  nature,  wiped  the  sweat 

from  off  his  face, 
Slily  asking  if  the  "chap  was  lost  that  started  that 

'ar  race  ? " 
ESTHER'S  father  bore  the  luncheon  and  the  water  to 

the  field; 
But  his  sinews  were  not  strong  enough  the  manly 

scythe  to  wield ; 
Though  on  this  very  morning  long  and  well  the  rake 

he  plied, 
Till  wearied  out,  he  tottered  home,  his  strength  most 

sorely  tried. 
He  bathed  his  face,  and  JESSIE,  dusting  off  his  easy 

chair, 
Clambering  fondly  up  beside  him,  gently  combed  his 

silvery  hair. 
"  Oh,  grandpa,  don't  you  wonder  now,  where  HARRY 

is  to-day? 
Has  he  really  gone  to  kill  some   one,  or  is  it  only 

play? 
And  do  you  think  they'd    kill    him,  too?     Oh,  that 

would  be  so  sad  — 
Why  is  it,  grandpa,  that  some  folks  will  always  be 

so  bad  ? 

9 


180 


It   seems   to  me,   if  I  was  God,   I   don't  believe   I 

would 
Let  folks  be  born,  unless  I  knew  they  surely  would 

be  good ! " 

Then  moistening  her  finger-tips  upon  her  little  tongue, 
She  curled  his  pliant  locks  and  said,  "Now.  grandpa, 

you  look  young ! 
I  wonder  if  you'll  have  white  hair  away  up  in  the 

sky? 
Wait,  wait !  hold  .still !    I  think   I  see   a  winker  in 

your  eye ! " 

"With  corner  of  her  pinafore,  twirled  round,  with  ten 
der  care, 
She   wiped   away,  with   gentle  touch,   the   irritating 

hair. 
Then  laid  her  little  damask  cheek  against  his  wrinkled 

face, 
And  round  his  neck  entwined  her  arms  in  silent,  fond 

embrace. 

Strong  voices  roused  her,  she  looked  up,  "  See,  grand 
pa,  only  see!  — 
Here  come  the  men !  'tis  not  yet  noon !     What  can 

the  matter  be?  " 
MANOMIN,  who  had  seen  them  too,  came  forth  with 

blanching  cheek  — 
u  Oh,  have  you  heard  bad  news  from  him?  —  speak, 

father  THORNTON,  speak !  " 


131 

**  No,  no,  my  child,  we  Ve  only  heard  a  battle  has 

been   fought, 
In  which  our  army  did  not  do  the  valiant  deeds  it 

ought. 
That   after    they   had   fairly   won  the   honors  of  the 

day, 
They  suddenly,   in   panic,   fled,  flinging   their   arms 

away! 
The  Minnesota  boys  were  there  —  but  here,  I  think, 

you  Ml  find 
A  letter  from  the  lad  whose  fate  just  now  disturbed 

your  mind. 
And  here  is  one  for  mother,  too  —  now  all  draw  round 

about, 

We  Ml  hear  what  HARRY  has  to  say  about  this  shame 
ful  rout." 
MANOMIN   had  her  letter  clutched  and,  waiting  for 

no  more, 
Gone  fairly  flying  to  her  room,  and  promptly  locked 

the  door. 
We'll   leave  her  with  her  beating  heart,   and   face 

blanched  white  as  snow. 
And  hear  the  letter  RICHARD,  now,  is  reading  down 

below:  — 
"I  am  writing  to  you,  mother,   on  this  sultry  July 

night, 
To  assure  you  of  my  safety,  and  to  tell  you  of  the 

fight: 


132 

For    the  horrors  of  that  struggle  who  more  vividly 

can  tell 
Than  one  who  faced  that  storm  of  lead  and  hurricane 

of  shell? 
'Twas  a  glorious,  silvery  Sunday    and  the  morning's 

spicy  breath 
Gave  no  warning-  to   the   many   soon   to  be  baptized 

in  death ! 
For    sweet  peace     herself,   seemed  dwelling  in  the 

silent  foliage   green, 
And  from  each  shining  blade  of  grass  to  be  smiling 

so  serene, 
That  it  really  did  not  seem,  mother,  amid  so  much 

of  life, 
We  should  all  so  soon  be  facing  old  grim  Death  in 

mortal  strife ! 
As  we  wound  along  the  valleys,  over  spreading  fields, 

and  farms, 
How  the  lovely  landscape  twinkled  with  the  glitter 

of  our  arms! 
Filing  up  the  sloping  hill-sides,  threading  some  long, 

deep  ravine, 
With  our  bayonets  all  gleaming, 'twas  indeed  a 

splendid  scene ! 
Oh,   there   seemed   to   be   such   power  in  our   firm* 

united  tread  — 
In  our  hands  a  freeman's  weapon,  and  a  just  God 

overhead  — 


133 


That  it  did  not  make  me  wonder  when  was  heard 

the  opening  gun 
To   hear   our   brave   boys1  answering  cheers !      The 

battle  had  begun! 
Oh,  my  mother,  had  you  seen  us  as  we  moved  across 

the  field! 
Yainly,  proudly,  fondly  dreaming    that  the  foe  would 

quickly  yield, 

You,  too,  would  have  caught  the  quickening  that  in 
spired  MEAGHER'S  braves 

When  they  flung  away  their  garments,  and  went  rush 
ing  to  their  graves ! 
Brave,  iron-hearted  HEINTZLEMAN   soon  swept  along, 

where  rose 
Thick  wreaths  of   smoke     above   the   trees    that  hid 

our  wary  foes ; 
Gallant  BURNSIDE'S  men  responded  with  a  wild  and 

ringing  shout, 
As  their  glittering  line  of  battle  they  flung  quickly, 

fiercely  out ! 
And  uniting  with  brave  PORTER    and  the  generous, 

loyal  SPRAGUE, 
Swept   the  rebels   to  destruction,   like   the   besom  of 

a  plague ! 
Then  swiftly,  through  that  fire  and   flame,  way  out 

upon  the  right, 
By  MILLER  led,  our  gallant  boys  went  cheering  to 

the  fight! 


134 


I  can  scarcely  tell  you,  mother,   as  the  first,  fierce 

storm  of  lead 
Came  whistling  through  our  solid  ranks,  or  hurtling 

overhead, 
Of  my   spirits   wild   sensations,    or   the    throbs  my 

pulses  made, 
And  though  it  seemed  like  fear,  mother,  yet  I  did  not 

feel  afraid ! 
It  is  true,  my  heart  a  moment,  just  a  moment,  ceased 

to  beat, 
As  we  bent  before  the  opening  storm  of  f'irious  leaden 

sleet ; 
It  is  true  I  dodged  a  little,  and  a  moment  held  my 

breath 
As  the  bullets  whizzed  above  rne,  but  it  was  not  fear 

of  death; 
'Twas   the  instinct   that  God  gives  us    to   avoid  the 

fatal  stroke  — 
But  I  lost   it,    in  a  moment,   'mid   the  battle's  flame 

and  smoke, 
And  my  heart  at  once  responded  to  our  gallant  leader's 

call: 
'"Be  steady,  boys!  close  up  the  ranks  whene'er  your 

comrades  fall!'" 
Just  then  the  Black  Horse  Cavalry  charged  fiercely 

on  our  flank  — 
But,  ah !  the  bloody  wine  of  death  full  many  a  rider 

drank ! 


135 

They  paused    and  turned,  then  fled,  and  formed,  and 

once  again  they  came, 
But  all  in  vain,  they  could  not  live  before  our  deadly 

aim! 
And  hotter,  fiercer  than  before,  the  wild  fight  raged 

around, — 

Identity,  itself,  seemed  lost  amid  the  dreadful  sound  J 
But    we   fought    on   bravely,    mother,   till   arose   the 

cheering  cry: 
" '  Hurrah,  hurrah,  brave,  loyal   hearts !    the  beaten 

rebels  fly!''' 
Then  with  cheers  all  forward  springing  how  we  made 

those  woods  resound ! 
And,   like   sheep,   the   frightened  rebels  went  flying 

o'er  the  ground ! 
But  there  came  a  check,  a  halting,  and  we  heard  a 

distant  drum! 
Saw  clouds  of  dust,  a  cry  arose  that  JOHNSTON'S  men 

had  come!! 
At  first  there  came  an  anxious  pause,  then  confidence 

seemed    lost  — 
Then  panic,  wild,  resistless  spread  among  our  loyal 

host! 
The   brave  and   dauntless   HEINTZLEMAN   rode  back 

and  forth  in  vain! 
Those  terror-stricken,  broken  lines  could  not  be  formed 

again ! 


136 

It  was  a  painful  sight  to  see  those  men,  who,  true 

and  good, 
The  whole  fierce  shock  of  rebel  arms  so  lately  had 

withstood, 
Now  turn  their  backs  upon  their  foes,  abandon  every 

gun, 
Throw  down  their  arms    and  leave  the  field  upon  an 

abject  run! 
But  naught  could  stem  that  shameful  tide,  resistless 

it  rolled  on, 

And  swept  across  Potomac's  bridge  and  into  Wash 
ington  ! 
The  gallant  dead  and  wounded  ones  were  left  jus! 

where  they  fell; 
Oh,  would  to  God  I  did  not  have  this  shameful  truth 

to  tell! 
I  grieved  enough  while  marching  back    at  close  of 

that  sad  day, 
To  see,  all  round,  the  signs  of  flight,  the  debris  of 

the  fray! 
Spectators1  hacks   and  tumbrils  lay    all  shivered    on 

the  ground ! 
And   guns  and  pistols,  hats  and  coats,  were   thickly 

strewn  around ! 
But  all  of  these  might  well  be  spared,  aye  more  than 

treble  these, 
To  purchase  one  poor,  wounded  man  a  single  hour 

of  ease* 


137 

Or  have   placed  our  dead  with  honor,   in   a   grave 

their  valor  won, 
With   their  starry  flag   above  them,   bravely  waving 

in  the  sun! 
But  their  battles  are  all  over,  they  have  laid  their 

muskets  down, 
And   across  the  shining  river  each   has   taken  up  a 

crown ! 
They  are  gathered  with  God's  children,  in  the  pearly 

courts  above, 
Weaving   garlands   of  nepenthe  in  t^e  starry  looms 

of  love! 
They  are  treading  paths  of  glory  in  the  endless  sea 

of  spheres, 
Where  no  earthly  computations  can  denominate  the 

years ! 

Our  neighborhood   has  lost    but   one  —  BILL  ARM 
STRONG,  "  Stuttering  Bill," 

Whose  death,  I  know,  with  sad  regrets,  each  neigh 
bor's  heart  will  fill. 
'Twas  just  before  the  rout,   and   he  was  fighting  by 

my  side, 
A  grape-shot   struck   him,   and   he    sank,    without   a 

groan,  and  died. 
Brave  "  Stuttering  Bill,"  no  truer  heart  e'er  rushed 

into  the   fray ! 
No  purer  patriot  gave  his  life  for  Freedom  on  that 

day! 


138 

Who,  think  you,  that  I  saw  among  brave  MEAGHER'S 
headlong  boys  — 

Whose  ringing  cheers  arose  above  the  battle's  deafen 
ing  noise  ? 

Why,  PATRICK  DEEGAN,  to  be  sure  —  God's  blessing 
on  his  head  — 

You  should  have  seen  him  charging  through  those 
fearful  storms  of  lead! 

He  recognized  me  on  the  field,  though  swiftly  rush 
ing  by, 

And  called  out,  "  '  HARRY,  are  ye  there  ?  God  kape 
yees,  me  brave  Vy!" 

GAFFER  asks  to  be  remembered.  Let  me  say  for 
him,  just  here, 

He  is  bravery  incarnate,  knows  no  sentiment  of  fear; 

Watches  o'er  me  like  a  father,  shares  my  tent,  my 
couch  and  mess, 

And  my  slightest  hint  of  illness  seems  to  put  him 
in  distress. 

Love  to  all  the  dear  ones,  mother;  tell  MANOMIN 
I  shall  write 

To  her,  too,  before  retiring.  Bless  you,  mother,  and 
good  night!" 


PART  FOURTEENTH. 

EECOED  OF  THE  WAR-HAEEY'S  LETTEE  DESCRIBING  THE 
BATTLE  OP  WILLIAMSBUEa, 


(|/H,  parents,  you  whose  sons  have  gone  forth  from 

™          your  hearthstone's  light, 

Clothed  with  your   love    and  prayers    and  tears,   to 

battle  for  the  right, 
Who  can  appreciate  like  you   the  hopes,  the  fears, 

the  joys, 
That  are  awakened  in  your  breasts  by  letters  from 

your  boys? 
Oh,  maidens,  with  your  loves   in  camps,  you  whom 

battles  fill  with  gloom, 
Weep   and  laugh  with  poor  MANOMIN  in  the  quiet 

of  her  room. 
How  she   fed   upon   that   letter !     How,  beneath   its 

magic  power 
Did  her  heart  burst  into  blossom,  as  the  sun  unfolds 

a  flower! 
1*9 


UO 

She  read  it  and  re-read  it  o'er,  kissed  it,  and  again 

she  read, 
Bore  it  in  her  bosom  all  the  day,  at  night,  beneath 

her  head, 
Would  lay  upon  it  and  would  dream  of  hearing  rifles 

roar, 
And  wake  and  tremble  with  a  fear  of  seing  him  no 

more! 


The  war  waged  on    and  armies  grew    and  blows  fell 

thick  on  every  hand, 
By  sea,  by  shore,  in  swamp,  and  glade,  the  shock  of 

battles  shook  the  land. 

The  bloody  day  at  Wilson's  Creek,  where  brave,  true- 
hearted  LYON  fell, 
And  that  fierce  fight  at  Lexington,  where  MULLIGAN 

behaved  so  well, 
The  crimson  mem'ries  of  Ball's  Bluff,  where  sainted 

BAKER   calmly  died, 
And  the  red  record  of  Belmont,  where  rebel  numbers 

were  defied, 
The    fierce,  wild  fight  in  Beaufort  Bay,    where  old 

New  England's  valiant  sons 
To  South  Carolina's  recreant  knaves  taught   loyalty 

with  Dahlgren  guns; 
The  Drainsville  triumphs,  and  the  fights  at  Middle 

and  at  Silver  Creek. 


141 

Where  GARFIELD  won  and  TORRENCE  made  the  fright 
ened  rebels  cover  seek; 

Mill  Spring,  where  Minnesota  boys  piled  up  the 
traitors  on  the  snow, 

Where   Ninth   Ohio    bravely   fought   and    FRY   laid 

ZOLLIKOFFER   low, 

Fort  Henry  and  Fort  Donelson,  where  western  valor 
brightly  shone, 

And  Roanoke,  with  all  its  forts,  and  North  Carolina's 
coast  our  own, 

The  struggle  with  the  "  Merrimac,"  that  made  all 
Europe's  navies  reel 

And  shriek  to  see  the  age  of  wood  go  down  before 
the  age  of  steel; 

Pea  Eidge,  where  SIGEL  saved  the  day  and  BEN. 
McCuLLOUGH  justly  bled, 

And  Newbern's  sanguinary  fight,  where  noble  BURN- 
SIDE  bravely  led ; 

And  SHIELDS'  wild  strife  at  Winchester,  where  bright 
ly  shone  Ohio  men, 

And  POPE'S  bold  engineering  scheme,  that  gave  us 
Island  Number  Ten, 

And  Pittsburg  Landing's  bloody  fray,  and  New  Or 
leans'  great  naval  fight, 

That  filled  all  Europe  with  dismay,  and  all  our 
country  with  delight; 

And  Fort  Pulaski's  ragged  rents,  fierce  work  to  be  so 
quickly  done, 


142 

That  showed  the  world  how  forts  will  melt  before  a 

single  Parrott  gun  — 

All  these  wi  d  doings  filled  the  land,  and  kept  excite 
ment's  life  alive, 
Yet,  discontented  murmurs  rose,  like  buzzings  from 

an  angry  hive. 
Some  blamed   some  praised,  all  grumbled  loud    and 

all  some  little  fault  would  find  — 
Oh,  may  God  bless  the  patriot  man-,  that  battles  with 

contented  mind ! 
Full   many   a   letter   HARRY  wrote   while   prone   in 

idleness  he  lay 
In   front   of    Yorktown,   but   at   last   the  word   was: 

"  Strike  the  tents  to-day !  " 
Keen  LEE  had  drawn  his  forces  off  as  silent  as  an 

evening  wind 
And   left  MCCLELLAN,   cautiously,   to   feel   his   way 

along  behind! 
But  "  Little  MACK  "  had  glorious  stuff  in  that  great, 

splendid  army  there  — 
Impetuous  men,   but  brave   withal,  and  quick  to  do, 

and  bold   to  dare, 
Who  would  not  let  the  rebels'  heels  grow  cool,  when 

fairly  on  the  track, 
Although  MCCLELLAN  might  be  left,  they  did  not  care 

what  distance  back ! 
And  presently  the  country  rang  with  a  great  victory's 

trumpet  sound  — 


148 

"Hurrah!    hurrah,   for  Williamsburg ! "   the  million 

echoes  flung  around. 
Again,  in  EICHARD  THORNTON'S  circle,  anxious  dread 

and  palsying  fear 
Made  them  all  averse  to  hearing,  yet  most  wretched 

not  to  hear. 
Minnesota's  loss   was  fearful,   every   one   they   met 

had  said  — 
What  if  then  their  darling  HARRY,  what,  oh  what,  if 

he  were  dead? 
But  one  morning  came  a  neighbor,  and,  amid  a  hurst 

of  tears, 
They  perused  this  noble  letter,  which  at  once  relieved 

their  fears :  — 


"  With  the  drums  of  victory  sounding  and  the  woods 

with  shouts  resounding, 
Mingled  with  the  mournful   patter  of  the  black  and 

dismal  rain, 
I  am  sitting  here,  all  weary,  in  this  stormy  midnight 

dreary, 
Writing  home  to  you,  dear  mother,   and  MANOMIN, 

once  again. 
Oh,   my   brain   is   wild  with   bajttle;    still   my  senses 

seem  to  rattle 
With  the  volleys  of  the  rifles,  and  the  tumult  of  the 

fray, 


144 

And  the  cannons'  awful  thunder,  rending  heaven  and 

earth  asunder, 
Pouring  out   their  deadly  missiles,  swiftly  sweeping 

life  away! 
Peace!  be  still,  my  ruffled  being,  calm,  my  inward 

sense  of  seeing, 
While  I  tell  two  souls  expectant  of  the  glories  we 

have  won; 
And  our  brave  boys'  deeds  of  valor,  and  the  ghastly 

looks  of  pallor 
On  the  rebel  chieftains'  faces  when  the  chivalry  all 


run: 
Oh,  we  whipped  the  rascals  roundly,  beat  them  fairly, 

thrashed  them  soundly, 
As  their  list  of  killed  and  wounded,  and  their  missing 

ones  will  tell, 
As  will  our  brave  heroes  lying  stabbed  and  mangled, 

dead  and  dying, 
Along  the  line  where  HOOKER  for  eight  hours  fought 

so  well ; 
And  where  BERRY'S  Michiganders,  like  a  swarm  of 

salamanders, 
Eushing  through  the  line  of  fire,  fell  like  lightning 

on  the  foe, 
And  where  resistless  BIRNEY    and  the  lion-hearted 

KEARNEY 
Swept  a  swarm  of  ragged  rebels  to  the  gloomy  gulf 

below ! 


145 

How  will  shine  the  future's  story  with  the  burning 

deeds  of  glory 

Of  Colonel  DWIGHT'S  "Excelsior,"  and  old  Massa 
chusetts'    sons 
Under  BLAISDELL,  wildly  storming,  through  the  forest 

fiercely  swarming, 
Singing  dirges  to  those  rebels  with  the  voices  of  their 

guns ! 
And  the  brave  men  PECK  was  leading  —  Death's  wild 

summons  never  heeding, 
All  the  day,  by   fiercely  fighting,  held  a  crimsoned 

grove  of  pines, 
Until  HANCOCK'S  heroes,  turning,  with  set  teeth  and 

eye-balls   burning, 
Burst  with  steel  and  flame   and  bullet  on  the  yelling 

rebel^  lines  ! 

Oh,  that  charge!  'twas  brilliant,  splendid,  and  the  con 
test  quickly  ended, 
And  shook  the  tree  of  treason  from  its  roots  unto  its 

crown 
With  a  hurricane's  wild  power,  sweeping,  in  a  sudden 

shower, 
Hosts  of  withered,  blighted   '"butternuts'"  in  utter 

ruin  down! 
Now  the  furious  struggle  finished,  and  excitement's 

heat  diminished, 
How  the  tired  heroes  slumber  on  the  wet  and  muddy 

ground  ! 

19 


146 

All    but   those,    whose   torches  glaring  through   the 

woods  are   kindly  caring 
For   our   dead   and  wounded  brothers,  lying  thickly 

strewn  around. 
Oh,  my  mother,  after  battle,  when  the  volleys  cease 

to  rattle, 
And  no  more  is  heard  the  shouting,  or  the  stirring 

roll  of  drums, 
When  the  mind  is,  for  a  season,  gently  swayed  again 

by  reason, 
In   the   void,   oppressive  midnight,  when   reflection's 

hour  comes, 
How  my  heart  aches   for   the  dying,  and  the  badly 

wounded,  lying 
Stark  and  helpless  groaning,  moaning  in  their  pain, 

upon  the  ground. 
And  I  think  how  each  one's   mother,  father,  sister, 

or  a  brother, 
Or  perhaps  a  still  more  dear  one,  would  be  smitten 

by  the  sound  ! 
Oh,  this  killing  one  another  is  most  wretched  business, 

mother ! 
It   is  fearful  to  behold  us  fiercely  shoot  each  other 

down ; 
And   I'm  sure  the  angels  o'er   us — blessed  friends 

who've  gone  before  us  — 
And  the  merciful  All-father,   must  regard  it  with  a 

frown. 


147 

Yet,   as   often  as  reflection  turns  upon  the   South's 

defection, 

On  her  long  and  secret  plotting  to  destroy  the  na 
tion's  life, 
On   her  fierce,  high-handed  measures,  seizing  forts, 

and  ships    and  treasures, 

On  her  foolish,  mad  ambition  to  inaugurate  the  strife ; 
Then,  I  own,  against  the  traitors  —  those  red-handed 

violators 
Of   the   peace  of  all    our  firesides  —  the  authors   of 

this  war  — 
Who,  without  a  provocation,  stabbed  a  mild  and  lovely 

nation 
With  most  murderous  intentions,  never  knowing  what 

'twas  for, 
That  my  heart,  all  hot  and  flushing,   with  combative 

torrents  rushing, 
Rises   fiercely,  without   thinking   of   war's  woes  and 

wild  alarms ; 
And  then,  to  put  them  under,  I  would  hurl  all  heaven's 

thunder, 
Or  gulf  them  with  an  earthquake,  or  call  the  world 

to  arms ! 
Champions   of   a   cursed   dogma !    chivalrous,  if  love 

of  grog  may 
With   the  world   pass  current   for   that   questionable 

grace ; 


148 

Tramplers  on  a  brother  human !  base  defilers  of  black 

women ! 
How  I  scorn  you,  pompous  braggarts,  how  detest  your 

empty  race ! 
I  must  close  my  letter,  mother ;  for,  you  know,  there 

is  one   other, 
One    dear  one    who   would   sorrow   if   I   should  fail 

to  write 
To   her,  whose   presence    gleaming,   illuminates  my 

dreaming, 
As  I  slumber  round   the  fire  in  the   silent  camp  at 

night ! 
God   keep  that   dear  one,  mother;  may  you  always 

love  each  other, 
As  I  shall  ever  love  you  both  through  eternity's  long 

day! 
And  that  God  will  kindly  bless  you,  that  no  trouble 

may  distress  you, 
And  we  may  meet  once  more  on  earth,  your  son  will 

ever  pray." 


PART  FIFTEENTH. 

THE   CAMP  AT  NIGHT  -HARRY  ON  GUARD -"  HALT !  WHO 

COMES  THERE? ''-GAFFER  ENTRANCED- MESSAGE 

FROM  THE  SPIRIT  OF  A  SOLDIER! 


and  full  the  moon  ascended,   o'er  the  hill 
*»  tops  mounting  high, 

Pouring  floods  of  glory  earthward  through  the  deep, 

blue  cloudless  sky. 
JN~ot  a  breath  of   air  was  stirring,  all  the  landscape 

glowed  with  heat, 

While,  with  watchful  sense  of  duty,  HARRY  THORN 
TON  paced  his  beat. 
Air  and  tree  and  field  were  silent ;  nothing,  save  the 

muffled  tramp 
Of  the   sentries  and  relief  guard  broke  the  stillness 

of  the  camp. 
HARRY  was  serenely  happy ;  letters  had  arrived  that 

day 
From  his  parents  and  MANOMIN,  long  detained  upon 

the  way. 


150 

All  were  well  —  had  got  his  letters  —  prayed  for  him 

by  day  and  night  — 
Grandpa  felt  so  proud  of  HARRY  —  read  his  letters 

with  delight  — 
44  Thoughts  of  eighteen'-twelve  would  kindle  his  old 

face,  and  knit  his  brow; 
He  was  then  a  brave  young  soldier,  just  as  is  his 

HARRY  now ! " 
Then  MANOMIN'S  tender  missive  fell  upon  his  heart 

like  dew; 
All  simplicity  and  frankness,  trustful,  passionate  and 

true. 
How  her  being  yearned    to  clasp  him  —  yearned  to 

mingle  \vith  his  life, 
Yearned  to  form  that  perfect  oneness  —  truly  mated 

"Mdn-and-Wifel" 
Then   what    wonder   he  was  happy,  truly   loved   by 

such  a  maid, 
In    return    most    truly    loving  —  naught    suspected, 

naught  afraid ! 

Or  that  his  rapt  spirit,  flying  with  the  speed  of  glanc 
ing  light, 
Sought  MANOMIN'S   little   chamber,   as  he  paced  his 

beat  that  night? 
All  her  warm  and  ardent  kisses  rose  unto  his  lips 

again, 
And  his  veins  glowed  with   soft  fire,  and  his  heart 

ached  with  love's  pain ! 


151 

Then  her  love  flowed  through  his  being  like  the  in 
cense  of  pure  wine  — 
"Halt!   Who  comes  there ?"    "Belief!"  "Advance, 

relief.     Give  the  countersign !  " 
1Twas   the  guard   that    every  sentry  joys  to  know  is 

drawing  near; 
Sweeter  music  than   their  tramping  falls  not  on  his 

listening  ear. 
Toward    his    tent   did    HARRY  hasten  —  pray    what 

meant  the  gathered  throng? 
Something  strange  must  be  transpiring !     Listen,  what 

a  wild,  sweet  song! 
Full  a  hundred  awe-struck   soldiers   in  a  circle,  sat 

around ; 
GAFFER,  'tranced,  was  in  the  centre,  standing  upright 

on  the  ground. 
HARRY  learned,   upon  enquiring,  that,   since  fall  of 

early  eve, 
Witchful  things  had  been  progressing,  hard  for  senses 

to  believe  — 
Drums  were  beaten,  trumpets  sounded,  cymbals  jarred 

upon  the  ear, 
When  all  knew  no  drum  or  trumpet,  neither  cymbals 

were  there  near. 

Lights  had  blazed  from  GAFFER'S  body  —  voices,  call 
ing  men  by  names, 
Had  been  heard,   and  several  soldiers  saw,  within  a 

wreath  of  flames 


152 

The  calm  features  of  a  comrade  that  had  fallen  in 

the  fight, 
Heard  him  say,  "How  are  you,  fellows?"  then  he 

vanished  in  the  night ! 
Hands  had  travelled  round  the  circle,  stroking  each 

upon  the  head, 
When  a  band  of  unseen  voices   broke   into  a  song, 

they  said. 
"  Fellow-soldiers  "  —  hark,  'tis  GAFFER,  in  his  trance 

state  speaking,  now; 
See !    his   eyes   are   closed,    and   softly   a   pale  light 

plays  round  his  brow ! 
"Fellow-soldiers,    all   the   lessons   taught   by   earths 

profoundest  sage, 
All  the  wonderful  experiences  from  childhood  to  old 

age, 
All  the  store  houses  of  learning  prized  by  wise  ones 

of  the  earth, 
Are    as   nothing   to    the   lessons    of    this   death   and 

second  birth ! 
I  will  give  you  my  experience    and  'twill  answer  for 

you  all :  — 
In  the  straggle  at   Winchester  I  was  wounded  by  a 

ball; 
Stunned  and  dizzy  on  the  instant  I  sank  helpless  to 

the  ground, 
While  the  warm  blood  trickled  swiftly  from  the  deep 

and  fatal  wound. 


158 


In  a  moment  more  my  senses  were  restored   to  me 

as  clear 

As  I  ever  had  possessed  them,  and  I  lay  there  with 
out   fear. 
I  knew  that  I  was  wounded,  badly  wounded,  it  might 

be, 
But  thoughts  of  dying  from  that  wound  did  not  occur 

to  me. 
The  battlefield,  with  all  its  noise,  swam  gently  out 

of  view, 
And  scenes  of  home,  and  boyhood  days,  and  deeds 

my  childhood  knew, 
Came  drifting  sweetly  through  my  mind  while  there, 

without  a  pain, 
I  lay,  and  thought  of  friends  I'd  see  when  I  were 

well   again ! 

Sweet  flowed  the  current  of  my  thoughts,  and  peace 
ful  as  the  deep, 
When   not   a   zephyr   stirs   abroad,   1  sank  away   to 

sleep ! 
Anon  I  wakened,   and   beheld  sweet   faces  beaming 

round ! 
I  stood  erect! — no  longer  faint  and  bleeding  on  the 

grounpl ! 
"  '  Why,  how  is  this  ? 1 "  amazed  I  cried,  "  '  Oh  did  it 

only  seem 
That  I   was   wounded,   or  arn   I  now  cheated  by  a 

dream?'" 


154 


Then  looking  downward  to  my  feet  I  saw  my  body 

lie 
With  white,  stark  face  and  rigid  limbs,  and  glazed 

and  glaring  eye ! 
Ah,  then  the  truth  that  I  had  passed  away  from  things 

of  earth  — 
Had  crossed  the  dismal  vale  of  Death,  and  found  the 

second  birth  — 
Came  pouring    like  a  flood  of  light    through  all  my 

soul  and  sense, 
And  friends,   long  gone,  now  thronged  around    and 

ended  all  suspense ! 
'Twas    hard,   indeed,  to  realize   the   fact  that  I  had 

died  — 
There   bent   the   sky,  there  waved  the   trees,  along 

the  river  side, 
Here  were  my  hands,  my  feet,  my  limbs,  my  body, 

and  my  head, 
All   clothed,   erect    and   full  of  life!  oh,  no,  I  was 

not  dead ! 
Still,  I  had  passed  the  dread  ordeal,  had  drained  the 

fearful  cup, 
There  lay  my  musket   and  I  tried   but  could  not  take 

it  up! 
I  saw  my  friends,  and  thousands  more  bright  ones 

I  did  not  know 
Move  freely  through  the  ambient  air  where'er  they 

chose  to  go ! 


155 

Now  high  among  the  fleecy  clouds,  now  down  amid 

the  trees, 
Now  flying  swift  and  straight  through  space,  like  ship 

before  a  breeze ! 
Oh,  then  a  longing  filled  my  soul  to  try  a  starward 

flight, 
When   instantly    I    rose    in    air,    'mid    burnings    of 

delight ! 
I  drifted   o'er   the  battlefield,  where  yet,  in  fearful 

strife, 
Stood   ranks  of  men  with    sole  intent   to    take   each 

other's  life ! 

I  watched  the  stricken,  as  they  fell,  and  saw  the  pro 
cess,  grand : — 
The   body's  death,   the    spirit's  birth  into  this  happy 

land ! 
The  wild,  bewildered,  puzzled  look  as  each  his  form 

surveyed, 
Or  turned  his  glance  on  field  and  grove,  or  where  his 

body  laid, 

The  gathering  friends,  the  fond  embrace,  the  joy,  re 
placing  fear  — 
These    are    the    first    experiences   of    all   on   coming 

here ! 
When  in  my  body,  gun  in  hand,  so  willing  to  take 

life, 
I  little  thought  that  overhead,  spectators  of  the  strife, 


156 

ilung  millions  of  celestial  ones  with  sadness  in  each 

soul, 
To  see  man  on  his  fellow  man  such  tides  of  hatred 

roll! 
And  as  ],  too,  hung  o'er  the  field  —  made  wise  by 

my  new  birth  — 
My  being   wept  at  what  I  was  and  what   I   did  on 

earth ! 
Then  came  a  wiser  one,  and  said,  "  'Be  all  your  grief 

dissolved ; 
From  out  this  fiery  storm  of  war  shall  Wisdom  be 

evolved ! 
Behold   the  sun,  now  shining  down  o'er   river,   sea, 

and  land ; 
How  green  the  trees,  how  soft  the  air,  the  prospect, 

oh,  how  grand; 
But,  o'er  yon  ocean's  vast  expanse  behold  the  mists 

arise, 
Sucked  upward  by  this  shining  sun  to  darken  all  the 

skies ; 
Behold   the   heated   air   ascend   o'er   many  miles   of 

space, 
While  yonder,  from  the  frigid  poles,  to  take  its  vacant 

place, 
Comes,  charged  with  cold  and  thunder-bolts,  the  north 

wind,  sweeping  strong, 
And  o'er  these  peaceful  scenes  will  burst  in  fearful 

strength  ere  long  I 


157 

But  when  the  angry  storm  has  passed  and  shines  the 

sun  again, 
The  tree  feels  stronger  for   the  blast   and   greener 

glows  the  plain! 
"Tis   so    with   man  —  success   in  life,  prosperity  and 

peace  — 
To   feel   his  power  and  wealth   and   fame  day  after 

day  increase  — 
Begets  a  grasping   selfishness  within   his   hardening 

heart, 
That  leads  him  to  desire  to  seize  a  weaker  brother's 

part. 
This   done   then   arrogance    is    born   of    such  unjust 

success 
And  year  by  year  does  he  contrive  more  victims  to 

oppress ; 
Until,  at  length,  Harmonious  Law,  infracted,  once 

too  far, 
Asserts  its  potency,  and   lo !    the  land   is  filled  with 

war ! 
But   when   its    crimson   tide   has   ebbed,    its   furious 

strength  is  spent, 

The  moral  mind  will   treasure  well   the  lesson  that 
[  was  meant ! 

And   learn  to   know,   as   little   drops   wear   out    the 

granite  fast. 
So,  envy,   selfishness,  and  pride  will  lead  to  war  at 

last ! ' " 


158 

He  ceased,  and  swiftly  I  was  drawn  along  a  gleaming 

line 
To  where  reposed,  in  slumber  deep,  a  love  that  yearned 

for  mine ! 
Her   fair  young   face  reflected  forth  her  soul's  deep 

dream  of  joy, 
Her   spirit   rose   to   my   embrace  —  she    clasped   her 

soldier  boy! 
But  all  in  vain !  her  waking  sense  was  powerless  to 

impart 
That   story   of  her   spirit's  feast   to  her  enhungered 

heart ! 
For  though  to  all  we  may  draw  near,  as  freely  as 

we  will, 
That  few  are  subject  to  control  must  be  remembered 

still. 
The  how  and  why  that  this  is  so   to   me  is  not  yet 

plain ; 

A  wiser  one  is  waiting   here,    these   riddles   to   ex 
plain. 
My   soul   is   filled    with  joy  and  love   to  know,  that 

out  of  strife, 
I  have   emerged  to  glorious  day,   to  sure,  immortal 

life! 
We   have   a   fine,    ethereal   world,    encircling   earth 

around, 
Where  spreading  fields,  and  flowery  meads,  and  groves 

and  lakes  abound! 


159 

Where  music  breathes  in  every  sound  and  fragrance 

loads  the  air ; 
Where    graceful    trees   profusely   yield    the   flowing 

robes  we  wear ! 

Let  not  these  truths  be  shut  away  by  doubt's  obscur 
ing  wings, 
You  only  have  the  grosser  forms,  we  have  the  soul  of 

things  ! 
.Behold  the  lillies  of  the  field !  no  prince,  in  all  his 

pride, 
Was   e'er   arrayed    in   robes    so   rich,    so   delicately 

dyed! 
Whence  come  your  silks  ?  from  little  worms !     Your 

linens?  from  a  weed! 

Your  woolens?  from  a  creature's  back!   Oh,  wonder 
ful  indeed ! 
Whence  come  the  luscious  fruits  you  eat,  the  water 

that  you  drink? 
The    air  you  breathe,    the   birds,   the  flowers?     Oh, 

doubter,  stop  and  think ! 
Can  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow,  so  good  and 

potent  here, 
Come  short,   in  all  his  attributes  and  powers  in  our 

sphere  ? 

Oh,  no,  the  wonders  multiply  as  upward  you  ascend ! 
And   extacies  and  forms  of  bliss  seem  truly  without 

end! 


160 

God  gives  with  an  unsparing  hand  and  every  soul, 
that  will, 

At  all  the  fountains  of  His  love  may  freely  take 
its  fill! 

Then  fear  not  death,  oh,  fellow-men,  no  hell  awaits 
you  here 

Except  the  hell  you  bring  from  earth,  which  soon 
will  disappear 

Beneath  the  genial  floods  of  love  that  flow  from  ten 
der  eyes 

On  every  erring  child  of  earth  that  passes  to  the 
skies ! 

Your  envy,  pride  and  selfishness  will  then  be  buried 
deep 

In  earth  with  your  lost  robe  of  flesh,  in  everlasting 
sleep  ! 

And  all  your  higher  principles  will  day  by  day  ex 
pand 

Beneath  the  love  of  loving  hearts  in  this  celestial 
land! 

Then  fear  not  death,  my  fellow-men,  but  calmly  wait 
the  day 

That  shall  announce  your  second  birth.  —  Good  night, 
I  must  away !  " 


PART  SIXTEENTH. 

EXPLANATIONS  OP  THE   "WISER  ONE," 


reigned  throughout  the  circle  for  a  mo- 
^         ment,  then  a  strain 
Of  the  same  delicious  music  poured  its  volume  forth 

again. 
Hark !  what  is  that  air,  familiar,  so  distinctly  floating 

down? 
Ha,  the  circle  add  their  voices!    'Tis  the  ballad  of 

"JOHN  BROWN!" 
How  the  music  harmonizes  —  falling  soft  each  heart 

upon; 
How  the  chorus  stirs  the  spirit  —  "  John  Brown's  soul 

is  marching  on!" 
When  the  song  at  last  was  finished,  lo!  a  presence 

bright  was  seen 
By  the  side  of  GAFFER,   looking  calm  and  lovingly 

serene. 

161  11 


162 

Robed  in  stuff  of  finest  texture,  band  of  gems  around 

its  head, 
Oh,  how  thrilled  those  hundred  pulses  when  in  tender 

voice  it  said: 
"Brothers,  I  have   been    enabled   by  your  harmony 

to-night 
To   become   en  rapport  with  you,  and  be  patent  to 

your  sight. 
Rapport  signifies  condition  —  thus,  if  with  your  body's 

eye 
You  would  view  a  given  object  it  were  waste  of  time 

to  try 
Until  you  are  placed  en  rapport  with  it  by  the  rays 

of  light; 
Light,  then,   is   a   fixed  condition  necessary  to  your 

sight. 
"What  is   light?     'Tis  magnetism;  'tis   the  moulding 

law  of  God: 

'Tis  the  life  and  love  of  atoms,  Nature's  great  divin 
ing  rod. 
As   I   said,   His   magnetism  —  'tis  the  law  by  which 

you  see 
Blocks  and  stones,  or  one  another,  fields  and  fences, 

flower  or  tree, 
Yet   intensest  floods  magnetic  might  pour  ever  from 

the  skies, 
And  your   spirits  dwell   in  darkness,   were  you  not 

endowed  with  eyes. 


163 

Yet  the  eye  is  not  the  seer,   'tis  the  spirit  that  be 
holds  ; 
>Tis  the  eye  receives  the  vision  which  the  light  reflects 

and  moulds; 
And  when  you  shall  lose  your  body  and  your  eyes 

you  still  will  find 
That  your  light  is  magnetism,   softened,  deepened, 

and  refined. 

Now  each  one  of  you  behold  me  by  this  same  mag 
netic  light; 
Let  its  silver  cord  be  broken  I  should  vanish  from 

your  sight; 
With  your  eyes  you  do  not  see  me ;  close  them  and 

you'll  find  it  true, 

Only  by  your  spirit  vision  am  I  visible  to  you. 
Through  your  ears  you  do  not  hear  me,  stop  them, 

and  you  still  will  find 
Every  sentence   that   I  utter  comprehended  by  your 

mind. 
That  effects  arise  from  causes  is  one  of  the  sternest 

laws, 
And  by  GAFFER  though  you  see  me,  GAFFER  still  is 

not  the  cause ! 
He  is  simply  a  reflector   by  whose   aid   I   turn  the 

light 
On   your   inner   sense  of   vision,  this  reveals  me  to 

your  sight. 


164 

And  were  not  your  minds  receptive,  did  not  harmony 

prevail, 
From  between  us,  I  nor  GAFFER  could  a  moment  lift 

the  veil. 
I  perceive  that  you  are  asking   in  your  minds  the 

reason  why 
All  men  may  not  hold  communion  with  the  dwellers 

of  the  sky? 
The   solution   of   this  question   few  earth  minds  can 

understand, 
Though  it  is  the  simplest  knowledge  taught  you  in 

the  summer  land ! 

'Twould  he  hard  to  make  a  brother,  born  into  exist 
ence  blind, 
By  description  fix  the  colors  of  the  rainbow  on  his 

mind; 
Still  I  shall  attempt  to  teach  you  why  it  is  that  we 

may  come 
Freely  unto    certain  of  you,  while   we   cannot    unto 

some. 
First,   remember,   men  are  different,  no  two  beings 

are  alike, 
And  the  truth  of  this  assertion  every  mind  at  once 

will  strike. 
Walk  some  autumn  through  your  orchard,  raise  your 

eyes,  and  you  will  see 
A  vast  difference  in  the  apples,  growing  on  the  self 

same  tree, 


165 

Here   is  one  all   dwarfed  and  wrinkled,  by  its  side 

one  large  and  fair ; 
Both  the  children  of  one  parent,  nursed  by  the  same 

sun  and  air. 
So  with  men,  from  low  surroundings  some  will  rise, 

unfold,  expand, 
Crown  their  day  and  generation  with  a  record  great 

and  grand, 
While  a  child  of  the  same  parents  in  vile  ways  will 

take  delight, 
Die,  and  leave  behind  him  memories  dark  as  Egypt's 

fabled  night. 
I   refer   you   to   the   functions;  though   all   eat,  and 

sleep,  and  walk, 
Have  their  bright  and  gloomy  moments,  laugh  and 

cry,  reflect  and  talk, 
Do  not  all  perform  them  different  ?     Do  you  know 

of  any  two 
Who  are  similar  in  these  things,  or  like  either  one 

of  you? 
As   by  viewing   Nature's   functions  we  decide  upon 

God's  plan, 

So  the  outward  manner,   surely,  tells  us  of  the  in 
ward  man. 
Note   the  child  upon  a  journey  ever  meeting  faces 

new, 

It   will   pick   the   children-loving  at  a  single   inter 
view. 


166 


Thus  a  self-hood  of   conditions,  multifariously  com 
bined, 
Is   this   wonderful   immortal  —  crown   of   all    created 

kind. 
Not  a  single  message,  therefore,  can  the  longing  spirit 

send 
Through   a  mortal  whose  condition  is  not  suited  to 

that  end. 

The  musician  that  assayeth  to  produce  a  sweet  re 
frain, 
Every   cord   to   proper   tension   is   most   careful  first 

to  strain; 
Men  are  instruments  of  music  —  some  with  hut  one 

string  are  found, 
Others   two,   and   more   another,  tuned  their   proper 

notes  to  sound. 
While   we   sometimes  find,   though   rarely,    those  in 

whom  each  separate  cord, 
Nicely  tuned,  forever  utters  perfect  sounds  of  sweet 

accord. 
Now,  as  spirits  cannot  tune  you,  it  is  plain  that  they 

must  choose 
Those   whose  natural  condition  makes  it  possible  to 

use. 
Thus  have  I  attempted  plainly  to  impress  upon  your 

mind 
The  chief  reason  why  we   cannot  use   the   mass  of 

human  kind. 


167 

But  of  vastly  more  importance  to  each  brief  sojourner 

here 
Is    the    knowledge   we   would    bring   you   from   our 

sublimated  sphere. 
We  have  truths  to  give  you,  brothers,  broader  than 

your  wisest  give, 
Truths  that  light  the  "  *  Dismal  Yalley,'"  and  instruct 

you  how  to  live. 
Man  is  not   a   fallen  being;  from  the  lowest  forms 

of  life 
He  has  risen,  out  of  tumult,  out  of  discord  and  wild 

strife, 

Out  of  thick  and  groping  darkness,  out  of  supersti 
tions  blind, 

Out  of  bigotry,  intolerance,  and  narrowness  of  mind, 
Out   of    gross   and   cruel    practices   that    long    have 

stained   the  race, 

Man  has  risen  and  is  rising  to  a  more  exalted  place. 
"  '  By  their  fruits ' "  ye  are  '"to  know  them '"  —  and 

along  man's  path  you'll  find 
Fruits   abundantly   attesting    the    progressiveness    of 

mind. 
Turn  your  gaze  adown  his  pathway  for  two  hundred 

thousand  years, 
Note  the  caves  and  holes  he  lived  in,  and  his  barb*- 

rous  clubs  and   spears. 
Huts  and  tents,  and  bows  and  arrows,  rude  canoes 

along  the  shore. 


1C8 

Are  his  only  signs  of  progress  for  a  thousand  ages 

more. 
Then   a   glimpse  of    agriculture  and  of  pastoral  life 

appears, 
Which,  with  unperceived   improvement,  lasts  a  long 

decade  of  years. 
Then  we  find  the  clans  uniting  under  laws  for  general 

weal, 
Notice  also  woven  fabrics,  gold  and  silver,  iron  and 

steel, 

Costly  stuffs  of  silk  and  linen,  famous  for  their  gorg 
eous  dyes; 
Teeming  cities,  grander  dwellings,  and  huge  edifices 

rise; 
Swords,  and  instruments  of  torture,  armors,  shields, 

and  engines,  dire, 
That    projected    monstrous   missiles    and    incendiary 

fire ; 
Wars  prevail,  and  cities  crumble,  new  ones  still  arise, 

more  grand; 
Ships  loom  up  —  man's  mind  is  spreading  o'er  the  sea 

as  well  as  land. 
Slowly  onward  roll  the  ages,  man  expands  from  year 

to  year  — 
Hieroglyphics   come   and   vanish,    written  languages 

appear ; 
Startling  truths,  by  bold  proclaimers  in  the  teeth  of 

error  hurled, 


169 


Stir  the   rage   of    blinded  bigots,   and  electrify  the 

world. 
That  earth,  and  all  the  shining  stars,  were  planets, 

huge  and  round, 
And  moved  through  space  —  though  long  denied,  great 

truths,  at  last  were  found. 
The  long,  dark  night  that  shrouded  man  at  last  came 

to  a  close, 
And   'mid   the   murmurs   of    the   world   the   sun  of 

printing  rose. 
Then  rapid  were  the  strides  of  mind  though  fiercely 

error  clung 
To  her  dark  ways,   and  o'er  all  light  her  baleful 

shadows  flung; 
She  persecuted,  cursed,  and  scorned,  and  raved  in  her 

distress, 
As  year  by  year  truth's  sun  arose,  and  her  dark  shade 

grew  less. 
Now  Freedom  raised  its  head  and  bade  oppression 

lax  its  hand, 
Then  steam  was  born,  and  ribbed  the  earth  with  many 

an  iron  band ; 
Then  throbbing  telegraphic  threads  bound  shore  with 

distant  shore, 
Thus  triumphed  mind  o'er  time  and  space,  on  earth, 

for  evermore! 
The  planets  all  are  sun-born  things,  and  in  the  sea 

of  space 


170 

Swim  round  and  round  the  mother  orb,  each  in  its 

proper  place. 
Oh,  many  shut  this  truth  away,  and  will  not  hear  a 

word, 
Yet  is   it   writ  on   every  brood,   and   every   mother 

bird. 
Eternal  space  is  filled  with  God,  and  there  was  never 

hour 
When  every  atom  did  not  throb  with  his  life-giving1 

power. 
He  did  not  need  a  voice  to  call  a  something  out  of 

naught, 
Fruits  of  his  life  the  gleaming  suns  were  one  by  one 

outwrought  I 
From  every  loaded  orchard  bough  this  truth  is  plain 

to  see, 
Its  shining  worlds  of  fruit  attest  the  God  within  the 

tree! 
Your   sun,   projected    into  space,   unnumbered    ages 

rolled, 
Convulsed  and  torn  by  laws  that  sought  its  functions 

to  unfold ; 
And  when  maturity  was  reached,  its  monstrous  womb 

was  rent, 
And   forth   into   the  realm  of  space  a  radiant  child 

was   sent, 
And  ages,  more  than  man  can  count,  rolled  onward, 

morn  by  morn, 


171 

Until  at  length  this  earth  of  yours  was,  in  its  season, 

born. 
And  millions  upon  millions  more  of  ages  wandered 

by, 

Ere   Nature's  forces  ceased  to  strive,   and  dwelt  in 

harmony. 
In  early  days,  ere  cambrian  rocks  or  Cumbrian  yet 

were  formed, 
With  living,  moving  forms  of  life  the  shoreless  ocean 

swarmed, 
Thence    slowly  upward,  age  by  age,  progressed   the 

mighty  plan, 
Until   all   types  were   grouped  in  one,  and  lo !  that 

one  was  man! 
Although  his  mind  was  dark  and  fierce,  and  knew  not 

west  from  east, 
Though  evil,  yet  was  he  a  good,  considered  with  the 

beast ; 
The  law  that  raised   him  up  will  still   for   age   on 

age  refine 

The  offspring  of  his  loins  until  eternity  shall  shine 
With  love,  and  wisdom,  and  great  truths,  and  things 

the  good  most  prize, 
Incarnate   in  a  race  whose  source  we  vainly  would 

despise. 
And,  brothers,  when  your  souls  have  gained,  within 

the  body's  case, 


172 

The  sum  of  good  that  earth  can  give  they  '11  seek  a 

higher  place. 
And   there   will  still  unfold  and   rise,   and  rise  and 

still  unfold, 
Expand  with  joys  whose  extacies  no  tongue  has  ever 

told. 
The  world  doth  make   sad  work  with  souls  —  insists 

that  each  shall  take 
A  load  of   principles  that   lived   but   for   the   body's 

sake. 
The  spirit  needs  not  selfishness,  nor  envy,  hate,  or 

fear, 
Those  are   the   forces  made   to  drive  and  chain  the 

body  here. 
And  when  the  body  falls  to  earth  they  surely  will 

not  rise 
Along  with  love,  and  hope,  and  faith,  and  wisdom,  to 

the  skies. 
But  if  your  life  on  earth  be  bad  —  if  good  you  do 

not  seek, 

Then  will  your  spirit  attributes  indeed  be  very  weak. 
And  what  I  mean  by  seeking  good   is  strive  to  let 

your  mind 
Expand    with   sympathetic   love    toward   your   fellow 

kind. 
Be  not  absorbed  in  gaining  wealth  —  keep  well  this 

fact  in  view: 


173 

All  earthly  honors,  in  themselves,  are  worthless  trash 

to  you. 
Be  kind  and  gentle  in  your  homes ;  remember,  love 

is  best 
Developed  in  the  youngling  ere  it  leaves  the  parent 

nest. 
Decide   opinions   for   yourself,   yet   reason  deep  and 

long 
On  things  profound  ere  you  pronounce  them  either 

right  or  wrong. 
Think  much  upon  your  future  life,  and  often  of  each 

friend, 
Who  from  your  circle  hath  passed  on  to  where  your 

footsteps  tend. 
Thus  shall  your  life  on  earth  be  blessed,  and  scores 

of  tender  eyes 
Will  pour  a  flood   of  love    to  light  your  pathway  to 

the  skies. 
I  pray  you,  therefore,  heed  my  voice ;  be  patient  in 

the  right, 
Forgetting  not  your  great   reward;    brothers,   adieu, 

good  night." 


PART  SEVENTEENTH. 

THE   "FOLKS  AT  HOME  "-LETTER  FROM  BARRY  TO 
MANOMIN- GAFFER'S  STORY, 


wore  on  in  RICHARD'S  dwelling  —  months 
T          of  mingled  hope  and  fear  — 
All   good   tidings  straightway  darkened   by  the  bad 

they  feared   to  hear. 
"War,  they  felt,  was  no  respecter  —  wise  and  noble, 

good  and  true, 
Quite  as  often  as  the  vicious,  fell  before  its  bolts, 

they  knew. 

Anxiously  they  watched  for  letters,  and  when  "  mail- 
day  "  came  and  passed 
Each   would   ask    the    inward   question,    "  Will    this 

letter  be  his  last?" 
Oh,  those  letters  were  such  treasures  —  read,  re-read, 

and  read  again, 
Until  every  word   and   sentence  became   fixed  upon 

the  brain. 
174 


175 

All  deserved  a  better  record  than  this  humble  book 

of  mine  — 
Sentiments   most   high   and   noble,   glowing   in    each 

word  and  line. 
Fine    descriptions   of    the    country  which   the  troops 

were  marching  through, 
Minute   details  of   each   skirmish,  observations  fresh 

and  new, 
Fillial  words,    so   hope  sustaining,  full  of  tenderness 

and  love 
Toward  each  member  of  the  household  —  trustful  faith 

in  God  above ; 
Confidence  in  final  triumph,  though  the  sky  so  dark 

did  seem, 
Formed  the  burden  of  his  letters  —  were  his  almost 

constant  theme. 
One  June   evening,  while  the  shadows  softly  round 

the  doorway  crept, 
And  from  off  the  blooming  prairies  smells  of  sweetest 

v    fragrance  swept, 
Underneath  the  spreading  branches  of  a  patriarchal 

tree 
Sat  MANOMIN,   deeply   thinking   of  the   unborn   yet 

to  be. 
EICHARD  stealthily  approached  her,  taking  something 

from  his  cap, 
And  a  moment  leaning  o'er  her,  gently  dropped  it 

in  her  lap. 


176 

How   she   started!  how  she  clutched  it!     Then  her 

eyes  with  tears  grew  dim, 
Tears   of  joy    too  great  to  utter,  joy  to  hear  once 

more  from  him. 
Then,  with   face   suffused  with   blushes,   swiftly  she 

tripped  up  ihe  stair, 
And   with   palpitating  pulses  sank   into   the   rocking 

chair. 
Through  her  soul  a  storm  of  joy  swept,  making  all 

her  senses  reel, 
When  'twas  o'er  she  lit  her  candle,  and  then  broke 

her  letter's  seal: 


"  DARLING  ONE,  once  more  the  pleasure  of  addressing 

you  a  line 
That  may  keep  you  strong  in  courage  and  in  love 

and  hope,  is  mine. 
Courage    to   sustain   you,   darling,    should  some  rifle 

ring  my  knell; 
Love  to  blunt  the  edge  of  sorrow,  hope  that  all  may 

yet  be  well. 
Down   Virginia's   fertile   valleys   we   are    marching, 

day  by  day, 
Over   hills   and    through   deep   forests    patiently   we 

wend  our  way, 
Through  the  dark  ravines  and  gorges,  over  hamlet, 

farm  and  town, 


1 


Daily  we  go  sweeping  onward,  like  a  freshet  pouring 

down. 
Into  corn  cribs,  fields   and   orchards,   houses,  stores, 

as  on  we  go, 

Sadly  does   this   living   river  every  second  overflow. 
There   are   many   things   enacted    which    I    do    not 

care  to  tell, 
War,    at  best,  is    wretched  business,  that   I'm  sure 

you  know  full  well. 
But  there  is  a  little  story,  interesting,   strange   and 

true, 
That  concerns  our  honest  GAFFER  which  I  will  relate 

to  you. 
Tester  evening,  after  sundown,  in  the  fading  twilight 

dim, 
Having  found  that  he  was  absent  I  went  out  in  search 

of  him. 
We  were  camped  near  by  a  farm  house,  deeply  set 

within  a  grove, 
And,  as  if  to  further  hide  it,  climbing  vines  luxuriant 

strove. 
In  the  rear,  enclosed  by  palings,  with  its  tombstones 

glittering  white, 
Wrapt  in  peaceful,  sacred  silence  a  small  graveyard 

met  my  sight. 
Moved  by  some  strong  inward  prompting  I  removed 

the  wooden  pin 

12 


178 

That  secured  the  little  wicket,  swung  it  back  and 
entered  in. 

And  although  I  closed  it  gently  and  walked  on  with 
muffled  tread, 

Yet  distrustfully  the  "breezes  seemed  to  whisper  over 
head, 

And  the  willows,  hending  downward,  to  the  staring 
tombstones  said: 

" '  Let  us  watch  this  Yankee  soldier  here  among  the 
Southron  dead!'" 

E'en  the  moon  looked  down  suspicious  from  her  win 
dow  in  the  skies, 

Peering  at  me  through  the  branches  of  the  trees  in 
mute  surprise. 

But  I  wandered  on  in  silence  down  the  shaded,  grav 
elled  nave; 

Suddenly  I  saw  a  figure  stretched  full  length  across 
a  grave. 

I  was  startled  for  a  moment,  then  discovered  by  its 
clothes 

That  it  was  a  Union  soldier,  still  as  if  in  death's 
repose. 

Thoughts  swept  o'er  me  of  assassins  with  foul  pur 
pose  lurking  near, 

And  I  drew  my  '"Colt,"'  determined  I  would  sell 
existence  dear. 

But  no  murderous  hand  assailed  me,  triggers  clicked 
not  on  the  air, 


179 

So  I  carefully  moved  forward  —  heavens,  Was  GAF 
FER  lying  there ! 
Frightened,   I  sat  down  beside    him,    felt    his  pulse 

and  raised  his  head; 
He  was  clammy,  cold   and    rigid    and  I  thought  he 

must  he  dead. 
But  he  bore  no  mark  of  bruises,  stabbed  he  certainly 

was  not, 
For   1   ripped   his   vestments    open   and  no  mark    of 

thrust  or  shot 
Was    there    anywhere    about   him,    then    the  thought 

occurred,    perchance 
This  apparent  death  was  really  nothing  but  a  spirit 

trance. 
So  I  sat  me  down  determined  that  the  issue  I  would 

bide, 
When  a  drowsiness   came   o'er  me  and  I  laid  down 

by  his  side. 
Then  my  inner  sight  was  opened  and  the  graveyard 

blazed  with  light, 
While  amid  the  foliage  moving  there  were  scores  of 

beings  bright; 
And  I  saw  that  standing  near  me,  with  his  features 

lit  with  love, 
There    was   GAFFER   in    communion   with    a   maiden 

from  above. 
Oh,  her  radiant  beauty,  darling,  was  a  glorious  sight 

to  see, 


180 

And    my   spirit   thrilled   when   GAFFER    turned   and 

brought  her  unto  me. 
Her  tender  eyes  and  loving  look  and  faultless  form 

and  face, 
Her  silvery  voice  and  winsome  ways,  her  arilesness 

and  grace, 

The  fascinating,  thrilling  touch  of  her  angelic  hand 
Within    my  mind   have    crystalized   that   glimpse  of 

Summer  Land. 
And   never   more  can   I   forget   the   calm    and   holy 

bliss 
Which  renders  life  in  that  bright  world  so  different 

from  this. 
Here  selfishness,  distrust  and    hate  their  promptings 

never  cease, 
There   all   is  brotherhood  and  love,   enjoyment,  rest 

and  peace. 
My  trance  was  brief  and  coming   to    and    raising  up 

my  head, 
Saw  GAFFER  in  his  normal  state,  who  then  in  low 

tones  said : 
• '  Sit  up,  friend  HARRY,  close  to  me  and  hear  while 

I  impart 
To  you  a  tale  that   long   has   lain  a   secret   in   rny 

heart. 

A   score  of  years  ago  my  home   was  in   this  farm 
house  here ; 


181 

I  was  a  tutor  from  the  north,  employed    by  HUGH 

DE  VERE, 

A  rich,  aristocratic  man  and  proud  as  he   was  rich, 
With   many  a  thousand    rood    of   land    and  many    a 

bondman,  which 
He   seemed  to  think  endowed  him  with  more  virtues 

and  what  not, 
Than  couid  by  any  means  belong  to  those  in  humble 

lot. 
The   very  opposite    of   this   his  wife   was.   kind  and 

mild, 

With  heart  as  tender  and  as  pure  as  any  little  child. 
She  recognized  the  home  of  man  and  woman  as  on 

high, 
And  felt  that  all  the  aims  of  earth  should  be  to  learn 

to  die. 
She  was  a  lady,  nay  was  more,  an  angel  of  earth's 

sphere. 
And   like    her  was  her  only  girl,   sweet  ADELAIN 

DE  VERE. 
She  and  young  HUGH  my  pupils  were  —  she  eighteen, 

he  a  score, 
He  but  reviewed  his  Yirgil   and   some  things  he'd 

learned  before; 
While  drawing,   botany  and   French  and  music  she 

assayed, 
And   rising    o'er    all    obstacles   surprising    progress 

made. 


182 

HUGH  was  his  father's  counterpart,  full  of  that  gassy 

pride 
Which  leads  your  pompous  southern  man  to  scoff  at 

and  deride 
All   honest   men  whose   wealth   results   from   toil   of 

their  own  hands 
And  ever  ruffianly  parades  his  "  "  niggers  "  •'  and  his 

lands. 
I  bore   the  arrogance  and  pride,  the  insults,  taunts, 

and  sneers 
Of  both  the  senior  and  the  son   for  two  long,  bitter 

years. 
Still  not  so  bitter  that  I  would  not  gladly  take  the 

pain  — 
Aye,  twice  the  pain  of  those  two  years  to  live  them 

o'er  again. 
For  in  those  trying  days  there  came  a  compensation 

dear  : 
It  was  the  plighted  love  and  troth  of  ADELAIN  DE 

YERE. 
And,   HARRY,    I   had   dived    into   my   soul's   inmost 

retreat, 
Had   plucked    its   choicest    flower    of   love    and   laid 

it  at  her  feet. 

We  met  in  secret  oftentimes  within  this  little  wood, 
Full  well  we  knew  the  consequence  if  son  or  father 

should 


183 

Discover   our  attachment   ere   our  plans  were  more 

matured, 
That   fearful   insults   by  us   both  would   have   to  be 

endured. 
The  time  for  which  I  had  engaged  was  drawing  to 

an  end 
And  anxiously  those   fleeting   hours  I  watched,  you 

may  depend; 
For  I  had   promised  I  would  seek  her  father    and 

demand 
His  sanction  of    his  daughters  choice  in  giving  me 

her  hand. 
And  if  withheld,  as  well  we  knew  it  was  most  sure 

to  be, 
Then  boldly  forth  she  had  agreed  to  brave  the  world 

with  me. 
I  '11  not  recall  the  bitter  things  that  were  that  morning 

said, 
Nor  tell   you  of   the  vile   abuse  the  son  heaped  on 

my  head. 

It   is  sufficient  that  I  left  the  house  that  very  day, 
And  that  same  night  from  'neath  this  tree  I  bore  my 

bride  away. 
Young  HUGH   collected  a  rough  band    and  followed 

in  our  rear, 
But  we  were  made  ""bone  of  one  bone""  ere  he 

could  interfere. 


184 

In  frenzied  rage  he  bade  his  band  burst  in  my  eham- 

ber  door  — 
A    ruffian   entered   and    got   stretched    at  once  upon 

the  floor. 
Then  pistol  shots  flew  thick  and  fast  and  wildly  raged 

the  strife, 
My  blood  was  boiling    and  I  fought  terrifically  for 

life. 
The  bullets  rained  all  round  the  room ;  at  last,  shot 

through  and  through, 
I  fell  upon  the  floor,  but  not  till  HUGH  was  stretched 

there  too. 

Then  came  a  blank    and  when  at   length  my  con 
sciousness  returned, 

That  HUGH  was  dead,    my  wife  insane  and  I  pro 
scribed,  I  learned. 
A  score  of  men  were  organized  to  mete  me  out  my 

doom 
As  soon  as  I  had  gathered  strength  enough  to  leave 

my  room. 
A   colored  maid  of  ADELAIN'S  had  watched  around 

my  bed ; 
To  some  asylum,  far  away,  my  wife  was  sent,  she 

said, 
And  bade  me,  if  Pd  save  my  life,  to  rise  that  night 

and  flee, 
That  in  a  wood  near  by  she  had  concealed  my  horse 

for  me. 


185 

By  some  strange  luck  my  wounds  had  proved  mere 

punctures  of  the  flesh 
Which  left  me,  when  my  fever  passed  comparatively 

fresh. 
This  fact  was  gloated  o'er  by  those  who  lay  in  wait 

for  me ; 
Already  they  had  made  the  noose,  and  picked  the 

gallows  tree. 
I  fled  and  shortly  after  heard  my  wife  had  ceased  to 

live, 
Then  sought  I  that  seclusion  deep  which  only  woods 

can  give. 
And  there,   'mid  simple  hearted  ones,  rude  children 

of  the  wood, 

I  brooded  o'er  my  loved  and  lost  in  deepest  solitude ; 
'Twas  then  that  spirits  first  began  to  swarm    around 

and  give 
Those    tokens   that  when   death  ensues  they  do  not 

cease  to  live. 
And  often  with  my  ADELAIN  sweet  converse  I  would 

hold, 

But  not  until  to-night  have  I  been  able  to  behold 
Her  own  dear  self,  and  here  beneath  this  huge  old 

trysting  tree 
She   has   in   person   met   and   pledged  eternal   troth 

to  me. 
You   saw  her   for   a   little    space    and   many  more 

beside ; 


186 

God   speed   the   day   that    I  may  go   and  claim   my 

angel  bride.' " 
Such  is  the  story  GAFFER  told  and  such  I  give    to 

you, 

And   only   add  I  think   it  true  and  strange  as  it  is 

true. 
Now,  darling  one,  I'll  close  this  scrawl  by  bidding 

you  take  heart, 
Be   not   cast  down  if  years  shall  lapse  and  find  us 

still  apart. 
The  longest  time   doth  close   at  last   and  round  the 

hour  will  roll 
That   shall   unite   us   evermore,   one   life,   one    love, 

one  soul. 
Be  mindful  of  the  chance  of  war,  my  life  hangs  on 

a  thread, 

A  thrust,  a  shot,  a  bursting  shell,  and  private  THORN 
TON 's  dead. 
But  still  I  have  a  clinging  faith  that  yet  down  here 

below, 
Stretch  years  of  joy  for  you  and  me  —  God  grant    it 

may  be  so. 
With   prayers   that   you   may   keep   your   health,   be 

cheerful,  and  not  pine 
O'er  my  long  absence  and  great  peril,  I  am  forever 

thine." 


PART  EIGHTEENTH. 

THE   PENINSULA  CAMPAIGN -BATTLE   OF  PAIE  OAES- 

HAEEY'S  LETTEE  DESCEIBING  THE  BATTLES  OP 

MECHANICSVILLE,  GAINES'  MILL,  MALVEEN 

HILL,   &c,    CONSEQUENT  UPON  THE 

FAMOUS  "CHANGE  OF  BASE." 


surged   the    crimson   wave  of   war,   but   the 
whole  country's  face  was  turned 

To    Chickahominy's   low   swamps,    where   our   brave 
army's  camp  fires  burned ; 

"Where   thousands   of    our   gallant    men   sank   down 
beneath  malaria's  breath, 

And  like  a  fog  before  a  wind  were  swept  away  to 
sudden  death! 

For  one  long  month  in  that  low  swamp  did  our  de 
voted  army  lay, 

While  swifter  than  a  battle's  breath  miasmas  swept 
our  men  away ! 

And  by  and  by  a  furious  flood  broke  o'er  the  treach 
erous  river's  banks 

And  rolled  a  turbid  lake  between  our  army's  decim 
ated  ranks. 
187 


188 

On  CASEY'S.  COUCH'S,  HEINTZLEMAN'S  small  camps 

of  isolated  men 
The   sanguinary   rebels   poured   the   whole   of   their 

vast  army  then. 
Oh,  weird  and  wild  the  slaughter  there,  ten  thousand 

of  our  brave  men  fell; 
"Why  was  this  fearful  battle  fought,  ah,  who  in  this 

broad  land  can  tell? 
Why   was  a  treacherous   stream  allowed   so  long  to 

roll  its  waves  between 
That   wasted  army,  when  a  child  their  awful  peril 

might  have  seen? 
Thank   God,    the   rebels    prospered   not,    fruitionless 

their  bloody  schemes 
Were  rendered  by  our  gallant  men.     Brave  BERRY'S 

glorious  Wolverines 
And   York   State's   gallant   hearts   were   there,   and 

Keystone's  boys,  firm  as  her  rocks, 
And    old   New   England's   adamants   that   loved   the 

fiercest  battle  shocks. 
And  there  they  stretched  a  wall  of  steel  across  that 

sanguinary  plain, 
Against  which  their  wild  sea  of  foes  beat  furiously 

two  days  in  vain. 
Hushed   is  the  noise,   decayed   the  dead,  faded  the 

flash  of  saber  strokes, 
But  never  will  our  land  forget  the  fruitless  slaughter 

of  Fair  Oaks! 


189 

For  though  in  wild  disordered  mobs  the  rebel  host 

was  put  to  flight, 
While   thousands  of  their   ragged   dead  outlined  the 

boundaries  of  the  fight, 
And  though  all  Bichmond  fled  the  town  and  all  the 

South  grew  white  with  fear, 
Yet  "Young  Napoleon"  failed    to  march   his  army 

on  their  flying  rear ! 

Though  STONEWALL  JACKSON,  further  north,  by  FRE 
MONT'S  heroes  hard  bestead, 
Was   paying   all   along   his   route  a  constant  tribute 

of  his  dead, 

And   though  the  rebel  JOHNSTON  fell  and  LEE  de 
clared  their  cause  was  lost. 
Yet   paralized   McCLELLAN   lay  with  Chickahominy 

uncrossed ! 
For   three    weeks   more    he    dallied    on   in  that   low 

country's  poisonous  heat, 
And  then  occurred  that  change  of  base  which  seemed 

so  much  like  a  retreat! 
The  rebels  heard  with  wild  amaze  this  great  strategic 

move  of  MACK'S 
While  hourly  waiting  in  suspense  his  rushing  column's 

fierce  attacks. 
Then  bugles  sounded,  drums  beat  loud  and  ring  of 

sabres  stormed  the  ear, 
And  forth  like  bees  from  all  their  camps  they  streamed 

upon  MCCLELLAN'S  rear. 


190 

Wild  was  the  strife  that  soon  began,  for  one  long 

week  by  day  and  night, 
Our  wasted,  weary  but  brave   boys  maintained  that 

fierce,  unequal  fight. 
The  glorious   deeds  of  those  who  fought  in  that  ill 

starred  campaign  so  well 
I'll  leave  for  HARRY,  who  was  there,  in  his   long 

letter  home  to  tell ! 


"  DEAR  MOTHER,  once  again  I  take  my  pen  in  hand 

to  write  to  you, 
To  tell  you  I  am  safe,  and  of  the  dangers  I  •  ve  been 

passing  through. 
For  ere   this   reaches  you  there  will  the  lightning's 

swifter  feet  have  run 
All  through  the  land  in  haste  to  tell  our  bloody  deeds 

of  battle  done. 
And  well  I  know  that  hearts  at  home  will  ache  with 

anxiousness  to  see 
This  white-winged   messenger   of   love  come    flying 

through  the  mail  from  me. 
God   knows   I   would    not   add    one   beat   of    Time's 

great  pendulum  unto 
Your  poignant  seconds  of  suspense,  so  haste  at  once 

to  write  to  you. 
Along  and  fearful  march  we've  had,  through  wood 

and  swamp,  through  field  and  flood, 


193 

One  constant  roar  by  day  and  night  —  a  week's  red 

carnival  of   blood. 
I  cannot  give   the  full  details  of  those   terrific  days 

of   strife, 
Those  days  of  hunger   and   distress,   those  days  so 

prodigal  of  life. 
I   have   not   time    to   tell   you  now   all  of    that  long 

and  murderous  fray 
Nor  heart  to  tell  you  of  the  scenes,  the  fearful  scenes 

upon  the  way. 
Yet  still  I  feel  impelled  to  give  such  facts  as  came 

beneath  my  ken, 
In  justice   to  the   brave  deeds  done   and    hardships 

suffered  by  our  men. 


Around  Mechanicsville  we  lay  with  Eichmond's  gleam 
ing  spires  in  sight, 

Hoping  and  praying  every  day  for  orders  to  begin 
the  fight. 

There  was  a  strength  of  conscious  right  in  every 
loyal  heart  that  beat 

In  anxious  hope  before  those  walls,  which  would  have 
urged  with  rapid  feet 

The  living  bodies  of  our  men,  swifter  than  whirl 
winds'  swift  descent, 

O'er  abattis  and  rifle  pits  despite  the  storm  of  mis 
siles  sent, 


192 

O'er  bastions,  batteries  and  men,  forward  with  resist 
less  power 
Until  the  "  On  to  Richmond  "  bud  in  Richmond  should 

have   bloomed  a  flower! 
That  longed  for  order  never  came  but  airy  rumor, 

with  swift   feet, 
Went   whispering   round   from  tent  lo   tent    that  we 

were  ordered  to  retreat. 
One   man   amid   that   mighty  host,  one   small,  weak 

man,  aye  only  one, 
Who  'd  kept  us  in  those    poisonous   swamps  beneath 

a  scorching  summer's  sun 
Till  thousands  of  our  best  men  died,  now  bade   us 

turn  our  backs  and  flee ! 
Flee  from  a  foe  we  came  to  fight  —  flee  from  the 

very  task  which  we 
Had   left   our   homes   and   firesides,    our  wives   and 

children  to  perform; 
In   bitterness  we  turned  away  from  trenches  which 

we  came  to  storm! 
We  were  not  left  to  go  in  peace,  for  on  our  sullen 

rear  was  poured 
In   long,   deep,   yelling,    swarming    lines  the   whole 

exultant  rebel  horde ! 
We   fought  as  only  angry  men,  forced  'gainst  their 

will  to  shameful  flight 
By  iron  discipline  of  war  —  we  fought  as  only  such 

can  fight. 


193 

The  Chickahominy  still  split  our  splendid  army's  lines 

in  twain, 
The  bloody  tide  from  slaughtered  men  had  flowed  at 

Seven  Pines*  in  vain. 
So  when  we    came    to    Games'   Mill  where    all   our 

army  should  have  been, 
We  had   to  face  LEE'S  whole   command  with  thirty 

thousand  of  our  men. 
Brave  HEINTZLEMAN,  and  KEYES,  and  COUCH,  and 

FRANKLIN,  HOOKER,  KEARNEY,  too, 
The  dashing,  gallant,  one-armed  PHIL,  so  quick  and 

bold  to  dare  and  do, 
Brave  KICHARDSON'S  and  SEDGWICK'S  boys,  and  SUM- 

NER'S  lying  far  from  harm, 
Across   the   river,    twelve   miles   off,    in    idleness   at 

BARKER'S  farm ! 
Oh,    God!    the    agony  of   mind   no   human  pen  has 

power  to  tell, 
As  sharp  to    those  who  did  not  fight  as  unto  those 

who  fought  or  fell. 
Oh,   mother,    fancy,    if   you  can,    our   little  army  of 

brave   men 
In  long  thin  lines  stretched  o'er  the  field,  from  hill  to 

hill,  and  glen  to  glen. 
Prom   golden   dawn   to   dusky  eve  lying   beneath  a 

scalding  sun, 

*  Fair  Oaks. 

13 


194 

Fighting  a  fierce  exultant  foe  —  outnumbered  by  them 

three  to  one, 
When  just  within  three  hour's  march  lay  sixty  thousand 

of   our  boys 
Chafing-  with  rage  at  being  held  in  hearing  of  that 

battle's  noise ! 
In  vain  our  brave  men  stood  their  ground  and  in  grim 

silence  fought  and  fell, 
In  vain  our  heated,  well  worked  guns  rained  storms 

of  grape,  and  shot  and  shell, 
In   vain   our   horsemen   few,   but  brave,  with  naked 

sabres  gleaming  bright 
Made  furious  charges  on  our  foe,  now  on  our  left, 

now  on  our  right, 
In  vain,  in  vain,  while  beaten  back,  our  brave  men's 

tears  fell  free  as  rain, 

And  rallying,  still  more  desperate  fought  —  oh  match 
less  valor  all  in  vain! 
Our  cannon   one   by  one  were   lost   until  no  longer 

one  remained, 
And  while  outnumbering  us  in  front,  the  swarming 

foe  our  rear  had  gained. 

Call  after  call  for  help  was  made,  and  as  those  dread 
ful  hours  went  by 
We  strained  our  ears  in  hopes  to  catch  the  ringing 

cheers  of  succor  nigh. 
But  all  day  long  McCLELLAN  sat,  far  from  all  harm, 

with  brow  serene, 


195 

Unmindful   of   our  fearful  fate  —  great  God  above  I 

what  could  he  mean? 
T  will  not  blame  him,  mother  dear,  nor  call  him  coward 

till  I  know 
That  he  has  been  upon  the  field,  and  flinched  before 

an  equal  foe. 
Thus  far  ten  battles  we  have  fought  and  though  he 

stigmatized  McCALL's 
And  CASEY'S  men  as  cowards,  he  ne^er  heard  the  whiz 

of  hostile  balls! 
Though  at  Fair  Oaks  I  saw  that  when  our  two  days' 

bloody  fight  was  done 
He  pompously  rode  o'er  the  field,  past  many  a  dead 

and  wounded  one ! 
But  do  not  deem  I  wish  to  hint  that  he  's  a  coward, 

e'en  in  jest, 
I  know  not  how  he  might  behave  with  lines  of  bayonets 

at  his  breast ! 
But  to  my  story,  just  at  night  loud  cheers  rang  up 

the  echoing  glen, 
And  sweeping  on  with  gleaming  guns  came  FRENCH'S 

and  brave  MEAGHER'S  men. 
Ha !    ha !    how   thrilled  our  weary  hearts  with  wild 

delight's  hot   flushing  flow; 
And  quick  as  thought  our  broken  lines  reformed  and 

dashed  upon  the  foe ! 
Ah,  fiercely  then  the  rebels  fought,  hushed  was  their 

loud,  exultant  mirth, 


196 

With  but  a  dozen  fresh  brigades  we  might  have  swept 

them  then  from  earth. 

They  did  not  come,  but  darkness  did,  and  we  aban 
doned  the  attack, 
Then  came  an  order  from  our  chief  to  cross  the  river 

and  fall  back ! 
Oh,  then  indeed  our  hearts  were  racked  with  most 

excruciating  pain ; 

Obliged  to  march  away  and  leave  our  sick  and  wound 
ed  with  the  slain! 
All  night  we  toiled  along  the  road  while  thickly  flew 

the  rebel  shell, 
And  every  now  and  then  some  brave,  true-hearted 

son  of  freedom  fell. 
Thus  marched  we  on  for  six  long  nights,  halting  at 

every  dawn  of  day 
To  plant  our  batteries  and  place  our  weary  lines  in 

war's  array. 
Then  all  day  long  'twas  roar  and  noise,  and  whiz  of 

balls,  and  yells,  and  heat, 
At  night  tramp,  tramp!  through  swamp  and  flood,  in 

silent,  sullen,  grim  retreat. 
At  length  one  morn  our  heavy  eyes  were  gladdened 

by  a  joyful  sight: 
The  shining  waters  of  the  James  reflecting  back  the 

morning's  light, 
Three  hundred  bristling  cannon  stretched  across  the 

slope  of  Malvern  Hill, 


197 

And  rows  of  rifle  pits  all  dug  which  we  were  hasten 
ing  on  to  fill. 
Loud   rang   the   cheers,  for  every  man   beheld    this 

vision  with  delight, 
Assured  that  we  had  reached  at  last  the  termination 

of  our  flight. 
Eight  well  we  knew  those  silent  guns  the   dirge   of 

thousands  soon  would   sing, 
And  space  for  miles  and  miles  around  with  their  loud 

bellowings  would   ring. 
And  proudly  we  could  once  more  stand  and  say  to  our 

exultant   foe : 
•' '  Come   on   and   try   the    issue   here,    not  one  inch 

farther  will  we  go.' " 
Oh,  keenly  does  the  private  feel  the  stinging  shame 

of  a  retreat, 
Keener  than  serpent's  fang  if  he  has  not  been  first 

in  battle   beat. 
The    shots   may  plunge,    the    shells   may  burst,   and 

bullets  sing  around  his  head, 
The  wounded   fall  and   writhe   and  groan,  the  field 

be  covered  with  the  dead, 
Day  after  day  the  strife  may  rage  'mid  winter's  frosts 

or  summer's  heat, 

Yet  bravely  will  he  struggle  on  without  once  think 
ing  of  retreat. 
And  therefore  when  we   reached  the  hill,  we  cried, 

"'Hurrah,  the  die  is  cast! 


198 

Come  on,  you  ragged  rebel  knaves,  this  chase,  thank 

God,  has  ceased  at  last!'" 
And  on  they  came  in  treble  lines  and  furiously  the 

strife  begun, 
And  you  have  doubtless  heard  ere  this  that  it  was  a 

most  bloody  one. 
The  rebels  bravely  charged  the  hill  while  from  three 

hundred  cannon  sped 
All  forms  of  missiles  through  their  ranks  and  choked 

their  pathway  up  with  dead! 

Again  and  yet  again  they  charged,  and  oft  our  gun 
ners  would  stand  still 
And  for  a  moment  cheer  their  pluck,  then  give  them 

grape  shot   with  a  will ! 
At  every  roar  great  gaps  were  made  in  their  thick 

ranks,  yet  on  they  came ; 
'Tis  said  that  whisky,  powder-drugged,  their  wretched 

senses  did  inflame. 
Straight  on  they  marched  in  scorn  of  death,  amid  the 

roar,  with  steady  tread, 
And  cheered  when  they  had  got  so  close  that  all  our 

shots  flew  overhead! 
Then  from  the  rifle  pits  we  rose,  the  cheering  rebels 

paused  amazed, 
And  turned  to  flee  —  too  late,  too  late,  ten  thousand 

well  aimed  rifles  blazed! 
Oh,  how  they  fell  before  us  then,  like  autumn  leaves 

before  a  blast ! 


199 

They  could  not  form  their  ranks  again,  that  charge 
had  proved  their  best  and  last. 

Now  pond'rous  shells  came  screaming  up  from  gun 
boats  near  the  James'  shore, 

Which  with  our  batteries  and  guns  made  old  earth 
tremble  with  the  roar. 

In  wild  disorder,  through  the  woods,  the  frightened 
beaten  rebels  fled, 

And  left  behind  them  all  their  sick,  their  badly  wounded 
and  their  dead. 

The   battle's  smoke   has  cleared  away,  and  left  me 

without  scratch  or  harm, 
While  GAFFER,  brave   and  noble  friend,  received  a 

bullet  in  the  arm. 
And  PARTICK  DEEGAN,  too,  I  hear,  was  badly  wounded 

in  the  thigh, 
And  though  the  wound  is  quite  severe  the  surgeon 

says  he  will  not  die. 

And  further  says,  when  he  gets  well  Lieutenant  DEE 
GAN  he  will  be, 
For  valor  shown  at  Games'  Mill,    in  charging  on  a 

battery. 
But  I  must  close  this  lengthy  scrawl ;    best  love  to 

each  and  every  one ; 
God  preserve   you,  mother  dear,   as  He  thus 

far  has  kept  your  son." 


PART  NINETEENTH. 

THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN-REST  AT  LAST- "LETTERS 

PROM  HOME!»-MANOMEN  TO  HARRT-HER  PAINFUL 

PRESENTIMENTS -"GOD  KEEP  THE  BULLETS 

FROM  TOUR  HEART,  THE   BAYONETS 

FROM  TOQR  BREASTf" 


LL  hostile  sounds  were  hushed  at  last,  the  fearful 

roar  of  arms  was  still, 
warm   life   blood   in  crimson  streams  now  dyed 

the  slopes  of  Malvern  Hill. 
The  broken,  beaten  rebel  hordes  but  late  so  fierce 

had  fled  dismayed, 

No  longer  swarmed  their  threatening  lines  with  flash 
ing  gun  and  trenchant  blade. 
The   wounded   all    were   gathered   up   and  in   those 

trenches  lying  low, 
Gone   to   their   long   and    last   account,   reposed   the 

fallen  of  our  foe. 
Peace  to  their  souls !  for  they  were  brave,  mistaken 

true,  but  brave  men  still, 
And  to  their  madness  freely  gave  all  man  can  give 

at  Malvern  Hill. 
200 


201 

Our   own.  immortal   slain  were  grouped  in  separate 

graves  apart  from  those. 
Yet  narrow  was  the  strip  between  a  country's  saviours 

and  her  foes ! 
To  Turkey  Bend  our  army  marched  and  camped  on 

James'  grateful  banks, 
And  sought  the  rest  so  long  denied  to  its  thinned, 

weary,  way-worn   ranks. 
And  though  the  plain   that  round   them  spread  was 

low  and  sterile,  black  beneath 
The   scorching  rays  of  July's  sun,  yet  it  did   seem 

a  goodly  heath 
To  our  poor  tired  heroes,  who  might  eat  and  sleep 

and  rest  and  dream, 
Unsummoned  by  the  long  roll's  call,  or  plunge  into 

the  James'  stream, 
And  wash  arid  bathe,  aye  frolic,  too,  untroubled  by 

a  hostile  sound, 
Ah   yes,    that   scorched    unlovely  plain  to  them  was 

fair  and  holy  ground :  * 
"£etters from  home!"  rang  through  the  camp.  "And 

are  there  any,  sir,  for  me?" 
'Twas   HARRY'S   question.      "Yes,   my   lad,   you're 

lucky,  sir,  for  here  are  three." 
"Withdrawn  from  prying  eyes  apart  where  nature  his 

intenseness  shared 

*  The  leading  facts  and  principal  features  of  the  description  of  the  Pen 
insula  Campaign  have  been  taken  from  an  article  in  "Harpers'  Monthly," 
May  and  June  No3. 1865;  by  JOHN  S.  C.  ABBOTT,  entitled  "  Heroic  Deeds  of 
Jleroic  Men.''' 


202 

His  spirit  reveled  in  the  feast  his  far  off  loved  ones 

had  prepared. 
His  heart   beat  warm  with   glorious  joy,  obliviously 

the  hours  sped 
As  from  MANOMIN  unto  him  this  letter  o'er  and  o'er 

he   read :  — 

"It  is  Sunday  morning,  HARRY,  and  the  air  is  sweet 

without, 
And  through  the  trees  before  the  door  bright  birds 

flash  in  and  out; 
Both  your  father  and  your  mother  and  little  JESSIE, 

too, 
And  one  who  loves  you  more  than  all,  are  writing 

unto  you. 
Do  you  ever  think,  dear  HARRY,  of  the  day  when 

we  first  met? 
Like  a  white  robed  angel  that  bright  morn  stands  in 

my  mern'ry  yet! 
Oh,   I   was    but   a   wild   thing   then,  decked   out   in 

beaded  hood 
And  Indian  skirt  and   moccasins,   dark  daughter  of 

the  wood, 
Who  loved  naught  but  her  fishing  rod,  her  gun  and 

light  canoe 

Until  that  ever  blessed  morn  God  sent  her  unto  you. 
But  now  my  gun  is  red  with  rust,  my  fishing  rod  is 

broke 


203 

And  all  my  Indian  tastes  and  dress  have  vanished 

into  smoke; 
For  now  I  'm  EICHARD  THORNTON'S  child,  the  blessed 

and  the  good, 
And   oh,   'tis  meet   I   lay  aside  those   relics  of   the 

wood. 
But  still  I  love  the  wild  woods  yet  and  Ida's  jewelled 

shore, 
And  hourly  wish  the  time  would  come  when  you  and 

I  once  more 
Might  stroll  together  as  of  old.     Oh,  HARRY,  in  my 

»  heart 

A  light  went   out   and   left   it  dark  when   we  were 

forced   apart; 
And  some   prophetic   inner   sense    seems  whispering 

in  my  ear, 

"'Alas,   poor  child,  that  light   shall   ne'er  be  re-il 
lumined  here ! ' " 
Sometimes  in  dreams  I  see  you  stretched  in  death's 

eternal  sleep, 
When  with   a   cry  of   wild   affright  I  waken  up  to 

weep. 
And  then  'tis  me  that  some  fierce  deed  removes  from 

earth  away  — 
Oh,  why  does  this  strange  feeling  haunt  my  breast 

from  day  to  day? 
I  shall  be  mindful  of  war's  chance,  and  oh,  I  know 

full    well 


204 

That  any  moment  but  a  "'thrust,  a  shot,  or  bursting 

shell"1 
May  rob  me  of  the  one  bright  form  my  soul  so  longs 

to  see, 
One  warm,  true  heart  whose  priceless  love  is  all  in 

all  to  me! 
Eut  if  a  soul's  most  earnest  prayers,  put  up  by  day 

and  night, 
Can  shield  you  from  disease  of  camps  and  perils  of 

the  fight 
Then  are  you  safe,  my  life,  my  love,  for  there  does 

not  arise 
From   all   the   murmuring   lips   of   earth   up  to   the 

bending  skies, 
Up   through   the   thronging  angel  choirs,  up  to  the 

Ear  divine 
A  name   so   often   born   in   prayer,  oh  darling   one, 

as  thine  ! 
But   notwithstanding   all   my   faith   fear's   cold   and 

anxious  flood 
Flows  through  the  chambers  of  my  soul  like  poison 

through  the  blood, 
And  sharp  impressions  of  keen  grief  and  trials  I  am 

loth 
To  think  upon  bum  in  my  heart  and  fiercely  menace 

both. 
'Tis  said  the  Sioux*  are  in  a  rage  because  they've 

not  been  paid; 

*  Pronounced  Sooa. 


205 

That  they  will  rise   and  wage   a  war  some  settlers 

are  afraid; 
But  they  are  so  far  south  of  us  that  we  need  have 

no  fear, 
I'm   sure  an  army  might  be  raised   ere  they  could 

reach  us  here. 

The  farm  is  doing  excellent,  the  corn  is  very  fine, 
The   wheat  and  oats  are   heading  out,  the   garden's 

care  is  mine; 
Still  I  have  leisure  time  to  read  and  practice  every 

day 
And   many  of   your  favorite  songs  have  learned   to 

sing  and  play. 

In  freedom's  service  late  enrolled  are  several  neigh 
bor's  names : 
GEORGE  BANCROFT  and  young  PERCY  BARNES  and 

gallant  JOSEPH  JAMES, 
The  brave  young  cockney  HENRY  COOK  and  JACOB 

PRETZLE,  too, 
Who  burn  to  show   Columbia  what  her  foster  sons 

can   do, 
Broad  shouldered,  stalwart  JULIUS  FROST,  JIM  DICKEN, 

trapper  JIM; 
No  truer  rifle  pours  its  death  than  that  which  rings 

for  him. 
The  two  KINKEADS,  the  WHITEFIELD  boys,  JAMES 

SHOTWELL,  true  and  good, 

Son  of  that  fine  old  man  who  lives  down  in  the  six 
mile  wood 


206 

Hard  by  the  shores  of  that  sweet  lake,  where  every 

passer  by, 
Upon  the  scenic  banquet  spread  regales  with  eager 

eye. 
All  whom  you  love  are  well,  HARRY,  and  send  their 

love  to  you, 
And  pray  your  blessings  may  be  great  and  hardships 

may  be  few. 
You   hope    to   get  a  furlough   soon  to  visit    us,  you 

say, 
Oh  may  God  swiftly  speed  the  time  and  hasten  that 

white   day ! 
To  GAFFER  give  my  kind  regards,  his  story  touched 

my  heart, 

Oh,  I  can  realize  the  pain  when  ruthlessly  apart, 
Two  souls   that   beat  as  one  are  torn  by  rude  and 

ruffian  hand, 
And  His  a  blessed   thing  to  know  there    is  a  better 

land 
Where  every  wrong  will  be  set  right  and  all  mistakes 

be  known, 
And  every  soul   that  seeks  for  love  will  recognize 

its  own 
True  counterpart,  true  other  half  and  they,  a  perfect 

ONE, 

May  live  forever  steeped  in  bliss,  accountable  to  none ! 
To  PATRICK  DEEGAN  give  my  love ;  may  God's  pro 
tecting  care, 


207 


By  day  and  night,   in  camp  and  field  be  with  him 

everywhere ! 

He  is  a  noble  gallant  man,  a  generous  hearted  friend, 
God  grant  unscathed  he  may  be  brought  out   safely 

to  the  end. 
Alas,  my  paper  is  most  full,  oh,  God,  how  can  I 

close  ? 
Would  I  could  be  transported  too  to  where  this  letter 

goes! 
Good  bye,  my  darling,  yet  it  wrings  my  soul  to  say 

good  bye, 
For  now,  just  now  I  seem  to  feel  an  hour  of  anguish 

nigh! 
Good  bye  once  more ;  God  grant  I  may  soon  hear 

again  from  you 
Despite  the  whisper  in  my  heart,  "  '  This  is  your  last 

adieu  I ' " 
Oh  must  I  close,  my  darling  one?     May  you  be  ever 

blest  ; 
God  keep  the  bullets  from  your  heartf  the  bayonets 

from  your  breast!" 


PART   TWENTIETH. 

THE  FRONTIER  HOMES-PEAEFUL  RUMORS- ARRIVAL  OF 
HARRY -A  TERRIFIC  FIGHT  IN  THE  DARK  WOODS -AWFUL 
MASSACRE  OF  THE  THORNTON  FAMILY- THE  BODY  OF 
MANOMIN  NOT  FOUND -THE  HEGIRA  OF  THE  SETTLERS  - 
HEART  RENDING  SCENES  OF  MURDER -BATTLES  OF  BIRCH 
COOLIE  AND  RED  WOOD  LAKE  -  CAPTAINS  MARSH  AND 
STROUT— DEATH  OF  LITTLE  CROW, 


Qj/HE  waving  grain  was  ripe  and  full  and  expectation's 

^  heartbeat  high 

At  every  Douglas  County  hearth  o'er  this  especial 

harvest  nigh. 
Those  frontier   farmers  who  had   toiled  so  long,   so 

patient  and  severe, 
Had  lived  in  cabins  rude  and  dark  for  many  a  weary, 

weary  year, 
Subsisting  only  on  such   fare   as  could   be  snatched 

from  woods  or   streams 
Now  saw  in  their  broad  fields  of  grain  the  rich  fruition 

of  their  dreams! 
208 


209 

The  first  rude  cabin  each  had  built,  with  rough,  uneven 

puncheon  floor, 
With  walls  unseemly  "chinked"  and  "daubed"  and 

flat,  trough  roof  besodded  o'er, 

Behind  a  grander  edifice  was  now  forever  hid  away, 
Where,  'neath  the  gnawing  teeth  of  Time  it  crumbled 

slowly  to  decay. 
Their  flocks  and  herds  increased  apace  and  broader 

grew  their  cultured  land, 
And  from  each  passing  year  they  wrung  some  meed 

of  gain  with  horny  hand. 
Long  and  severely  they  had  toiled  but  now  they  felt 

themselves  repaid 
For  every  extra  hardship  borne  or  every  special  effort 

made. 

Indeed  they  deemed  themselves  quite  rich,  and  care 
less  of  the  future's  store, 
Viewed   most   complacently  the   years   now   looming 

grandly  up  before ! 
Ah,  false  security !  how  soon  their  hopes  were  mixed 

with  anxious  fears ! 
Then  confirmation  of  the  worst,  then  flight  and  terror, 

blood  and  tears! 
For  many  days  the  airy  tongue  of   trackless  rumor 

had  proclaimed 
The  temper  of  the   sullen   Sioux   as  daily  growing 

more  inflamed. 


14 


210 

None  but  the  nervous  gave  them  heed  and  they  soon 

whistled  down  their  fear, 
"  The  Sioux  1  oh  pshaw!  too  few  !  too  far !  no  danger 

of  their  coming  here!" 
And  gaily  they  cut  down  their  grain  and  gaily  rose 

their  harvest  glee, 
As  if  such  things  as  scalping  knives  and  murdering 

Indians  could  not  be. 
At  length,  as  rumors  grew  apace,  and  some  began  to 

heed  the  tale, 
Came  HARRY  THORNTON  from  below  upon  the  stage 

coach  with  the  mail. 
Then  for  a  moment  the  fierce  tales  of  hatchet,  knife 

and  fire  brand, 
"Were  quite  forgotten  as  they  rushed  around  the  coach 

to  shake  his  hand, 
"I'm  glad  to  see  you,  friends,"  he  said,  "but  there 

is  little  time  to  spare, 
The  murdering   Sioux  have  scattered   out  along  the 

frontier  everywhere. 
So  I  must  hasten  home  at  once;  I  thought  to  meet 

my  father  here ; 
Alas,  alas,  I  know  not  why,  but  I  am  racked  with 

strangest  fear. 

Will  any  one  go  with  me  home  ?  "     Three  men  step 
ped  out,  three  true  and  good, 
Stepped  out  at  once  with  gun  in  hand  and  promptly 

answered  that  they  would. 


211 

'Twas  Uncle  DARLING  and  ED.  WRIGHT  and  ANDREW 

AUSTIN,  all  brave  men 
As   ever  made  a  rifle   ring  o'er  lake   or  forest,  hill 

or  glen. 
The  Ibur  set  out,  it  was  five  miles,  and   through  a 

forest  deep  and  dark, 
And  they  had  travelled  half  the  way  to  THORNTON'S 

dwelling  house,  when  hark! 
The   ring  of   rifles   faintly  came    borne   to   them  on 

the  rayless  air, 
"  In  God's  name,  boys,  let 's  hurry  on,  I  fear  those 

shots  mean  mischief  there!" 
'Twas  HARRY  spoke  and  then  each  one  went  springing 

on  with  speedier  tread, 
And   presently    they   saw   the   house  —  "Hold   on  a 

moment !  "  DARLING  said  ; 
"Quick!  quick!  there's  Injuns!  fly  to  trees!  be  cool 

and  cautious  and  take  care ! " 
Just  then  six  livid  sheets  of  flame  flashed  out  upon 

the  darkness  there, 
And  six  clear,  ringing,  loud  reports  awakened  all  the 

echoes  round, 
And  AUSTIN  and  poor  EDWIN  WRIGHT  fell  stricken 

lifeless  to  the  ground ! 
Swift  as  two  tigers  from  their  lairs  sprang  DARLING 

and  young  HARRY  out, 
Six  stalwart  Indians  drew  their  knives  and   rushed 

upon  them  with  a  shout ! 


212 


The   foremost   two  went   down  at  once  before  their 

rifles'  deadly  breath, 
And  HARRY  quickly  sent  a  third  with  his  revolver 

down  to  death. 
Another's   brains   were    scattered    wide    by   "  Biting 

Betty's1'  crashing  breech, 
Then  hand  to  hand  they  waged  the  fight,  one  Indian 

but  remained  for  each. 
The  strife  was  brief,  for  DARLING  wrenched  the  Knife 

from  out  his  foeman's  grasp 
And  struck  him  dead,  and  quickly  then  his  tomahawk 

he  did  unclasp 
And  rushing  up  dashed  out  the  brains  of  HARRY'S 

foe  in  time  to  save 
The  swift,  keen  scalping  knife's  descent  that  would 

have  sent  him  to  his  grave  ! 

They  stopped  not  there  for  words  or  tears  or  com 
ments  on  that  furious  fight, 
But   rushing   on  to   THORNTON'S    house  —  oh,   God! 

how  dreadful  was  the  sight ! 
Poor  THORNTON,  mangled,  cut  and  slashed,  lay  stripped 

and  swimming  in  his  gore, 
And  ESTHER,  stabbed  and  scalped  and  shot,  lay  dead 

and  naked  on  the  floor ! 
And  ESTHER'S  father !  oh,  my  God !  how  must  these 

horrid  deeds  appal! 
His   head   was  severed   from   its   trunk   and    grimly 

nailed  against  the  wall ! 


213 

Sweet  little  JESSIE,  angel  child,  sure  demons  would 

have  spared  her  life, 
But  these  vile  murderers  cut  her  throat  and  stabbed 

Ixer  with  a  scalping  knife! 
MANOMIN'S  body  was  not  found,  but  smeared  with 

blood  her  rifle  lay 
Across  the  threshold  and  they  said,  "  She  has  been 

killed  and  dragged  away." 
Those  were  the  six  that  now  lay  dead  a  few  rods 

back  there  in  the  wood, 
But  oh,  great  God!  it  was  too  late,  it  seemed  their 

death  had  done  no  good ! 
Whose  pen  can  paint,  whose  heart  conceive  the  rush 

of  grief,  the  wild  despair 
That  bleakly  swept  poor  HARRY'S  soul  as  he  beheld 

the  slaughter  there  ? 
"Oh  Jesus!  bend   thy  shining  head  down  from  thy 

glittering  throne  to-night ! 
Let  all  high  heaven's  pitying  hosts  look  down  upon 

this  fearful  sight! 
And  give  me  strength  of  heart  and  limb  and  eagle 

steadiness  of  eye 
To  run  these  ruthless  redskins  down  and  hunt  them 

till  the  last  shall  die! 
Oh,  God!  how  black  this  world  has  grown  in  one  short 

hour!  can  it  be, 
That  I  am  left  an  orphan  boy  with  none  on  earth 

to  cherish  me  ? 


214 

Oh,  no !  my  blessed  country  stands  with  outstretched 

arms  to  claim  her  boy! 
yes!  yes!  I'm  thine,  Columbia!  henceforth  you  are 

my  only  joy ! 
You  are  my  father !  mother,  too !  you  are  MANOMIN, 

all  my  life ! 
You  are  my  sister !  and  oh,  God !  I  'm  thine  for  war 

and  bloody  strife  !  " 
Then  came  the  hot   tears  gushing   forth  —  he   wept 

as  only  strong  men  can, 
And  Uncle   DARLING  with   wet   eyes    said,   "  Come, 

my  boy !  come  !  be  a  man !  " 
And  with   a    mighty    effort   then   he    crowded    back 

upon  his  heart 
That  bitter,  scalding  flood  of  grief  that  had  so  rent 

his  soul  apart ! 
Then  for  MANOMIN  long  they  searched,  they  called 

her  name  but  failed  to  hear 
The   faintest   answer   or   response  from  any  human 

being  near. 
No  single   trace  of  her  appeared,    no  track  of  foot 

or  shred  of  dress 
To  guide  them  in  their  anxious  search  or  ease  one 

pang  of  their  distress ! 
They  did    not  dare    to  linger  long,   reluctantly  they 

gave  her  up, 
Thus  to  the  very  brim  was  filled  with  bitterness  poor 

HARRY'S  cup. 


215 

A  team  was  geared  and  in  the  box  the  bodies  tenderly 

were  placed, 
When  quickly  .with  sad,   heavy  hearts  their  fearful 

footsteps  they  retraced. 
They  picked   up   AUSTIN   and   young  WRIGHT   and 

hurried  forward  to  the  town 
To   find  a  swarm   of  fugitives  from  up  the  country 

pouring  down, 

With  tales  of  prowling  Indian  bands,  of  houses  wrap 
ped  in  flame  and  smoke, 
Of  mothers  murdered,  children  brained,  of  rifle  shot 

and    hatchet  stroke ! 
Oh,  all  was  panic  'and  despair  and  faces  paled  and 

hearts  grew  white, 
Both   men   and    women    for   a   time  were    wild   and 

helpless  with  affright ! 
But   rapidly  they  organized ;    there  were  a  hundred 

stalwart  men, 
And  as  they  gripped  their  trusty  guns  they  lost  all 

fear  of  Indians  then. 
In  four  rude  coffins,  quickly  made,  in  one  broad  grave 

were  HARRY'S  dead 
That  night  interred  in  DARLING'S  yard,  and  stones 

heaped  o'er  their  lonely  bed. 
With  Uncle   DARLING  at  their  head  the  settlers  all 

now  started  out, 
Expecting  every  mile   to  hear  the  ring  of  rifles  on 

their  route. 


216 

And  every  night   they  saw  all   round   the  glare  of 

flames  across  the  plain, 
And  flying  fugitives  came  in  to  tell  their  tales  and 

swell  the  train. 
But  one  bright  morn,  with  thankful  hearts,  they  saw 

St.  Cloud's  white  houses  shine, 
And  one  wild  ringing  shout  of  joy  went  flying  down 

that  lengthy  line ! 
Their  wives  and  little  ones  were  safe,  need  dread  no 

more  the  hatchet's  gleam, 
The   sudden   shot,    the"  scalping   knife,    the   Indian's 

awful  midnight  scream ! 

And  they  would  take  their  guns  at  once,  and  reso 
lutely  turning  back, 

'Would   follow    up   the   murderers'   trails   like   blood 
hounds  on  a  victim's  track. 
They  went,  and  oh !  what  tongue  can  tell  the  dreadful 

sights  that  met  their  eyes? 
Young  children's  heads  cut  off  and  turned  all  ghastly 

glaring  to  the  skies! 
Bodies   cut    up   and    trees   festooned   with   all    their 

horrid  fragments,  there, 
Girls  disembowelled  and  on  limbs  hung  tied  together 

by  the  hair. 
Great  stalwart  men  shot  down  and  scalped,  their  heads 

oft  skinned  completely  o'er, 
While  their  young  wives  in  agony  were  nailed  stark 

naked  to  the  floor ! 


217 

Small  children's  eyes  dug  out  while  each  dark  socket 

held  a  musket  ball, 
And  unborn  babes  ripped  out  and  spiked  alive  and 

writhing  to  the  wall! 
Oh,  you,  who  walled  within  warm  homes  may  safely 

seek  your  couch  at  night, 
You    cannot    feel    the   deathly   fear,    the    wild   and 

withering  affright, 
That   swept   along   that   broad   frontier,   like  prairie 

fires  rushing  down, 
And  drove  a  thousand  households  there  all  breathless 

to  the  nearest  town! 

Their  grain  in  stack  or  shocked  in  field,  and  house 
hold  goods  behind  were  left, 
And.  soon  by  Indian's  torch  of    them  were  the  poor 

fugitives  bereft. 
Their  cows   and   oxen   too,  were   killed,   shot   down 

wherever  they  were  found, 
And  wantonly  were   left   to  rot  where'er   they  fell, 

upon  the  ground. 


Day  after  day  the  Indians  swarmed  and  dogged  our 

little  party's  track, 
And  at  Birch  Coolie  in  the  night  at  last  they  ventured 

to  attack. 
But  they  were  met  by  storms  of  balls  that  stretched 

their  warriors  in  the  dew, 


218 

And  though  they  were  a  thousand  strong  yet  durst 

not  charge  upon  those  few ! 

All  the  next  day  they  prowled  around  that  little  hand 
ful  of  brave  men, 
While  from  behind  each  clump  of  grass  their  rifles 

echoed  through  the  glen. 
And  all  next  night  they  hugged  the  camp  and  kept 

their  guns  at  steady  play, 
Ashamed    and    maddened    that    so    few   could    keep 

their  thousand  braves  at  bay! 
And  once  that  night  with  wild  war  whoop  the  Indians 

to  their  feet  did  bound 
And  rushed  upon  the  rifle  pits  the  whites  had  dug 

in  circle  round. 
But  they  were  met  with  laughs  of  scorn  and  such 

a  murderous  storm  of  lead 
That  in  a  moment  all  the  field  was  thickly  spotted 

with  their  dead. 
Next   morn  some  reinforcements   came,  the  Indians 

fled  and  were  pursued, 
And  all  along  their  bloody  trail  their  wounded  warriors 

were  strewed. 
Two  days  they  fled  and  on  the  third  at  Eed  Wood 

Lake  they  made  a  stand, 
For  LITTLE  CROW*  had  joined  them  there  with  all 

the  warriors  of  his  band. 

*The  chief  of  the  Sioux. 


219 

Three  thousand  stalwart  Indian   braves   against  five 

hundred  of  our  men,* 
But  yet  so  burned  their  hearts   with  rage  they  took 

no  thought  of  numbers  then. 
At   early  morn,  ere   yet  the  sky  was   streaked  with 

red,  the  fight  begun, 

And  oh !  it  proved  to  those  vain  Sioux  a  most  disast 
rous,  bloody  one. 
Pierce  as   a   tiger   HARRY   fought,    and   though   the 

bullets  whistled  shrill, 
'T\vas  mere  child's  play  to  one  who  'd  faced  the  rain 

of  death  at  Malvern  Hill. 
With  glaring  eyes  he  M  watch  to  see  some  skulking 

Indian  show  his  head, 
Then  lightning  like  his  "  Spencer1'  roared  and  straight 

the  vengeful  bullet  sped ! 
Oft  he  and  DARLING,  side  by  side,  would  rush  upon 

some  red  skinned  crowd, 
And  "Biting  Betty's"  ringing  roar  would  rise  above 

the  conflict  loud. 
Then  crash  of  skulls  and  scattered  brains,  terrific  yells 

and  hasty  flight, 
Would  tell  at  once  where  those  two  men  in  fearful 

earnest  waged  the  fight. 
For  half  a  day  the  conflict  raged,  then  LITTLE  CROW 

in  'error  fled, 

*Five  companies  of  the  Fifth  Minnesota  and  about  one  hundred  citizens. 


220 


But    left   behind    him  on   the  field  vast  numbers  of 

his  warriors  dead. 
Brave  MARSHAL,  straight  upon  their  camps,  rushed  on 

his  men  that  very  night, 
Four   hundred   prisoners   he   took   and   put   the  rest 

again  to  flight. 
Of  all  the  battles  through  the  State  I  would  I  had 

the  time  to  tell, 
How  STROUT  and  his  heroic  boys  at  Acton  thrashed 

the  murderers  well, 
Or  give  a  record  of  the  names  of  those  who  perished 

in  the  strife, 
Like  Captain  MARSH,  who  was  among  the  earliest 

ones  to  lose  his  life. 
Or  tell  of  Abercrombie's  siege,  where  many  an  Indian 

bit  the  dust, 

And  thus  to  vengeance  paid  the  price  of  all  his  mur 
ders  and  his  lust! 
Suffice    to   say   the   Indians   fled   before   the   whites' 

avenging  hands, 
And  o'er  Dacotah's  treeless  plains  were  soon  dispersed 

in  little  bands. 
Where,  ere  a  fortnight  more  had  passed,  old     Biting 

Betty's  sulphurous  breath 
Had  stretched  rebellious  LITTLE  CROW  forever  stiff 

and  stark  in  death ! 


PART  TWENTY-FIRST. 

EVENTS  PEOM  AUGUST  1862  TO  NOVEMBER  1863 -DEATH 
OP  GAFFEE  AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  C  HAN  TILL  Y—HAEEY  AT 
ANTIETAM-UNCLE  DAELING'S  LETTEE  TO  HAEET-EE 
BELIEVES  MANOMIN  TO  BE  DEAD-EAEEY'S  DESPAIR  — 
HE  DETEEMINES  TO  THEOW  AWAY  HIS  LIFE  IN  BATTLE  - 
HIS  EECKLESS  FIGHTING  AT  FEEDEEICXSBUEG,  CHAN- 
CELLOEVILLE  AND  GETTYSBUEG-BATTLE  OF  LOOK  OUT 
MOUNTAIN-HAEEY  SHOT -HIS  FAEEWELL  TO  EAETH, 


a  huge  old  moss-grown  rock  that  heaved  its 

shoulders  high  and  brown 
On  Minnetonka's*  quiet  shore  two  swarthy  men  were 

sitting  down. 
The    eldest   looking   one   had   passed,   bv  some  few 

years,  the  prime  of  life, 
But  round,   unwrinkled,   only   seemed   to   have   been 

toughened  by  its  strife. 
The   gathering  "  crows'    feet "   round   his    eyes,   the 

drifts  of  silver  through  his  hair, 


*Minnetonka  is  the  large  and  beautiful  lake  near  St.  Paul  that  forms  the 
headwaters  of  Minnfliaha  Falls. 

221 


222 

Were  nearly  all  the   outward  signs  he  gave  of  all 

his  years  of  wear. 
His   was   a    sunny,    genial   face,   lit    up   by  eyes   of 

gentle  blue, 
That    beamed   so   kindly   when  at  peace,   but   when 

aroused  would  flash  you  through. 
He  was  a  tall,  athletic  man,  broad-shouldered,  power 
ful  and  straight, 
And  when  he  walked  displayed  great  ease  and  natural 

gracefulness  of  gait. 
The  other  was  a  youthful  man,  with  earnest,  truthful, 

large  blue  eyes, 

Round  limbed,  well  built,  compact  and  strong,  of  some 
what  more  than  medium  size. 
His   rich   brown   hair   curled   closely  round   a  finely 

shaped,  well  balanced  head, 
And  through  the  russet  of  his  cheeks  there  glowed  a 

healthful  tinge  of  red. 
He  wore   the  jaunty  army  cap,  his  clothes,  too,  were 

the  army  blue, 
He    was   as   trim  a  soldier   lad   as  e'er   Columbia's 

armies  knew. 
But  through  the  sunshine   of  his  face   there  crept  a 

shadow  of  distress, 
Bespeaking  some  sharp  inward  grief  which  he  seemed 

striving  to  repress. 
With  heavy  rifles  both  were  armed  and  both  looked 

weary  and  way-worn  ; 


223 

The  garments  of  the  elder  one  were  somewhat  tat 
tered,  too,  and  torn  — 
"Well,  HARRY,"  said  the  elder  man,  "'tis  time  that 

1  was  toddling  back; 
Your   furlough's   up,   you've   got   to   go,   but  I   kin 

foller  on  their  track. 
I  reckon  that  atween  us  both,  from  fust  to  last,  we 

must  have  laid 
A   hundred    of    the    cusses   out.     At   that   last   fight 

the  way  we  made 
The  fur  fly  from  their   pesky  hides  I  tell  you  now 

want  noways  slow; 
But  come,  my  boy,  give  us  yer  hand,  the  sun  is  high 

and  I  must  go. 
Tf   no   durned   redskin  gets  my  scalp  I  '11  write  ye 

quick  as  I  git  back, 
Fer   may  be    I   kin   find   some    clue    to   put   me    on 

MANOMIN'S  track, 
Fer,  by  old  Goshen,  I'll  be  durned  ef  I  dont  think 

she 's  all  right  yit, 
So  don't  look  on  the  shaddery  side,  but  brighten  up 

your  heart  a  bit. 
I  reckon  it'll    all  come   right,   eft   don't  no  use  to 

whine  or  sigh  — 
Take  care  yerself,  old  fellow,   now,   God  bless  you, 

boy,  good  bye .'  good  bye ! " 
They  wrung  each  others  hands  and  spoke  once  more 

affectionate  good  byes, 


224 

Then  turned,  and   as   they  walked   on,  brushed   the 

shining-  tear  drops  from  their  eyes. 
Now  southward  HARRY'S  face  was  set,  but  oh,  with 

what  distress  of   mind, 
His  only  joy  the  lingering  hope  that  Uncle  DARLING 

yet  might  find 
MANOMIN  somewhere,  sound  and  well,  and  she  might 

be  preserved  for  him, 
Though    'mid   his   sorrow's   surging  waves  this  little 

light  of  hope  burned  dim. 

He  weighed  the  chances  o'er  and  o'er  and  sorrow 
fully  shook  his  head, 
"  Oh   no,   she   could   not  have   escaped,   she   surely, 

surely  must  be  dead ! " 
Long  time  in  silent  thought   he  walked  and  just  as 

St.  Paul's  spires  gleamed 
Full   on    his    soul   some   inward  joy  some  deep  and 

quickening'  pleasure  seemed 
To  light  his  face  with  radiant  glow  —  "Ah  yes,  my 

GAFFER,  why,  oh  why 
Did  I  not  think  of  thee  before?  thou  link  between 

the  earth  and  sky ! 
Thou  path  by  which  celestial  feet  descend  to  loved 

ones  here  below, 
God  speed  my  journey  to  thy  tent;  the  truth  at  last 

I  then  shall  know!" 
Poor   HARRY  !  he  had  yet   to  learn  that   there  was 

still  for  him  in  store 


225 

Another  pang  of   poignant  grief,  a  world  of   bitter 

trouble  more! 
For,   in  his  absence  many  a  field  had  by  our  "  boys 

in  blue"  been  won, 
And  many  a  grand,  heroic  deed  at  cost  of  precious 

lives  been  done. 
GAFFER,  his  friend  and  tent-mate,  he,  who  loved  him 

as  he  loved  his  life, 
At  wild  Chantilly's  crimsoned  field  had  fallen  in  the 

fearful  strife* 
Tie  was  a  color  bearer  there  and  in  the  thickest  of 

the  fray 
His  flag  defiantly  was  borne ;  he  fell  just  as  we  won 

the  day. 
The  losses  on  that  hard  fought  field  the  country  will 

remember   well, 
For  there  PHIL  KEARNEY,  dashing  PHIL,  and  brave, 

impetuous  STEVENS  fell. 
And   many   and   many  a  soldier   boy,  dear   to  some 

heart  in  this  broad  land, 
Came  to  his  death  in  valorous  strife  to  stay  the  sweep 

of  treason's  hand. 
When  HARRY  reached  the  front  at  last,  one  clear, 

serene  September  day, 
'Twas  but  to  take  his  place  at  once  in  line  of  battle's 

dread  array. 
Yet  dread  no  longer  unto  him;  for  death's  menace 

he  little  cared, 

15 


226 

Since  there  had  not  on  all  the  earth  one  loving  heart 

to  him  been  spared. 
And  so  he  begged  for  GAFFER'S  place  and  through 

Antietam's*  bloody  fray 
He  bore  the  flag  with   flashing  eyes  till  our  brave 

boys  had  won  the  day. 
Wherever  fiercest  raged  the  fight,  wherever  fastest 

fell  the  brave, 
There,  high  above  the  flame  and  smoke  was  HARRY'S 

banner  sure  to  wave, 
But  still  amid  that  fearful  rain  of  cannon  shot  and 

shell  and  ball 

Death  mocked  him,  like  a  coy  coquette,  scarce  vent 
uring  near  him  through  it  all. 
Three  months  sped  on ;  our  army  lay  along  the  Rap- 

pahannock's  banks, 
Waiting  to  hurl  its  strength  once  more   against  fell 

treason's  bristling  ranks. 
Waiting    to  give,    in   freedom's  cause,  once  more  a 

harvest  of  brave  lives; 
Lives  dear  to  many  darkened  hearths,  lives  dear  to 

many  anxious  wives. 
And  there  to  HARRY  came,  one  morn,  the  letter  he 

so  long  had  prayed, 

Yet  now  its  privacy  he  felt  scarce  strength  of  pur 
pose  to  invade. 

*The  battle  of  Chantilly  wag  fought  Sept.  1st  and  Antietam  Sept.  5th  1862. 


227 

Oh,  how   the  frost  fell  on  his  heart  as  this  short 

sentence  sharp  he  read: 
"  I  Ve  sarched  the  woods  and  from  the  signs  conclude 

MANOMIN  must  be  dead!" 
His  brain  swam  wildly  and  all  earth  seemed  spinning 

giddily  around; 
Convulsively  he  clutched  at  space,  then  reeled  and 

fell  upon  the  ground. 
He  'd  wandered  off  into  a  grove  ere  he  had  ventured 

to  unseal 
His  letter,  that  no  one  should  see  what  his  emotions 

might  reveal. 
He  did  not  faint,  but  nearly  so ;  his  heart  grew  cold 

and  numb  and  still, 
His  nerves  seemed   palsied  and  divorced  from  their 

allegiance  to  his  will. 
But  by  and  by  his  paleness  fled,  once  more  his  cheeks 

their  color  knew, 
And  with  his  heart's  pain  in  his  eyes  he  read  the 

dreadful  letter  through : 


"We  're  back  again,  all  safe  and  sound,  cleaned  out, 

but  glad  it  is  no  wus, 
I  do  not  think  the  redskins  come  much  nearer  than 

your  place  to  us. 
They  thar  sheered  off  and  went  around  and  struck 

the  prairie  way  below 


That  Dutchman's  claim  at  Maple  Lake,  and  tuk  the 

'"old  trail'"  road,  I  know; 
And   consequently  nary   house  jest  hereabout  'cept 

yourn  was  burned, 
Though,  blast  their  hides,  they've  done  too  much  to 

make  me  love  them,  I'll  be  durnedj 
I  went   across   to  your  old  place  to  see  if  I  could 

get  some  clue, 
Some  sign  that  daylight  might  reveal,  of  whar  that 

gal  of  yourn  went  tu. 
The    house   and   stable  both  are  burnt;  oh   'tis   too 

cussed  bad  I  swear, 
I  tell  you  now,  my  dander  riz  at  thoughts  of  what 

last  happened  there! 
Now,  HARRY,  comes  the  painful  part ;  the  hope  I  had 

has  now  quite  fled; 
I  've  sarched  the  woods  and  from  the  signs  conclude 

MANOMIN  must  be  dead ! 
I  found  some  bones  picked  clean  and  bare,  some  small 

leg  bones,  a  hand  and  head, 
And  buried  them  down  by  the  brook;  oh  yes,  I'm 

sure  the  gal  is  dead." 


Thus  fell  his  last  remaining  hope  and  he  determined 

in  his  mind, 
If  rebel  balls  would  only  strike,  he  would  not  long 

remain  behind! 


229 

Next  morning  he  was  put  to   test:  three  times  the 

engineers  had  tried 
To  make  the  string  of  pontoons  fast  across  upon  the 

other  side. 
But  rebel  rifles  raining  death,  from  Kappahannock's 

southern  bank, 
Had   so    appalled   this   corps   of   men    that  from  the 

bloody  task  they  shrank. 
Then    eight  brave  fellows  volunteered   and   HARRY 

was  among  the  eight; 
Across  the  stream  in  open  boat  defiantly  they  paddled 

straight. 
Now  one,  now  two,  now  three  went  down,  ere  they 

had  reached  the  sheltering  shore, 
But  quickly  finishing  their  work  the  eager  men  be 
gan  to  pour 
In    living    streams  across  the  bridge,   and  mounting 

rapidly  the  hill 

Instinctively  deployed  in  line,  and  charged  the  earth 
works  with  a  will! 
Then  earnestly  the  fight  began,   far   up   and  down 

that  river's  shore 
Was   one  vast  sea  of   rushing  men,   and  cheer  and 

flash,  and  smoke  and  roar! 
And   recklessly   did    HARRY    fight;    rushing   where 

thickest  fell  the  shot, 
And  though  he  envied  all  who  fell  and  courted  death, 

he  found  it  not! 


230 

Then  furiously  he  charged  the  guns  and  fought  the 

gunners,  hand  to  hand, 
Yet  still  he  fell  not  but  was  dragged  away  by  one 

of  his  command. 
For,  all  the  valor  of  our  men  the  bloody  field  had 

failed  to  gain ; 

"Fall  back,  fall  back"  the  trumpets  blew;  five  thou 
sand  lives  were  lost  in  vain! 
Five   thousand  lives !    and    for  each  one  some  living 

heart  would  shriek  in  pain, 
Yet  HARRY  lived  who  thought  that  none  were  left  to 

mourn  had  he  been  slain. 
Our   army  then  re-crossed    the   stream,  whipped    by 

bad  generalship  alone, 
For,  by  the  men  in  no  fight  yet  was  more  determined 

valor  shown. 
Then  came  a  blank  of  five  long  months,  five  wretched 

months  of  fear  and  doubt, 
When  grave  men  shook  their  heads  and  said,  "  God 

only  knows  how  'twill  come  out ! " 
Then  in  the  balmy  month  of  May,  in  two  commands, 

at  dead  of  night, 
Our  army  crossed  that  stream  once  more,   a  second 

time  renewed  the  fight. 
Two  piteous  days,  of  fearful  strife,  two  harvest  days 

for  reaper  Death, 
Who   held   high  revelry  amid   that  smoking   battle's 

sulphurous  breath; 


231 

Two  days  of  seconds  measured  oft'  by  drops  of  blood, 

from  hearts  that  beat 
The  last  life  throbs  of  dying  men,  and  then  —  what 

then?  one  more  defeat!! 
Right  gallantly  each  soldier  fought,  and  HARRY,  in 

brave  BIRNEY'S  corps, 
There  on  that  field  of  Chaneellorville  outdid  ail  deeds 

he  'd  done  before  ! 

When  STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  furious  men  came  sweep 
ing  down  upon  their  flank 
How  lightning   like    his    rifle    flashed;  and  many  a 

headlong  rebel  sank 
Forever  down,  to  rise  no  more,  before  its  withering, 

upas  breath, 
His  treason  thus,  in  some  small  sense,  made  dimmer 

by  the  sponge  of  death! 

But  HARRY  lived  to  fight  again ;  and  soon  at  Gettys 
burg  he  lay 
In  line  with  BARNUM'S*  Empire  boys,  keeping  the 

rebel  ranks  at  bay! 
A   July's   sun   hung   overhead,    blistering    the   very 

earth  beneath, 
Tinging  with  red  the  battle's  smoke  that  rose  in  many 

a  graceful  wreath, 
As  if  to  twine  about  the  brows  of  patriot  spirits,  as 

they  rose 


*  General  HENRY  A.  BABNUM  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  then  Colonel  of  tins 
449th  N,  Y.  Vola.,  raised  in  central  N«w  York. 


232 

£ 

At  every  battle  throb  from  where  their  bodies  lay 

in  deaths  repose! 
For  three  long  days  the  air  was  thick  with  viewless 

messengers  of  death, 
And  heavy  with  the  voided  grime  of  half  a  thousand 

cannons'  breath ! 
And  every  second  men  went  down  beneath  that  rain 

of  shot  and  shell, 
And  all  about  where  HARRY  stood,  his  comrades  every 

moment  fell. 
Yet  not  a  hair  of  him  was  touched,  for  him  no  fatal 

missile  sped, 
He  stood  upon  enchanted  ground  between  the  living 

and  the  dead ! 
With   glorious  victory  was  crowned   this  last,   fierce 

effort  of  our  boys, 
And  Independence  Day  *  imbued  with  fresher  cause 

for  annual  joys. 
Not  all  the  laurel  wreaths  that  hung  about  the  mem'- 

ries  of  that  field, 
Could   unto  HARRY'S  mourning  heart  one   throb  of 

pleased  emotion  yield ! 
And  now  how  burdensome  was  life,  as  idle  days  went 

shuffling  by; 
He  only  seemed  to  live  but  when  in  battlers  front  he 

sought  to  die  ! 


*  The  battle  of  Gettysburg  and  the  siege  of  Yicksburg  came  to  a  triumpbr- 
ant  conclusion  on  July  4th  1863. 


283 

But  by  and  by  an  order  came,  and  to  the  West  he 

was  transferred, 
And  heartily  he  prayed  that  now  the  boon  he  craved 

might  be  conferred! 


November's  morn  was  clear  and   chill  and   Lookout 

Mountain's  base  was  blue 
With  old  Potomac's  veteran  boys,  led  on  by  gallant 

HOOKER,  true. 
Three   battle   lines  extended   up  the  rough  declivity 

to  where 
A  long,  high  pallisade  of  rock  frowned  grimly  down 

in  silence  there. 
The   Hundred   Forty-Ninth  New  York,   by   gallant 

BARNUM  swiftly  led, 
Around  the  shoulder  of  the  hill  dashed  on  with  free 

and  careless  tread. 
And  from   the  rifle   pits,  like  bees,  they  drove   the 

rebels  quickly  out, 
Then  rushing  up   the   rocky  steep   chargea   on  the 

batteries  with   a  shout! 
They  snatched  five  rebel  ensigns  down  and  captured 

prisoners  in  crowds, 
While    proudly   o'er    the    rebel   works    their    colors 

streamed,  above  the  clouds! 
And  where  was  HARRY  while  that  storm  of  shrieking 

shot  and  screaming  shell, 


284 

Of  rifle   balls  and  sweeping-  grape,  all  round  those 

veteran  columns  fell? 
With  blazing  eyes  and  throbbing  heart  and  firm  set 

teeth  and   flowing  hair 
He   bore,    bare-headed,    up   the   steep   his    country's 

dear  old  banner  there ! 
He  was  the  first  to  reach  and  plant  his  flag  upon  the 

mountain's  crown, 
And  as  he   swung  his  cap  and  cheered  a  lingering 

rebel  shot  him  down ! 
His   comrades   gathered  quickly  round  and  tenderly 

they  raised  his  head  — 
"  Oh  sergeant,  lift  me  to  my  feet,  help  me  stand  up," 

he  faintly  said; 
"  Oh  boys,  this  is  a  glorious  morn !     Away  on  Mission 

Ridge   now  shines 
Our  country's  banner  in  the  sun,  and  gleam  our  long 

victorious  lines ! 
And  here  we  are   on  Lookout's  crown;  below  a  mist 

the   view  enshrouds; 
Oh,  God !   I   thank    thee   for  this  death,  in  triumph 

here  above  the  clouds ! 
Oh,   sergeant,   I   shall   soon   be    gone;    I  soon  shall 

know  a  glorious  birth ; 

Then  raise  me  up  a  little  more  and  let  me  bid  fare 
well  to  earth  ! 
Dear  mother  earth,  I  loved  thee  once ;  thy  roughest 

features  once  lo  me 


235 


Were  lines  of  loveliness,  but  now  I  joy,  old  earth, 

at  leaving  thee ! 
For    many   and    many   a    month,    dear    earth,   I've 

walked  thy  bosom  in  despair! 
But  now,  oh,  God  be  praised,  old  earth,  I  'm  going 

where  my  loved  ones  are ! 
Oh,   sergeant,   see   those   shining   forms,   my   sister, 

mother,  father  too, 
And   thousands   more   I    do   not   know;    wait,    wait, 

I'm  coming  unto  you! 
Oh,  comrades,  let  my  grave  be  made  above  the  clouds 

up  here  in  light! 
Goodbye,  old  earth  —  oh,  boys,  good  bye  —  now  lay 

me  down  —  oh,  world,  good  night!1' 


PART  TWENTY-SECOND. 

THE  SAVIOR  AND  THE  SAVED -AN  INDIAN  LOVER -THE 
CANOE  JOURNEY  OF  TWO  HUNDRED  MILES -THE  INDIAN 
VILLAQE  AT  LEECH  LAKE -MANOMIN'S  WRETCHEDNESS 
AND  DESPAIR-MORE  HEARTACHES  THAN  ONE, 


let  us  turn  to  that  sad  night  —  that  night  that 

HARRY  clambered  down 
'Mid  heart-felt  welcomes  from  the  coach,  at  Douglas 

County^s  county-town. 
The  day  had   been  a  sultry  one  and  round  and  red 

the  sun  had  set, 
And  RICHARD  wiped  his  brow  and  said:  "To-morrow 

will  be  hotter  yet." 
All  day  among  his  bending  grain  most  resolutely  he 

had  swung 
His  heavy  cradle,  without  rest,  excepting  when  the 

whetstone  rung 
Its  sonorous  peans  on  his  scythe,  saying  as  plain  as 

tongue  could  say: 
"  To  work,  to  work,  oh  idlers  all,  be  of  some  use  in 

this  your  day!" 
236 


237 

Across  Lake  Ida's  surface  lay  the  golden  tresses  of 

the  sun; 
But  shortening  fast  with  every  pulse,  they  vanished, 

and  the  day  was  done. 
With  every  outward  door  swung  back  no  panel  barred 

the  threshold,  wide, 
Of  KICHARD'S  dwelling,  or  shut  out  the  glimpse  of 

happy  life  inside. 
The  evening   rneal  was   long  since  o'er,   and   every 

trace  of  it  put  by, 
And  all  the  household   gathered    round  without  one 

cloud  upon  the  sky, 
The  social  sky,  of  their  bright  world,  which  goes  to 

prove,  despite  the  din 
Of  brimstone  clergy,  heaven  is  found,  and  only  to  be 

found,  within. 
There    is  not,  neither  can  there  be,  in  space's  vast 

dominion,  wide, 
An  outward  cause  to  curse  the  soul  —  its  heaven  or 

hell  must  spring  inside. 
While   innocently  thus  they  sat,  not  dreaming  aught 

of  harm  was  nigh, 
Toward  the   house  six  painted  Sioux  were  creeping 

stealthily  and  sly. 
Then  sudden  as  the  lightning's  stroke  there  was  a 

blinding  flash  and  roar, 

And  EICHARD  THORNTON  headlong  plunged,  a  bleed 
ing  corpse  upon  the  floor! 


238 

With  fury  flashing  from  her  eyes  MANOMIN  sprang 

and  seized  her  gun: 
Another  roar  and  she,  too,  fell  as  murdered  EICHARD 

had  just  done. 
They  then  with  hellish  leisure,  next,  shot  ESTHER 

and  her  father  down, 
And  stabbed  the  child  and  cut  her  throat  and  snatched 

a  trophy  from  her  crown. 
For  whisky  they  then   searched  and   searched,  and 

finding  none  they  stripped  the  dead 
And  gashed   them  horribly,  and  nailed  against   the 

wall  the  old  man's  head! 
"While  they  were  rumaging  the  house,  ransacking  all 

the  rooms  overhead, 
MANOMIN   dragged    herself    away,   for   though    shot 

through  she  was  not  dead. 
Her  absence  they  discovered  soon  and  forth  they  fared 

to  bring  her  back, 
"Hush!  hark!"  and  quick  as  cats  they  crouch  and 

creep  along  the  forest  track. 
'Twas  HARRY'S  party  drawing  near,  and  stimulated 

by  their  hate 
The  Indians  rushed  to  take  more  blood,  but  quickly 

met  a  murderer's  fate. 
PEWAUBEC,   son  of   BIG   DOG*  had   encamped   that 

night  on  Ida's  shore, 

*  Chief  of  the  Leech  Lake  Band  of  Ojibwaya. 


239 

And  as  he  walked  toward  the  house  was  checked  by 

the  first  rifle   roar, 
And  crouching  down  behind  some  brush  he  lay  and 

saw  with  inward  pain, 
The  hellish  deeds  which  he  well  knew  he  had  no 

power  to  restrain. 
For  had  he  been  discovered  there  their  frenzied  joy 

had  passed  belief ; 
Earth   has    no    glory    for  a  Sioux   like    scalping  an 

Ojibway  chief! 
When  they  went  stealing  off  to  meet  the  little  party 

in  the  wood 
He  rushed  up  to  the  house  to  see  if  he  could  yet 

do  any  good. 
The  ghastly  sight  that  met  his  eyes  at  once  assured 

him  all  was  o1er, 
When  from  the  brush  along  the  bluff  that  ran  close 

by  the  kitchen  door 
He  heard  a  groan,  and  thinking  first  it  might  be  some 

Dacotah*  snare, 
He  cautiously  approached  the  spot ;  but  'twas  MANO- 

MIN  lying  there! 
MANOMIN!   how  his  throbbing  heart  sent  the  blood 

spinning  to  his  head  — 
He  raised  her  as  he  would  a  child  and  toward  the 

lake  with  rapid  tread 

*  Another  name  for  the  Sioux 


240 

He  bore  her  tenderly,  and  laid  her  down  upon  a 
bed  of  furs 

In  his  canoe,  and  speedily  from  its  beach  moorings 
loosened  hers. 

Together  then,  with  moose-wood  line,  the  two  canoes 
he  quickly  tied, 

And  soon  the  savior  and  the  saved  were  gliding  o'er 
the  waters  wide ! 

When  in  the  brush  MANOMIN  fell  external  conscious 
ness  had  fled, 

And  now,  as  it  came  struggling  back,  she  gazed  upon 
the  stars  overhead, 

And  tried  to  summon  the  events  of  the  past  hour, 
but  the  pain 

That  darted  through  her,  as  she  stirred,  induced  un 
consciousness  again. 

There  was  a  long-  point  making  out  from  Ida's 
timbered,  eastern  shore, 

Due  northward  from  the  dwelling  house  and  distant 
half  a  mile  or  more; 

And  when  PEWAUBEC  rounded  this  he  turned  his 
course  toward  the  land, 

And  in  a  quiet  little  nook  he  drew  the  boats  upon 
the  strand. 

Then  with  a  woman's  tenderness,  softly  and  carefully 
did  he 

Lift  up  MANOMIN,  couch  and  all,  and  place  her  under 
neath  a  tree. 


241 

He  plucked  some  <;balm  of  Gilead*"  leaves  arid 
bruising  them  expressed  the  juice 

Which,  in  a  curious  birchen  dish,  he  set  one  side 
for  further  use. 

He  then  undid  a  roll  of  things  f  and  drawing  forth 
a  linen  sack 

Tore  off  some  bandages  and  put  with  care  the  precious 
remnant  back. 

A  small  bright  fire  next  he  built  near  by  his  patient 
on  the  ground, 

Then  with  his  hunting  knife  removed  the  garments 
from  about  the  wound. 

The  second  sternal  bone  was  pierced  and  after  tra 
versing  a  line 

Descending  and  a  little  curved,  the  bullet  issued 
near  the  spine. 

That  it  was  a  most  dangerous  hurt  PEWAUBEO  felt 
quite  well  assured, 


*The  balm  of  Gilead  tree  with  its  odorous,  healing  foliage  grows  pro 
fusely  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Ida,  in  Douglas  County,  Minn. 

•{-The  Minnesota  Ojibway  Indians  —  or  Chippeways  as  they  are  sometimes 
called  —  always  make  their  excursions  in  summer  time  in  light  birch  bark 
canoes,  and  never  set  out  from  home  without  first  making  up  a  bundle  of 
things,  among  which  will  be  found  some  clean  empty  linen  bags  to  get  meal, 
flour,  salt,  or  any  such  article,  from  the  settlers  when  they  reach  the  settle 
ments.  PEWAUBEC —  whose  name  signifies  iron  —  was  the  only  son  of  Bio 
DOG,  the  chief  of  the  Leech  Lake  Ojibways.  Leech  Lake  was  distant  about 
two  hundred  miles  from  THORNTON'S  house  on  Lake  Ida,  due  north,  and  the 
numerous  lakes  between  Ida  and  Leech  Lake  are  all  strung  together  by 
connecting  streams.  ram 

16 


242 

And   fruitful  of   sharp,  shooting   pains,  and   difficult 

of  being  cured. 
He  bathed  it  tenderly  and  dropped  some  clean  bear's 

oil  within  the  wound, 
And  pouring  in  some  balm  he  wrapped  his  bandages 

quite  tight  around 
Her  bust  entire,  and  then  placed  her  gently  in  the 

boat  once  more, 
Pushed  off,  and  all  that  night  he  plied,  without  one 

resting  spell,   his  oar. 
When   consciousness   returned   again  MANOMIN    lay 

some  little  time, 
Perplexed  to  know  if  she  was  still  on  earth  or  in 

some   happier  clime. 
Her  ears  were  filled  with  songs  of  birds !  how  clear 

and  soft  and  sweet  the  air! 
"While   she  was  gently,   gently  swung   within   some 

fairy  bower  there. 
All  round  her  fragrant  foliage  hung,  softening  the 

percolating  light; 
Oh,  had   she  then  in  truth   passed   through   death's 

dismal,  rayless  vale  of  night? 
If  so,  where  were  the  radiant  ones  she  fondly  hoped 

would  meet  her  there? 
She  listened,  but  no  life  but  bird's  was  there  apparent 

anywhere. 
She  turned  her  head :    "  Why,  how  is  this  ?  I  'm  lying 

in  a  boat,  I  see, 


243 

And  on  some  stream,  but  moored  beneath  this  low, 

thick  overhanging  tree. 
Now  I  remember!  oh,  my  God!  my  mem'ry  serves 

me  but  too  well ! 
So  vividly  that  fearful  scene,  of  where  poor  father 

THORNTON  fell, 
Cruelly  murdered,  who,  good  man,  had  never  wronged 

a  being  yet, 
Deep  in  the  marrow  of  my  brain  is  stamped,  I  never 

can  forget ! 
But  I  was  shot,   what  more  was  done,  oh  God,  too 

surely  I  might  know, 
All.  murdered   without  doubt,   but  then  how  came  I 

here  in  this  canoe  ? 
This   is   no  vile  Dacotah's   boat!     Oh   heav'ns,  how 

fiercely  through  my  heart 
Bushed  all  my  wild  Ojibway  blood  when  forth  those 

dogs  of  Sioux  did  start ! 
'But  I  am  rescued !    and  I  know  this  is  the  chemon* 

of  a  chief; 
And  my  glad  heart  cries  out  "  megwitchl  f "  to  him 

who  came  to  my  relief. 
For  oh,  I  do  not  want  to  die  until  one  loving  arm, 

I  know, 
Shall  clasp  me  round  and  one  dear  head  bend  o'er  me 

lovingly  and  low!" 

*  Canoe.  f  Thanks! 


244 

Her  further  meditations  here  were  broken  by  a  rifle 
shot, 

So  near  and  clear  it  made  her  start,  and  for  an 
instant  she  forgot 

That  she  was  on  Ojibway  ground,  moored  in  an  ob 
scure,  quiet  stream, 

And  without  meaning  it  she  gave  a  half  suppressed, 
sharp,  nervous  scream. 

There  was  a  sound  of  bounding  feet,  a  strong,  swift 
rushing  through  the  wood, 

The  branches  o'er  her  swung  apart,  and  gazing  through 
PEWAUBEC  stood ! 

She  raised  her  hand  but  could  not  speak,  but  elo 
quently  her  dark  eyes 

Poured  forth  her  soul's  deep  gratitude,  not  tricked 
in  affectation's  guise, 

But  springing  pure  and  unalloyed  from  out  her  being's 
inmost  seat, 

Fell  on  PEWAUBECT  s  thirsty  soul  like  floods  of  heaven's 
nectar,  sweet. 

"  You  must  not  move  or  speak,"  he  said  ;  "  I  Ve  killed 
a  partridge  and  will  soon 

Prepare  some  broth  that  you  may  dine,  for  by  the  sun 
'tis  nearly  noon." 

He  shut  the  branches  and  was  gone  and  as  his  foot 
fall  died  away 

She  closed  her  eyes  and  thought  how  much  she'd 
reason  to  thank  God  that  day. 


245 

PEWAUBEC   had   prepared   his  camp  down  near   the 

lake's  white,  wave- washed  shore ; 
From   where    MANOMIN'S    boat    was   moored    'twas 

distant  twenty  rods  or  more. 
For  here  was  water   to  be   had  and   plenty  of   dry 

driftwood,  too, 
Besides,  an  Indian  always  lies,  if  traveling  in  't,  near 

his  canoe. 
With  careful  hand  PEWAUBEC  cleaned  his  partridge, 

and  the  breast,  quite  fine 
Chopped   up  with   his  sharp   hunting  knife,  upon  a 

trencher  of  white  pine. 
All  of  the  pieces  of  the  bird  into  the  kettle,  scoured 

bright, 
He  put,   with  water  and  with  salt,  then  rubbed  his 

kindling  wood  alight, 
And  as  the  fragrant  steam  arose,  a  spoon  he  fashioned, 

neat  and  small, 
Of  fine  grained,  delicate  white  ash  for  her  to  eat  her 

broth  withal. 
You   should   have   seen   him   as  he  stood    up  to  his 

middle  in  the  brook, 
Feeding  MANOMIN  tenderly,   a  lover's  fondness   in 

his  look. 
A  lover's !  ah,  poor  dusky  child !  chief,  and  a  proud 

one,  though  you  be, 
Although  that  maiden  bears  thy  blood  her  love  stoops 

not  to  such  as  thee ! 


246 

Between  the  one  who  holds  her  heart  and  thy  grave 

nations  loftiest  chief 
A  chasm  yawns  which  all  your  love  could  never  bridge, 

in  her  belief. 
Two  weeks  and  more  with  watchful  care  PEWAUBEC 

plied  his  busy  oar, 
Until  the  wigwams  of  his  tribe  loomed  up,  one  morn 

on  Leech  Lake's  shore. 
With   thick   leaved   boughs   he  'd  canopied   the   boat 

wherein  MANOMIN  lay, 
So  closely  woven  as  to  turn  the  burning  sunlight  all 

away. 
And  over  this,   on  rainy  days  long  rolls  of    birchen 

bark  he  drew, 
Also  at  night  that  her  fair  face  might  not  be  wetted 

with  the  dew. 
Each  night  he  bathed  and  dressed  her  wound  with 

that  fine  delicacy  and  care 
That  marks  the  truly  gentle  heart,  and  is  so  winning 

and  so  rare ! 
He  had  forbidden  her  to  speak  so  long  as  her  pierced 

lung  felt  sore, 

Therefore  no  word  did  they  exchange  in  all  that  four 
teen  days  and  more. 
His  gun  and  fish  spear  yielded  them  a  sure  subsistence 

every  day. 
While  luscious  berries  and  wild   plums  were  found 

abundant  on  the  way. 


247 

And  thus  a  fortnight  flitted  on,  until,  as  I  have  said 

before, 
The   wigwams  of   his   tribe  loomed  up  one  grateful 

morn  on  Leech  Lakers  shore. 
While  yet  far  out  upon  the  lake  sharp  eyes  his  coming 

had  descried, 
And    that  an  object  strange  he  towed   had  quite  as 

quickly  been  espied  ; 
Out  from  that  depth  of  giant  pines  the  curious  crowds 

came  swarming  down. 
Along  the  gracefully  curved   beach  and   round   the 

moorings  of  the  town. 
From    little   bays  along  the  shore  and   every  reedy 

nook  and  brake 
Loaded   canoes  shot  thickly  forth  to  meet  the  young 

chief  on  the  lake. 
In  hurried  sentences  he  told  the  foremost  ones  what 

had  occurred, 
And  bade  them  turn  their  boats  about  and  tell  those 

coming  what  they'd  heard, 
Then  to  the  village  hasten  back  and  have  an  easy 

litter  made, 
Whereon  in  comfort  might  be  borne  the  weary,  wasted, 

wounded  maid, 
And  have  his  wigwam  cleared  and  cleaned,  and  with 

new  mats  the  roof  repaired, 
Make   ready  some   clean   bandages  and   have   some 

cordials  prepared. 


248 

His  orders  strictly  were  obeyed  and  soon  MANOMIN'S 

weary  head 
Pressed   in   deep   rest   and   gratefulness   the    downy 

pillows  of  her  bed. 
Eight   glad   was   she    that    her   own   sex   her    wants 

henceforward  would  attend. 
And  speedily  beneath  their  care  her  fearful  wound 

began  to  mend. 
How  fared  it  with  PEWAUBEO  now?     Long,  solitary 

walks  he  M  take, 
Or  all  alone  in  his  canoe  would  often  row  far  down 

the  lake. 

Within  the  garden  of  his  heart,  way  down  the  long- 
ago,  had  sprung 
Beneath   MANOMIN'S  winsome  ways,   and  the  sweet 

prattle  of  her  tongue, 
The   hardy,  climbing   plant  of   love;   and  as  it  once 

sought  to  entwine, 
In  after  years,  about  her  heart  a  frost  pinched  back 

the  venturous  vine ; 
A  frost  of  dignified  rebuke,  a  frost  almost  as  keen 

as  scorn 
Out    back   the  plant   upon   his   heart,   with   many  a 

lacerating  thorn. 
For  though  this  plant  bears   sweetest  flowers  whilb 

'neath  requited  lore  it  grows, 
Yet  beaten  down,  its  thorns  become  sharper  than  those 

which  guard  the  rose. 


249 

And  at  that  time  she  had  not  given  to  HARRY  THORN 
TON  the  rich  flower 

Of  her  young  love,  which  bloomed  unseen  within  her 
spirit's  inmost  bower. 

But  now,  that  their  two  lives  were  knit  together  like 
a  warp  and  woof 

How  could  PEWAUBEC  cherish  hope  ?  What  could  he 
do  but  stand  aloof? 

But  stand  aloof  and  wait,  and  wait,  with  face  so  calm 
she  would  not  guess 

Beneath  his  calmness  writhed  a  heart  in  fearful 
spasms  of  distress. 

He  so  determined,  and  each  day  would  take  his  stand 
beside  her  bed, 

Give  her  condolence  o'er  her  grief  and  point  to  brighter 
skies  ahead. 

Reminding-  her  of  coming  joys,  when  war  should 
loose  its  crimson  clutch 

Upon  the  gallant  soldier  lad  by  whom  she  was  beloved 
so  much ; 

And  sing  Ojibway  songs  to  her,  and  daily  thus  per 
formed  his  part 

So  well,  MANOMIN  never  dreamed  that  love  for  her 
gnawed  at  his  heart. 


The   ground   was  whitening  o'er   with   snow,  which 
lodging  on  the  evergreen 


250 

That  garlanded  those  druid  pines,   made  up  a  rare 

and  gorgeous  scene. 
MANOMIN  daily  gained  in  strength,  and  on  this  day 

essayed  to  write 
To  HARRY,  a  concise  account  of  all  that  happened 

on  that  night  — 
That  fearful  night  the  murdering   Sioux  shot  down 

her  dear  ones  in  cold  blood, 
And   how  PEWAUBEC  saved  and  bore  her  o'er  two 

hundred  miles  of  flood. 
She   sent  her   letter  to  Crow  Wing  whence   it  was 

posted  on  its  way, 
But  never  came  to  HARRY'S   hand  and  never  has, 

unto  this  day. 
The  winter  passed  and  with  light  feet  came  tripping 

in  the  balmy  hours, 
With  wreaths   of   sunbeams   round   their  heads  and 

clothed  in  odors  of  sweet  flowers. 
Now  every  day,  returning  home,  came  Indians,  singly 

and  in  crews, 
Who  had  been  trapping  down  below,  with  fragmentary 

bits  of  news. 
MANOMIN  learned  the  house  was  burned  and  all  the 

settlers  had  fled, 
"  Two  men  were  shot  down  in  the  woods  close  by  to 

THORNTON'S  house,"  they  said, 
"  That  very  night,"  and  then  the  thought,  swifter  than 

lightning  through  her  thrilled  — 


251 

"  We  looked  for  HARRY  at  that  time ;  it  must  have 

been  that  he  was  killed! 
"  Oh,   yes,   it   surely  must   have  been,   for  now  His 

seven  months,  and  more, 

Since  I  last  wrote,  and  if  alive  he  would  have  ans 
wered  long  before; 
Who  could   the    other  one   have  been  ?    Poor  Uncle 

DARLING,  I  Ve  no  doubt  — 
What  would  T  not  most  gladly  give  to  find  this  matter 

truly  out?" 
About  a  fortnight  after  this  the   trader  at  that  post 

came  back; 
He  M  been  as  far  down  as  St.  Cloud,  and  had  some 

papers  in  his  pack. 

He  sunned  away  MANOMIN'S  fears,  assured  her  DARL 
ING  was  all  right, 
That  he  and  HARRY  killed  six  Sioux  near  THORNTON'S 

house  that  awful  night: 
That  DARLING  had  been  over  there  and  "ransacked 

all  around,"  he  said, 
And  wrote  to  HARRY  that  he  thought  "from  all  the 

signs,  you  must  be  dead." 
"And  when  I  told  him  differently  you  should  have 

seen  the  man1s  delight, 
He  clapped  his  hands  and  danced  and  laughed,  and 

wrote  to  HARRY  that  same  night. 
I  saw  the  broad  grave   in   his  yard  where   all   the 

THORNTONS  are  interred. 


252 

ED.  WRIGHT  and  AUSTIN  are  the  ones  about  whose 

killing  you  have  heard."" 
He  told  her  of  the  different  fights  and   "in  them," 

Uncle  DARLING  said, 

"I  reckon  me  and  HARRY  knocked  a  hundred  red 
skins  on  the  head !  " 
"  He  is  the  only  man  but  one  who  has  yet  ventured 

home  again, 
And  when  I  left,  ten  days  ago,  he  was  just  dragging 

in  his  grain. 
Here  are  some  papers  I  have  brought,  I  think  you  '11 

find  some  news  in  them ; 

I  see  old  GAFFER  has  been  killed,  that  most  mys 
terious  of  men. 
And  Uncle  DARLING  bade  me  say,  although  as  yet, 

no  single  word, 
Since    they  had    parted   near  St.   Paul,  from  soldier 

HARRY  he  had  heard, 
Yet  he  was  feeding  on  the   hope  of  letters  coming 

every  day, 
And  the  first  one  that  he  received  he  M  forward  to 

you,  right  away. 
But  in  the  mean  time  while  it  seems  as  everything 

was  upside  down, 
He   thinks  you  'd    find    no  safer   place   than  in   this 

little  Indian  town." 
So  thought  MANOMIN   and   remained,   and  as  those 

long,  long  weeks  went  by, 


253 

And  brought  no  word  from  him  she  loved  how  oft 

sheM  steal  away  and  cry. 
Often  and  often  she  had  writ  and  why  unanswered 

could  not  tell  — 
So  powerless  all  her  efforts  were  to  break  or  pierce 

the  mystic  spell 
That  seemed  surrounding  her  like  brass;  what  was 

it?  could  it  then  be  fate? 
She  would    not   grant   it   and   resolved   to    curb   her 

swelling  soul  and  wait! 
Wait  with  a  quiet  placid  front  while  hope  grew  sick 

within  her  heart, 
And  nervous,  gloomy  fear   usurped  its  chamber,  and 

would  not  depart. 
So  sped  the  summer  months  away,  and  saucy  autumn, 

bold  and  brown, 
Scattering    its  coin  of   golden   leaves   laughed   gaily 

through  that  Indian  town. 
The  blackbirds  sang  their  farewell  notes,  the  lingering 

loons'  adieus  were  heard, 
And  early  snows  on  tiptoe   came  and  yet  from  Mm 

no  word  J  no  word ! 
And  in  the  stillness  of  the  night,  when  she  should 

long  have  been  asleep, 
She  'd  turn  her  face  toward  the  wall  and  wring  her 

hands  and  weep  and  weep! 
And  often  through  the  day  forget  to  play  her  calm, 

impassioned  part, 


254 


And  shadows,  rising  to  her  face,  betrayed  the  dark 
ness  of  her  heart. 

PEWAUBEC  grieved  for  her  but  thought  if  there  were 
deeper  depths  of  woe 

Than  hope  deferred,  to  wring  the  soul,  that  sharper 
pang  was  his  to  know. 

Poor  lonesome,  wretched,  heart-sick  girl,  how  can  my 
feeble  pen,  unskilled, 

Portray  her  desolation  when  she  learned  her  lover 
had  been  killed? 


PART   TWENTY-THIRD. 

HAEEY  KECOVEKS-IS  PKOMOTED-THE  AEMT  AT  LOST 
MOUNTAIN -HAEEY  EELATES  THE  EXPERIENCE  OF  HIS 
TEANCE-WHAT  HE  SAW  IN  THE  SUMMEE  LAND -THE 
FOUNDLING;  HOUSE  AND  OHILDEEN'S  PLAT  GEOUND-A 
LECTUEE  IN  A  CELESTIAL  TEMPLE -THE  BATTLE  PEAL 
-"FALL  IN!  FALL  DTI" 


here  that  stretcher !   lively,  boys !  there 's 
much  to  do,1'  the  surgeon  said, 

"  This  lad,  though  very  badly  hurt,  has  only  swooned, 
he  is  not  dead!" 

They  lifted  up  the  wounded  one  and  bore  him  tender 
ly  away, 

And  in  a  state  of  syncope  for  days  and  days  poor 
HARRY  lay. 

The  rueful,  chilly  weeks  went  by,  now  white  with 
January's  snow, 

Now  dripping  with  the  rains  of  March,  now  radiant 
with  the  lovely  glow 
255 


256 

Of  May's  sweet  presence,  young  and  fair,  then  re 
dolent  and  all  atune 

With  glorious  rose-breath,  and  the  soft,  sweet  voices 
of  the  birds  of  June. 

And  day  by  day  and  week  by  week  did  HARRY'S  sun 
of  health  arise, 

And  rosier  grew  his  ashen  cheek  and  warmer  glowed 
his  kindling  eyes; 

And  soon  at  war's  hot,  flaming  forge,  with  cheerful 
heart  and  willing  hand, 

Freedom's  bold,  skilful  artisan,  once  more  he  nobly 
took  his  stand. 

But  now  no  knapsack  weighed  him  down,  he  grasped 
his  gleaming  gun  no  more, 

A  captain  HARRY  had  been  made  and  pistols  and  a 
sword  he  wore. 

Around  "  Lost  Mountain's "  rocky  base,  at  close  of 
one  warm  summer  day, 

Far  down  in  Georgia,  SHERMAN'S  hosts  ready  for 
battle  grimly  lay. 

The  soft,  round  moon  was  climbing  up  the  airy  stair 
case  of  the  skies, 

And  quiet,  dreamy  stars  looked  down  as  peacefully 
as  angels'  eyes. 

The  surgeon  sat  in  HARRY'S  tent  watching  the  moon 
beams  as  they  played 

Among  the  rows  of  arms  astack,  when,  turning  sud 
denly,  he  said:  — 


257 

"I  say,  my  boy,  tell  us  the  tale  you've  often  promis 
ed  to,  some  day, 
Of  what  befell  you  in  the  while  that  you  at  death's 

dark  doorway  lay; 
Procrastination  is  a  thief    that   filches  time,   is   truly 

said, 
So   if   you   feel   in  trim   to-night   to  spin  the  yarn, 

just  heave  ahead!" 
"Most  willingly  I  will,  my  friend,  and  'tis  a  curious 

tale,  forsooth, 
Though  valuable  the  more  to  you,  who  will  be  sure  it 

is  the  truth: 
After  I  bade  adieu  to  earth  a  heavy,  drowsy  feeling 

stole 
All  through  my  being's  avenues,  and  seemed  to  seize 

my  very  soul. 
The  mellow,  rosy  light   grew  dark,  my  dear  ones' 

faces  fled  my  sight, 

And  I  seemed  stranded,  for  a  space,  upon  the  death- 
lashed  shores  of  night. 
But  gradually  the  light  returned,  again  my  dear  ones 

gathered  round, 
And  loving  lips  were  pressed  to  mine  and  tender  arms 

were  softly  wound 
Around   me   in  a  close  embrace,   and   fairy  fingers 

smoothed  my  hair, 
But  she,  whom  I  had  died  to  see  —  heart  of  my  heart ! 

—  she  was  not  there ! 

17 


258 

As  when,  the  heary  midnight  air,  a  flash  of  lightningf 

swiftly  cleaves 
And    then    the   great,   unmeasured   void   in   deeper, 

thicker  darkness  leaves, 
Sor  like  a  sword,  this  keen  truth  cut  my  spirit  to  its 

very  core, 
And  left  behind  it  a  deep  sting,  far   sharper  than 

I'd  felt  before. 
A  deep,  humiliating  sense  of  how  perversely  I  had 

tried 
To  rend   this  robe  of  flesh  away  without   resort  to 

suicide 
Burned  like  a  coal  within  my  breast,  and  made  me 

long  for  earth  again 
To  bide  my  fuller  time ;  but  oh,  I  thought  this  hope 

was  all  in  vain! 
My  guardians  had  perceived  my  thoughts,  and  that  I 

stood  there  self  accused, 
Ashamed    and   saddened    that    God's   love   I  had   so 

foolishly  abused 
As   to   grow   restive    'neath    events    Time's   onward 

sweep  had  brought  about, 
And,  like  a  wayward,  fretful  child,  from  life's  great 

schoolroom  had  rushed  out! 
Then   drawing   near   they  gently  said:    '"'Tis  well 

your  monitor  reproves 
Your  headlong  haste  to  wrench  away  your  chains  of 

flesh,  and  it  behoves 


259 

You  well  to  listen  to  its  voice,  and  by  the  memory 

of  your  pain 
Determine  not  strive  against  its  plain  admonishment* 

again. 
Know,  then,  your  body  is  not  dead,  and  soon  again 

you  will  resume 

Its  dark  habiliments,     and  all   its  obligations  re-as 
sume. 
She,  whom  you  yearned  for,  is  not  here;  it  is  not 

ours  to  tell  you  more ; 
For  doubts,  uncertainties,   mishaps  are  given  to  your 

earthly  shore 
For  you  to  battle  with  and  solve,   endure   and  yet 

again  endure; 
They  are  the  em'ry  wheels  of  life  that  keep  your 

spirits  bright  and  pure.1 " 
I  now  looked  round  me  and  observed  I  stood  near 

where  my  body  fell ; 
I  saw  you  feeling  of  its  heart,  and  most  distinctly 

heard  you  tell 
The  stretcher  bearers  to  make  haste,  and  as  they  bore 

it  off,  behold! 
A  long,   fine   line   united    us,   brighter   by  far   than 

burnished  gold. 
"  'Where'er  you  go,'  "  my  guardians  said,  «  "  this  line 

will  bind  you  to  your  form, 
And,  like  the  line  that   keeps   the  ship  fast  to  the 

anchor  in  the  storm, 


260 

Will  hold  you  firmly  to  the  earth,  where  you  must 

soon  again  return, 
And   for  a  further  space  submit  the  lower  laws  of 

life  to  learn."' 
My  friends  thronged  round  me,  now,  in  crowds,  and 

for  a  while,  bewildered,  I 
Could  only  shake   their  hands  and  laugh,   and  laugh 

and  shake  their  hands  and  cry! 
I  thought  I  knew  what  'twas   to  feel  deep,  strong 

emotions  sweep  the  heart, 
But  oh,  a  sense  of  that  wild  joy  I  know  no  words 

that  could  impart ! 
" '  Come,1 "  said  my  guardians,   "  '  time  flies  fast  with 

you,  who  still  are  of  the  earth, 
Come,  glean  awhile  in  fields  of  truth;  come,  gather 

gems  of  royal  worth  ! '  " 
And  as  through  space  we    sped   like   light  with  no 

apparent  moving  cause, 
Much  did  I  speculate  upon  this  motion  and  its  source 

and  laws; 
Which  when  perceived  my  guardians  said,  " '  We  move 

by  the  same  law  that  you, 
When  chained  to  earth  with  clogs  of  flesh,  tugged  at 

by  gravitation,  do. 
Whene'er  you  wish   to   move  about   your  will  says 

firmly,  "  '  go  I  must?" 

And  straightway  it  proceeds  to  go  —  dragging  about 
its  load  of  dust. 


261 

Hast  never  seen  the  acrobat,  who  springs  in  air  and 

spins  thrice  round, 
Alighting  neatly  and  exact,  square  on  his  feet  upon 

the  ground? 
If  then  his  will,  with  all  its  load,  shall  move  through 

space  so  free  and  swift, 
Ought  not  our  wills  to  do  much  more  with  no  such 

weight  of  flesh  to  lift?" 

We  were  now  passing  over  groves,  and  gently-un 
dulating  hills, 
Sweet  little  nooks,  and  tinkling  brooks,  and  dancing 

waterfalls  and  rills. 
Small  lakes,  as  clear  as  mirrors  turned  their  flashing 

faces  toward  the  sky, 
Fringed  by   tall   trees   whose   trunks  appeared   like 

pillars  of  rich  porphyry. 
All   of    the   larger   streams   were   bridged  by  fairy 

structures  of  one  span, 

Whose  fine  material  no  words  I  know  of  could  de 
scribe  to  man. 
Anon  an  edifice  arose,  far  more  than  Babel  towering 

high, 
And  stretching  on  through  fields  and  groves  further 

than  scope  of  mortal  eye. 
Its   timbers  seemed    like   beams   of   light,  finer  than 

finest  crystal  glass ; 
Its  architectural   design   the    highest   mind  could  not 

surpass, 


262 

Neither  of  earth  nor  of  the  skies,  "for  all  the  brightest 

ones  above 
Contributed  to  raise  this  pile,  under  the  inspiring  call 

of  love, — 
Love  for  the  little   still-born   babes  that  come,   like 

spotless  flakes  of  snow, 
Each  moment  from  some  home  of  earth,  whose  darker 

life  they  never  know. 
Here  in  this  house  —  their  "  'Father's  house  of  many 

mansions'"  in  the  skies, 
These  little  throbs  of  Father  God  first  learn  the  office 

of  their  eyes  — 
First  learn  to  be,  to  act  and  think,  feel  that  they  hold 

immortal  life; 
But  those  emotions,   strong  and  deep,  perfected  by 

your  earthly  strife, 
They  lack,  and  never  will  possess ;  so  envy  not  their 

early  birth 
Into  this  life,  but  rather  pray  to  grow  and  ripen  on 

the  earth!" 
Oh,  God!  it  was  a  sight  to  see,  from  every  quarter 

of  the  sky, 

The  guardian  angels  flocking  in  to  this  great  Found 
ling  House  on  high ! 
Each   in   its   bosom   bearing   up   a   little    palpitating 

gem, 
But  worth,  in  all  its  helplessness,  more  than  the  richest 

diadem ! 


And  this  great  play-ground   of  the  spheres  was  all 

aflash  with  childish  fun  — 
Here  fair-haired  Saxons  leaped  and  played  with  Afric's 

scions  of  the  sun, 
And  sweet  Circassian  giris  and  boys  and  dark-eyed, 

graceful  youth  of  Ind 
Mingled  their  greetings  and  their  games,  free  and 

impartial  as  the  windi 
It  seemed  to  me  I  could  have  lived  forever  in  that 

merry  din, 
Breathing  the  pureness  of  its  life,  drinking  its  holy 

spirit  in. 
But   my   two   guardians   bade   me  on,  and   soon  we 

reached  a  radiant  wood, 

Where,  vaster  than  the  ends  of  earth,  an  airy,  glit 
tering  temple  stood. 
" '  Here  meet  the  millions  of  the  world  that  long  ago 

have  passed  away, 
The  noble,  wise  and  lovely  minds  —  the  history-beacons 

of  their  day! 
Here  are  devised  the  thousand  things  that  mark  the 

progress  of  your  earth, — 
Here  locomotives,  telegraphs  and   telescopes  sprang 

into  birth ; 
Here  all  industrial  implements,  now   used  by  man, 

were  first  bethought; 
The  secret  of  the  camera  was  first  within  this  temple 

caught; 


264 

And  all    the    rising   policies   that   mark   the  upward 

stride  of  man, 
Up  to  the  present  hour  of  time,  here  had  their  rise, 

here  first  began ! 
Come  in  the  lecture  room  and  hear  if  there  may  not 

be  same  wise  word, 
Some  priceless  wisdom-gem  let  drop  that  will  enrich 

you  to  have  heard. ' ' 
They  led  the  way  through  leagues  of  aisles,  arcades, 

rotundas,    corridors, 
With  soft,  warm,  glowing   roofs   overhead,   beneath, 

rich,  noiseless  amber  floors ! 

Within  the  auditorium,  vaster  than  earth's  blue  arch 
ing  sky, 
Where  seats,  packed  full  of  shining  ones,  ran  round 

in  ample  circles  high, 
We  took  our   place  amid   the  hosts  —  both   sexes  — 

gathered  there  to  hear 
A  treatise  on  Familiar  Things,  by  teachers  from  the 

Seventh  Sphere, 
U'I  see,' "one  of  my  guardians  said,  "'your  mind 

is  not  exactly  clear 
On   how  it   happens  here  should   be   a  lower  and  a 

higher  sphere  — 
On  earth  the  self  same  law  prevails,  and  spheres  are 

numerous  there  as  here, 
But   oft   overridden —  wealth,   sometimes,   buyin^,    its 

owner  a  false  sphere 


265 

There  are  no  riches  here  except  the  wealth  of  wisdom 

and  of  love, 
Each  soul,  unerring,  knows  its  sphere  when  born  into 

this  life  above!'" 
He   ceased,  and   then  upon  my  mind    the  speaker's 

thoughts  fell  clear  and  bright 

" ;  Thus   have  I  tried    to   prove   to  you   that   naught 

exists  except  the  Right; 
Eternal  Father  God  alone  fills  all  the  endless  realm 

of  space; 
He  is  an  integral  of  Good  —  for  other  Pow'r  there 

is  no  place! 
There  is  no  special  point  in  space  where  God  is,  more 

than  other  where; 
Man  braves  the  sea  —  while  strangling   him  it  tells 

him  plainly,  God  is  there! 
He  leaps  from  off  a  precipice,  and  by  sharp  pains, 

and  broken  bones, 
Or  loss  of  life,  is  told,  God  's  here !  in  unmistakably 

clear  tones,  — 
Falls   into  fire,  and   is  taught   by  the  disorganizing 

flame 
That  God  is  also  present  there,  and  is,  as  everywhere, 

the  same 
Great  Living  Order  of  All  Things,  against  whom  man 

can  never  sin! 

Whose  Life  is  Law  —  impartial,  stem,  and  knows  no 
outward^  no  within  ! 


266 

Out  from  His  life  the  planets  sprung,  as  fruit  from  life 

within  the  tree, 

And  planet  laws  of  life  have  raised  up  man  to  im 
mortality  ! 
What  soul  was  asked,  would  it  be  born?  would  it  be 

wakened  into  life, 
To  toil  and  sweat,  'mid  doubt  and  fear  to  eat  the  bitter 

bread  of  strife, 
Blinded  by  Priestcraft,  robbed  by  law,  taxed  by  its 

rulers  for  each  breath, 

Consuming  tons  and  tons  of  life  to  be  in  turn  con 
sumed  by  death ! 
And  then,  by  the   ""enlightened  world""  when  it 

has  reached  this  "  "far  off  shore""  (!) 
If  not  immersed,  be  damned  by  some,  and  if  immersed 

be  damned  by  more! 
Law,  pitiless,  impartial  law,  moved  by  the  vital  force 

of  God, 
Developed  Man  from  forms  of  life  lower  than  ornament 

the  sod. 
He  comes,  a  puling,  helpless  babe,  that  may  be  barely 

said  to  live, 
And  how  or  why  he  grows  and  thrives  the  faintest 

reason  cannot  give. 
He  grows  just  as  the  grasses  grow,  no  special  law  for 

him  was  made ; 
He  blooms,  decays,  he  falls  and  dies,  his  body  in  the 

earth  is  laid, 


267 

But  he  dies  not,  forevermore — he  is  the  ultimate  of 

life! 
And  will  for  age  refine  and  rise,  no  matter  through 

what  line  of  strife 
He  has  fulfilled  the  mandate,  stern,  that  brought  him 

on  and  off  the  earth, 
No  matter  in  what  barb'rous  age  was  cast  the  hour 

of  his  birth; 
]STo  matter  to  what  creed  he  clung,  or  if  he  clung 

to  none  at  all; 
No  matter  whose  poor  slave  he  was,  or  who  have 

trembled  at  his  call; 
He   still    is  G-od's    own    darling   child,    the    choicest 

product  of  His  life, 
And   though   he  may  for  ages  show   the   scars   and 

bruises  of  earth's  strife, 
Yet  at  the  last,  refined  and  bright,  his  gladdened  soul 

with  joy  will  rise 
And  with  hosannas  unto  God  march  up  the  causeway 

of  the  skies! 
Go  bear  to  all  the  ends  of  earth,  wherever  gropes  a 

brother  man, 
And   prefer  him  these  living  truths,  revealments  of 

the  mighty  plan. 
God  raises  up  no  special  ones  as  leaders  of  the  toiling 

mass, 

All  such  are  ministers  of  Pride  —  a  worthless,  self- 
commissioned  class 


268 

Who,  for  the  living  that  they  get,  load  down  the  mind 

with  error's  chains  ; 
Cast  off  these  incubii  —  digest  your  mental  food  through 

your  own  brains ! 
What   is  a   dinner   howe'er    rich   or    life    sustaining, 

worth  to  you, 
To  build   your  wasting  form   up,  which    some   other 

stomach  has  passed  through  ? 
On  all  beneath  him  man  refines,  and  we  in  turn  on 

man  refine, 
The  highest  working  next  below,  clear  up  through  all 

the  endless  line. 
And  naught  is  Wrong  and  all  is  Eight "  here 

rang  the  trumpets'  battle  peal, 
"Fall  in!  fall  in!  steady,  my  men!  Fire!!  Now  give 

them  the  cold  steel ! " 
A  sad  and  bloody  comment  on  the  pleasant  theory 

above  — 
A  sharp,  hard,  argument  against  the  growing  potency 

of  love, 
Was  the  fierce  strife  of  headlong  men  that  woke  the 

echoes  round  that  hill, 
Whose  endless,  multiplying   tongues  like  screaming 

devils  screeched,  "kill!  kill!" 
But  still  it  is  a  truth  for  all,  that  will  live  on  and  shine 

for  aye, 
When  deadly  passions  long  have  slept  with  all  the  low 

things  that  decay! 


PART   TWENTY-FOURTH. 

SHEEMAN'S  CAMPAIGN  IN  GEOEGIA-FEOM  ATLANTA  TO 
CHATTANOOGA -SHEEMAN'S  GEEAT  MAECH  TO  THE  SEA— 
HAEEY'S  LETTEE  PEOM  SAVANNAH— THE  END  OF  THE 
WAE-HAEET'S  LAST  LETTEE  TO  MANOMIN-HIS  SENTI 
MENTS  UPON  THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  LINCOLN, 


hundred  days  of  ceaseless  toil,  hard  marching 

over  hills  and  rocks, 
Through  forests,   glades   and   swamps  and   streams, 

daily  administering  hard  knocks 
To  treason's  groggy,  battered  crown  —  more  than  two 

thousand  trying  hours, 
And   then  our  brave   boys  cried  "Hurrah!  Atlanta 

is  forever  ours!" 
Upon  Lost  Mountain's  rugged  steep  and  rocky  Ken- 

esaw's  high    crown, 
At   Smyrna,  Camp-ground,    Peach-tree    Creek,    was 

many  a  gallant  life  laid  down. 
But  now  the  rough  campaign  was  o'er,  and  a  brief 

period  of  rest 
'Was  granted   to  those   faithful    boys  —  our   glorious 

Army  of  the  West. 
269 


270 

There,  after  wandering  around,  from  point  to  point, 

and  post  to  post, 
For  some  two  hundred  days  or  more,  like  an  unhappy, 

restless  ghost, 
Came  Uncle   DARLING'S  last  brief  note,  informing 

HARRY  of  the  place 
"Where  lived  that  special  presence  he  loved  most  of 

all  the  human  race. 
He  dreamed  not  as  he  read  with  joy  its  rude,  rough 

characters,  that  day, 
The  warm,  true  heart  that  coined  them  was  a  cold  and 

lifeless  lump  of  clay.* 
His   soul   brimmed   over  with  delight  —  he   saw  the 

unborn  future's  hours 
Come  tripping  up,  all  wreathed  in  smiles  and  crowned 

with  Hope's  most  precious  flowers. 
A  constant,  true  and  loving  heart  still  hungered  for 

him  on  the  earth, 
Still   hoped   and   waited,  yearned  and  prayed  to  be 

delivered  from  its  dearth; 
Still  looked  to  see  some  angel  hand  reach  down  and 

save  it  from  despair;  — 
The   letter   HARRY  wrote   that   night  was  Heaven's 

answer  to  its  prayer. 
Oh,  what  a  flood  of  earnest  love,  long  pent  within 

his  swelling  soul, 


*See  the  article  at  the  commencement  of  this  volume  headed  "In 
Memoriam." 


271 

Now  poured  its  ardent  volume  forth  along  his  letter's 

lengthy  scroll. 
He  told  her  all  the  fearful  things  that  had  befallen 

since  the  night, 
His  reason  trembled   on   its  throne   in  terror  at  the 

dreadful  sight 
Of  mother,  father,  sister,  all  he  thought  that  earth 

for  him  held  dear 
Murdered  and  mangled  horribly,  ere  he  could  reach 

them  though  so  near. 
He  told  her  how  he  thought  her  dead,  and  what  a  boil 

his  heart  became, 
And  how  he  sought  her  at  death's  door  through  every 

battle's  smoke  and  flame! 
"  And  when  at  last  that  door  swung  wide  and  with 

swift  feet  I  hurried  through, 

'Twas  but  to  find  a  broader  gulf  was  stretched  be 
tween  myself  and  you ! " 
He  begged  her  to  go  down  below  ere  winter  should, 

with  icy  hand, 
Palsy  the    streams,  or  with  huge  drifts  of  blinding 

snow  blockade  the  land; 
"For  if  you  should  not,  oh,  my  own!  no  word  of  love, 

the  winter  through, 
No  word  to  cheer  our  waiting  hearts  can  be  exchanged 

between  us  two. 
Then  come  below,  down  to  St.  Cloud,  or  better  yet, 

down  to  St.  Paul, 


272 

And   there  in  patient   hope  await  whatever  fortune 

may  befall 

Him  whose  uncertain  pathway  lies  along  war's  dan 
gerous,  lurid  track, 
Who,  having  hold  of  Freedom's  plow,  until  the  end, 

will  not  look  back. 
Enclosed  I  send  you  names  of  friends,  some  comrades' 

families,  who  live 
In  good  condition  at  St.  Paul  and  who,  I  know,  will 

gladly  give 
You  room  and  welcome  just  as  long  as  it  may  please 

you  to  remain, 
So  start  at  once,  comedown,  come  down;  pray,  let 

me  not  beseech  in  vain ! " 


Savannah's  broad  and   silvan  streets  were  swarming 

with  our  "  boys  in  blue," 
Who  said  they  'd  come  from  Tennessee  because  they  'd 

nothing  else  to  do! 
But  on  their  path  full  many  a  heart,   unhoused,  in 

desolation  wept  — 
A  track  through  Georgia,  miles  in  width,  with  war's 

red  besom  they  had  swept ! 
And  HARRY,  who  with  all   the   rest  marched  from 

Atlanta  to  the  sea, 
Was  writing  to  MANOMIN  there  beneath  a  "Pride- 

of-India  "  tree :  — 


278 

"Mr  BARLING  — since  I  wrote  you  last,  how  have 

the  fleeting  hours  sped! 

A  hundred  more  historic  days  down  Time's  long  cor 
ridor  have  fled! 
Scarce  had  I  mailed  my  last  to  you  ere  we  were  up 

and  in  full  chase 
Of  HOOD'S   rag'muffins,    who   compelled  our  patient 

army  to  retrace 
Its  footsteps  many  weary  miles,  that  had  been  weary 

once  before, 
And  traces,  all  along  the  route,   of  many  a  gallant 

action  bore. 
But  not  a  single  murmur  rose  from  all  those  lines 

of  noble  men; 
Oh,  if  I  loved  our  boys  before,  I  worshipped  the  dear 

fellows  then, 
Who  with    bright   faces,  willing  hearts,  elastic  step 

and  cheerful  shout 
Shouldered  their  muskets,  swung  their  caps  and  on 

that  backward  march  set  out. 
We  followed  swiftly,  long  and.  well  our  nimble  and 

now  cautious  foe, 

But  did  not  once  get  near  enough  to  strike  the  vaga 
bonds  a  blow. 
Around    old   Kenesaw's   rough    base    we    lay,    when 

gallant  CORSE'S  guns, 
From  Altoona's  Pass  poured  forth  hot  iron  logic  from 

their  lungs.  •    .    t 

18 


274 

Eight  gallantly  we  strove  to  reach  the  rebel  rear  ere 

they  withdrew, 
Eut  getting  wind  of    us,  somehow,  they  raised  the 

siege  and  off  they  flew. 

Away  to  Kingston  next  we  pushed,  then  onward,  fur 
ther,  marched  to  Rome, 
Then  crossed  the  Ostenaula,  still  pursuing  treasons 

flying  gnome. 
But  our  light,  unencumbered  foe  kept  well  ahead  of 

us,  despite 
The  superhuman  speed  we  made,  and  could  not  once 

be  brought  to  fight. 
Disgusted,  we  now  paused  awhile   in  Chattanooga's 

sumptuous  vale; 

And  long,  I  fear  me,  will  its  rich,  purse-proud  in 
habitants  bewail 
The  day  their  fertile  valley  shook  beneath  our  army's 

heavy  tramp ; 
Scores  of  broad  fields  were  quickly  turned  into  one 

vast  and  noisy  camp ! 
"What  foraging,  for  miles  around !  what  gathering  in 

of  corn  and  meat ! 
Right  well  our  army  understood  the  value  of  good 

things  to  eat! 
Nearly  two  weeks  we  rested  there,  recuperating  beast 

and  man, 
Then  breaking  camp  and  shouldering  arms  SHERMAN'S 

historic  march  began.* 

*  SHERMAN'S  grout  inarch  actually  commenced  from  the  valley  of  the 
Chattanooga,  on  the  first  of  November,  1864.  See  his  own  official  report 
on  this  subject. 


275 

What  shall  I  tell  you  of  that  march?  There  is  but 

little  1  can  say, 
As  unimpeded  we  advanced  a  certain  distance  every 

day. 
The  greatness  of  it  does  not  rest  on  what  we  did  or 

how  we  fared, 
But  on  the  deeds  we  would  have  done  —  the  unknown 

dangers  that  we  dared! 
'Tis  true  we  waded  streams  and  swamps,  built  bridges 

and  laid  corduroys, 
But  all  such  things,  in  times  of  peace,  are  common  to 

our  western  boys. 
Our  march  was  a  great  gala  time,  a  pic-nic  party. 

the  men  said, 
And    well   I   warrant    me   that    ne'er  were   pic-nic 

party  better  fed! 
Eggs,   ham   and   bacon,   poultry,    lambs,   butter   and 

honey,  milk  and  cheese, 

Rich  golden  syrups,  apple  jams,  and  all  such  delica 
cies  as  these, 

Including  ripe  old  mellow  wines,  peach  brandy,  bour 
bons  and  cigars, 
Fit  for  a  prince,  nay  better  yet,  fit  for  the  proudest 

of  the  czars, 
Were  found  abundant  in   each  mess  o'er  nearly  all 

that  lengthy  route, 
For  which  we  often  had  to  thank  our  " '  independent 

bummer  scout/" 


276 

But  often,  as  I  lay  encamped  'neath  the  great  pines 

at  close  of  day, 
I  thought  with  pity  upon  those  whom  we  despoiled 

upon  the  way. 

Many  a  cupboard  we  left  hare,  stripped  many  a  smoke 
house  of  its  meat, 
And   many   a    little    one,   I   fear,   will   beg   in   vain 

a  crust  to  eat. 
Such  are   the  bitter  fruits  of  war ;  oh,   how  I  pray 

all  wars  may  cease, 
And  folding  up  their  crimson  wings  disturb  no  more 

the  reign  of  peace ! 
I  love  the  grandeur  of  the  scenes  each  day  before  us 

have  been  spread, 
The  rich  savannahs,  graceful  streams  and  tall  pines 

chanting  overhead, 
Which  have   for  centuries  shook  down  their  golden 

spindles  and  gray  burs 
Until  it  seems  as  if   our  feet  profaned   a  soft,  rich 

robe  of  furs! 
'Tis   sad   the   music   of    these    woods,    whose    "  deep 

diapasons  "  all  feel, 
Should  jar  with  war's  discordant  sounds  —  the  hoarse 

command  and  clang  of  steel  — 
That  now,  where  ages,  solemn  hymns  have  only  floated 

to  the  skies, 
The  bugle's  slogan  should   ascend   and  smoke  from 

hostile  camps  arise  ! 


277 

Your  letter  reached  me,  darling  one,  and  its  sad  con 
tents  made  me  weep; 
A  little  longer,   and  I  hope   the   sunny  hand  of  joy 

will  sweep 
Those  cobwebs  of  our  hearts  away,  and  fill  our  beings 

with  delight; 
Hold  fast  your  faith,  my  chastened  one,  day  even  now 

gleams  through  our  night. 
YYe're  under  marching   orders,  love;    at  every  halt 

I'll  write  to  you, 
And  mail  the  letters  every  time  there  is  a  chance  to 

get  them  through. 
Good  bye,  my  own,  and  may  the  powers  of  earth  and 

air  and  heaven,  above, 
Protect  you,  shield  you,  keep  you  safe,  my  own,  long 

suffering,  patient  love.'' 

The  war  was  over!  yes,  oh  yes,  the  wasteful  strife 
at  last  was  done, 

And  Treason  crushed  and  Freedom  saved !  and  still 
the  "many"  were  "in  one!"* 

Four  years  of  devastating  war  —  four  years  of  battle 
and  of  blood  — 

Eaids,  murders,  robberies  by  land  and  dreadful  pira 
cies  by  flood, 

Four  years  of  darkness  and  of  doubt,  distrust,  anxiety 
and  pain, 


*E  Plnribus  Unum. 


278 

And  heart-strings  tensioned  till  it  seemed  they'd  burst 

asunder  with  the  strain, 
When  suddenly,  with  crushing  force,  GRANT  hurled 

his  legions  on  the  foe ! 
Sharp  was  the  struggle,  sharp  and  short,  and  sudden 

treason's  overthrow. 
.Richmond,    was   taken,   LEE   pursued,   and    soon  he 

yielded  up  the  sword; 
JOHNSON  surrendered — peace  was  gained — oh,  peace ! 

white-robed  and  blessed  word! 
Long  may  our  children  lisp  thy  name  —  palsied  the 

tongue  who'd  change  thee  for 

That  seething  synonym  of  blood,  that  word  of  dread 
ful  import  —  WAK. 
At  Raleigh  SHERMAN'S  army  lay,  with  fresh  gained 

laurels  round  its  brow, 
Its  work  was  done  —  most  nobly  done  —  'twas  soon  to 

be  disbanded  now. 
And   HARRY'S   joy  was   deep   and  full,   for  oh,  his 

coming  bliss  was  near, 
And  by  his  own   consent  I  give  his  last  and  joyful 

letter  here :  — 


"DEAR  MANOMIN  —  I  am  writing,  calmly  as  I  may, 
inditing, 

On  this  lovely  May-day  morning,  underneath  a  bloom 
ing  tree, 


279 

While  beneath  me  flowers  are  springing  and  above 
me  birds  are  singing, 

And  my  heart  with  joy  is  brimming,  my  last  letter 
unto  thee ! 

Ere  this  note  your  hearthstone  reaches  you  will  know 
all  that  it  teaches  — 

That  "  '  our  cruel  war  is  over 1 "  and  rebellion  crushed 
at  last; 

While  upon  Time's  certain  pinion,  from  sweet  Cupid's 
soft  dominion, 

For  us  both,  my  little  precious,  days  of  joy  are  dawn 
ing  fast. 

We  are  under  marching  orders  —  straight  across  Se- 
cessia's  borders, 

We  set  out  to-morrow  morning  on  our  gleeful,  home 
ward  way. 

Now  there  is  no  foe  to  harm  us,  not  a  danger  to 
alarm  us, 

And  you  'II  feel  me  nearer,  darling,  with  the  ending 
of  each  day, 

Until  by  and  by,  some  morrow,  that  cold  parasite  of 
sorrow 

That  has  wrapped  your  heart  like  net-work,  shall  un 
fold,  a  blooming  vine, 

'ISTeath  love's  psychologic  power  it  shall  burst  into 
full  flower 

As  we  kneel  together,  darling,  and  are  rendered 
"  *  thine-and-mine.' " 


280 

Oh,  that  day  is  swiftly  looming,  I  ean  see  it  in  the 

glooming, 
Down  the  future's  murky  vista,  shooting  up  a  courier 

ray; 
May  its  advent,    then,  be  speedy,  for  our  famished 

hearts  are  needy  — 
Fainting  for  the  rare  refreshment  to  be  served  them 

on  that  day! 
All  the  blooming   woods   are    ringing  with  the  early 

songsters,  singing, 
Though  their  music  scarce  attesteth  half  theecstacy 

they  feel 
As  they  revel  'mid  the  flowers  in  the  warm  sunshiny 

hours; 
So  this  letter  to-  you,  darling,  will  not  more  than  half 

reveal 
All  the  length  and  depth  of  measure  of  the  ocean  of 

my  pleasure 
Whose  ecstatic,   blissful   billows  in  unceasing  surges 

roll 
Through  my  being,  grandly  sweeping,  then  in  softer 

echoes  leaping 
"With  unnumbered,  tender  voices  through  the  chambers 

of  my  soul ! 
Still  above  my  sunny  gladness  hangs  a  mournful  pall 

of  sadness, 
Heaping  high  with  heavy   shadows   the  glad  temple 

of  my  heart, 


281 

j 

Through  my  spirit's  essence  stealing,  seizing  on  the 

throne  of  feeling, 
While  swift  tears  of  vengeful  sorrow  from  my  eyes 

unbidden  start ! 
Noble   LINCOLN!  murdered   brother!    can   the   world 

produce  another 
Whom,  amid  intestine  passion  every  one  would  love  so 

well? 
Who,  though  drinking  hatred's  chalice  bore  no  living 

being  malice 
And  had  often  grasped  in  kindness  the  red  hand  by 

which  he  fell ! 
Oh,  how  causeless,  void  of  reason,  was  this  last  black 

act  of  treason  — 
Striking  down  with  devilish  venom  a  true  friend  who 

would  have  cared 
For  his  enemies  with  kindness,  with  a  tender  mother's 

blindness, 
And    much   keen    humiliation   to   the    traitors   would 

have  spared. 

To  the  darkness  of  perdition  will  the  annals  of  tra 
dition 
Ever  more  consign  thy  memory,  oh,  fiendish  J.  WIL- 

KES  BOOTH  I 
Thou  malicious,  treacherous  player,  thou  envenomed, 

skulking  slayer, 
Genius  wipes  thy  name  forever  from  her  list  of  royal 

youth ! 


While   a  hymn  to  LINCOLN'S  praises  every  coming 

minstrel  raises 
On  all  the  earth's  broad  continents  and  islands  of  the 

sea, 
And  the  angel  choirs  o'er  us  bear  aloft  the  swelling 

chorus, 
There  shall   nothing  rise  but  hisses  and  anathemas 

for  thee! 
But,   my  darling,  I  'm  digressing  and  my  time,  just 

now,  is  pressing, 
So  I'll  turn  again,  though  briefly,   to  the  subject  of 

our  joy, 
Every   instant   growing   surer,   out  of  sorrow  rising 

purer  — 
For   affliction   is   the  touch-stone   that   exposes  life's 

alloy. 
I  must  close  this  little  letter,  and  I  grieve  that  'tis 

no  better; 
Heaven  bless  you,  oh  my  precious there!  ]  hear 

the  mustering  drum! 
Keep  your  lamp  well  filled  and  burning  for  the  absent 

one  returning-, 
Else  before  you  are  aware  of  it  the  bridegroom  will 

have  come ! 


PART  TWENTY-FIFTH. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  WINTER  AT  LEECH  LAKE -A  NEW  CHAR 
ACTER -AN  ACCOUNT  OF  MANOMIN'S  FATHER— MANOMIN 
MEETS  A  STRANGER-HEARS  FROM  HARRY— LOVE'S  CROSS 
PURPOSE— PEWAUBECK  WITH  ANEW  LOVE— THE  JOUR 
NEY  TO  ST,  PAUL-THE  RADICAL  POWER  OF  LOVE-WHAT 
MANOMIN  DOES  WITH  HER  MONEY  — HARRY  ARRIVES  — 
THE  DOUBLE  WEDDING-SONG  OF  THE  MARRIAGE  CHIME, 


rHiTE,  sheeted  winter  laid  its  glittering  hand  upon 
the  murmuring  lips  of  lakes  and  streams, 

And  silence  reigned  through  all  that  icy  land,  save 
when  the  lynx-cat  woke  the  night  with  screams, 

Or  fiery-eyeballed  wolf  howled  through  the  wood,  or 
Hyperborei  struck  their  harps  of  pines ; 

And  gracefully  through  that  vast  solitude,  the  trackless 
snowdrifts  stretched  their  curving  lines; 

And  not  a  bird,  excepting  now  and  then  a  moping  ra 
ven,  toiling  with  cold  wing, 

To  wake  the  frozen  echoes  of  the  glen  or  cheer  the 
hope  with  promises  of  spring. 
283 


284 

And  bleak,  and  cold,  and  cheerless  as  that  scene  was 
poor  MANOMIN'S  winter-driven  heart  — 

No  flower  of  Faith  or  tiniest  leaflet  green  a  hope  of 
spring-time  struggled  to  impart. 

Three  wintry  months  their  ghostly  robes  had  trailed 
past  every  wigwam  in  that  Indian  town, 

For  ninety  days  the  shivering  pines  had  wailed  before 
the  arctic  tempests  driving  down, 

Since  that  sad  morning  poor  MANOMIN  bent,  with  shiv 
ered  hopes,  so  low,  her  graceful  head, 

O'er  the  brief  letter  Uncle  DARLING  sent,  that  told  her 
he,  whom  she  adored,  was  dead. 

Oh,  God  !  it  was  a  moving  sight  to  see  the  deep  intense- 
ness  of  that  young  thing's  grief, 

So  like  a  tender,  young  and  blooming  tree  by  stroke  of 
lightning  turned  to  yellow  leaf ! 

But  in  those  months,  before  the  snows  grew  deep,  from 
far  Fort  Garry*  a  young  cousin  came ; 

A  shy  young  girl,  who  early  learned  to  weep  for  pa 
rents  lost;  MELLISSA  was  her  name. 

MANOMIN'S  father  and  MELLISSA'S  were  the  two  sole 
children  of  an  humble  man, 

Whose  days  were  spent  amid  the  spindle's  whir,  where 
streams  of  thread  to  eddying  bobbins  ran. 

In  great  Manchester's  busy  hive  was  he  an  ever 
ready,  uncomplaining  hand, 


*Fort  Garry  is  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  settlement  on  the  Red  River 
of  the  North,  known  also  by  the  name  of  "Selkirk  Settlement." 


285 

A  quiet,  humble,  steady,  "busy  bee"  —  a  type  of  man 

peculiar  to  that  land  — 
That  land  where  few  have  all,  the  many  none  —  all 

wealth,  intelligence  and  lordly  ease  — 
The  few  feed  high  on  every  luxury  known  —  the  many 

pinched  for  even  bread  and  cheese. 
Here  GEORGE  and  THOMAS  LEFINGWELL  were  born, 

but  ere  they  had  attained  to  man's  estate 
They  held  the  factory's  drudgery  in  scorn  and  crossed 

the  sea  in  quest  of  better  fate. 
Of  bold,  adventurous  spirit,  they  struck  out  at  once 

across  the  continent's  broad  face, 
Where   they  would  not   be    rudely  pushed  about  by 

swarming,  jostling  seekers  after  place. 
One  married  a  Scotch  girl,  in  Selkirk  town,  and  first 

to  trapping,  then  to  trading  turned, 
The  other  one  at  Crow  "Wing  settled  down,  married  a 

bright-eyed  Indian  maid  and  learned 
Firstly  and  foremost  all  the  Indian  ways,  their  tongue 

and  s-uperstitions  and  beliefs, 
Their  loves  and  hatreds,  all  their  games  and  plays,  their 

hopes  and  fears,  traditions,  joys  and  griefs. 
And  by  shrewd  sympathy  in  all  their  ways  he  bound 

them  to  him,  with  magnetic  chain, 
Which  bit  of  strategy,  in  after  days,  contributed  im 
mensely  to  his  gain. 
This  was  MANOMIN'S  father,  and  I've  told  how  he  gave 

up  his  life,  one  stormy  day, 


286 

And  left  MANOMIN  heiress  to  much  gold,  but  what  be 
came  of  it  I  Ve  yet  to  say. 

The  other  was  MELLISSA'S  sire,  and  she,  as  did  MA 
NOMIN,  lost  her  mother  first, 

And  then  her  father,  shortly  after,  he  was  slain  one 
morning  by  a  gun  that  burst,  — 

A  brash  old  musket  which  he  tried  to  fire  in  celebra 
tion  of  the  Queen's  birth  day  — 

But  ah,  that  vitreous  flint's  impingement  dire  did  "fix 
his  flint "  and  turned  his  joy  to  clay ! 

He,  too,  like  THOMAS,  left  his  girl  some  wealth,  an 
education  such  as  he  had  gained, 

An  honest  heart,  sound  body  and  good  health,  a  mind 
in  ways  of  truth  and  virtue  trained. 

Her  eyes  were  blue  as  heaven's  owrn  azure  sky,  her 
tresses  soft  and  golden  as  the  rays 

Of  autumn's  sun,  that  tell  when  draweth  nigh  the  mel 
low,  dreamy,  Indian-summer  days. 

And  she,  it  was,  who  with  MANOMIN,  now,  lived  at  the 
mission  house  in  Leech  Lake  town, 

And  strove  to  charm  the  shadows  from  her  brow,  and 
sun  away  the  white  frosts,  settling  down, 

Thicker  and  thicker  daily  round  her  heart,  while 
fainter  burned  the  fire  of  her  eye, 

Until  it  seemed  that  some  magician's  art  were  needed 
quickly  that  she  might  not  die ! 

Time's  pulse  throbbed  on,  and  northward  came  the  sun, 
and  winter's  legions  struck  their  tents  and  fle.d ; 


287 

Those  days  of  painful  silence  were  all  done,  and  nature 
seemed  arising  from  the  dead. 

But  still  the  grave  in  poor  MANOMIN'S  heart  this  glor 
ious  quickening  did  not  seem  to  share ; 

Wherever  else  spring  might  new  life  impart  there 
seemed  to  be  no  resurrection  there ! 

But,  like  a  spectre,  sad  and  silent,  she,  the  daily  routine 
of  her  life  went  through ; 

Not  one  glad  note  or  rippling  sound  of  glee  the  un 
strung  spinnet  of  her  spirit  knew. 

Far  down  into  the  depths  of  those  dark  pines  alone  she 
wandered,  nearly  every  day, 

And  there,  at  one  of  nature's  many  shrines,  for  hours 
together  she  would  weep  and  pray ; 

With  sobs  would  say,  "Oh,  HARRY!  do  you  hear? 
unbolt  the  door  of  your  bright  home,  on  high, 

And  let  me  feel  your  precious  presence  near,  or  rend 
away  the  veil  Hwixt  you  and  I ! " 

The  spring  time  passed,  the  summer  came  and  went, 
the  buskined  foot  of  autum  pressed  the  ground, 

And  frightened  streams,  with  purple  leaves  besprent, 
crept  into  every  morass  that  they  found ! 

On  one  raw  day,  when  hung  in  sable  hue  of  gathering 
tempests,  was  the  threatening  sky, 

When  courier  winds  their  frosty  bugles  blew,  proclaim 
ing  the  great  Arctic  Monarch  nigh, 

MANOMIN,  wandering,  as  her  wont,  alone,  alike  indif 
ferent  to  dame  Nature's  moods — 


288 

Whether  it  froze,  or  thawed,  or  stormed,  or  shone  — 
met,  suddenly,  a  stranger  in  the  woods. 

He  gazed  at  her ;  she  cast  her  glances  down,  he  paused, 
then  turning  back  again,  he  said : 

"  I  seek  MANOMIN  LEFINGWELL  in  town.1'  "  That  is 
my  name  !  what  would  you?  I'm  the  maid.'' 

Forth  from  his  vesture  then  the  stranger  drew  a  letter, 
he  had  brought  her  from  Crow  Wing, 

One  glance  !  she  seized  it !  "  God!  can  it  be  true !  "  an 
other  look,  and  then  the  woods  did  ring 

With  a  wild  scream  that  made  the  stranger  start,  and 
poor  MANOMIN  swooned  and  fell  to  earth, 

But  with  her  letter  clasped  unto  her  heart,  as  though 
it  held  all  life  itself  was  worth ! 

There  was  a  stream  of  water  close  at  hand,  and  mak 
ing  use  of  his  soft  castor's  crown, 

The  stranger  bathed  her  brow  till  she  could  stand,  then 
gently  led  her  back  again  to  town. 

MELLISSA  paled,  and  trembled  with  affright  to  see 
MANOMIN,  tottering  along, 

Led  by  a  stranger,  and  in  piteous  plight  —  her  loosened 
hair  swept  down  in  tresses  long  — 

Her  waist  unbound,  while  idly  hung  her  zone  —  "-He 
lives!'"  she  cried  and  sank  into  a  chair, 

" He  lives  on  earth !  Oh  God!  before  thy  throne  I  thanh 
thee  for  this  answer  to  my  prayer !  " 

With  thanks  from  all  the  stranger  went  his  way ;  he 
was  a  trader  looking  after  fur, 


289 

And  as  MANOMIN'S  letter  came  the  day  he  left  Crow 

Wing,  he  brought  it  on  to  her. 
Now  left  alone  she  read,  with  heart  aglow,  that  tender 

missive  through  and  through,  and  made 
Decision  instant  to  go  down  below,  as  HARRY  earnestly 

therein  had  prayed. 

We  '11  leave  her  packing  up  her  things  and  turn  a  back 
ward  glance  —  a  brief  one  it  must  be  — 
Upon  MELLISSA  LEFINGWELL'S  sojourn  at  Leech  Lake 

mission,  and  quite  likely,  we 
May  find  some  matter  worthy  of  our  ken,  some  strange 

affair  of  love's  cross  purpose,  which, 
The  patient  muse  still  smiling  on  my  pen,  may  be  ar 
ranged  in  this  uncouth  distich. 
We  dropped  PEWAUBECK  somewhere,  on  our  track, 

with  a  sad  load  of  unrequited  love, 
But  with  a  pride  that  kept  confession  back  and  lent 

him  strength  to  nobly  rise  above 
The  pow'r  that  binds  so  many  others  down,  the  pow'r 

that  makes  so  many  fools,  forsooth, 
And  gave  this  ancient  adage  its  renown:  —  "  the  course 

of  true  love  never  yet  ran  smooth  ! " 
MELLISSA'S  eyes,  as  I  have  said,  were  blue,  and  her 

fair  skin  was  of  a  pinkish  tint, 
While  her  soft  locks  were  of  so  rich  a  hue  they  would 

have  shamed  the  treasures  of  a  mint ! 
And  was  it  strange,  when  often  left  alone,  PEWAUBECK 

should  have  come  to  her  relief, 

19 


290 

Or  they  walk  out  and  talk,  in  pitying  tone,  of  pooi 

MANOMIN'S  deep,  destroying  grief? 
Or  yet  more  strange,  that  in  PEWAUBECK'S  heart  an 

azure  orb  of  softness  should  arise, 
That,  in  MELLISSA'S  absence,  did  impart  the  same 

strange  feeling  as  her  own  blue  eyes? 
Alas !  alas !  a  tale  too  often  told !  PEWAUBECK  was  a 

man,  and  man  I  find  — 
At  least  'tis  so  maintained  by  sages  old  —  was  simply 

born  to  love  all  woman  kind  I 
At  all  events  he  loved  MELLISSA  well,  and  'twas  a 

thing  most  sensible  to  do, 

And  on  no  stony  ground  his  passion  fell  —  right  heart 
ily  MELLISSA  loved  him,  too. 
Now  do  not  deem  PEWAUBECK  fickle,  nor  that  worse 

than  no-sex  thing,  a  male  coquette, 
Who,  like  a  bee,  sips  sweets  from  every  flow'r,  till 

satiate  grown,  hums  off  in  cold  neglect. 
For  he  had  loved  MANOMIN  many  years  with  all  the 

depth  and  truth  there  is  to  love; 
Yet  not   the  pleading  of  his  boyish  tears  nor  riper 

eloquence  her  heart  could  move. 
And  lacking  oil  whereon  its  flame  to  feed,  his  lamp  of 

love  was  shorn  of  its  bright  beams, 
Which  left  his  heart  a  charnel  house  indeed,  strewn 

with  the  ashes  of  his  early  dreams. 
How  better,  then,  than  yielding  to  despair,,  he,  like 

the  proud  chief  that  he  was,  should  give 


291 

His  torpid  love  unto  another's  care  whose  warm  affec 
tion  bade  it  wake  and  live ! 

Nor  deem  MELLISSA  played  th'  enticer's  part  —  she 
loved  MANOMIN  and  with  love  was  paid, 

But  in  sad  coin  struck  from  a  heavy  heart,  uncurrent 
at  Affection's  Board  of  Trade! 

It  lacked  the  sonorous  ring  of  the  true  coin  the  empty 
coffers  of  her  being  prayed, 

And  that  her  trailing  life-lines  chanced  to  join  those  of 
PEWAUBECK'S,  who  can  blame  the  maid  ? 

And  thus  it  happened,  thus  it  came  about,  as  unex 
pected  things  so  often  do, 

That  where  one  wedding,  even,  was  in  doubt,  there 
seems  fair  promise  suddenly  of  two! 


MANOMIN  and  MELLISSA  reached  St.  Paul  upon  the 
St.  Cloud  coach,  one  chilly  day, 

And  not  a  single  incident,  at  all  worth  writing  of' 
befell  them  on  the  way. 

As  soon  as  they  were  quartered  and  got  warm,  had 
bathed,  and  dined,  and  rested,  and  felt  strong, 

MANOMIN  wrote  to  HARRY  of  the  storm  her  shivering 
soul  had  been  out  in  so  long ; 

It  was  a  tender  missive,  I'll  be  bound,  for  you  remem 
ber  that  it  made  him  weep; 

It  was  the  one,  you  recollect,  that  found  him  at  Savan 
nah,  in  bis  onward  sweep. 


292 

Not  much  of  note  occurred  to  her  that  fall,  nor  yet, 
indeed,  the  whole  long  winter  through. 

One  day  poor  Mrs.  DARLING,  at  St.  Paul,  she  chanced 
to  meet,  and  for  the  first  time,  knew 

That  her  heroic  husband  had  been  killed,  and  left 
behind  her,  in  a  distant  State, 

And  at  the  news  her  soul  with  horror  chilled,  and  grief 
her  heart  did  deeply  penetrate. 

She  freely  gave  the  substance  of  her  purse,  prayed 
her  to  bear  up  under  what  fate  willed, 

And  thank  the  eternal  Pow'r  it  was  no  worse,  that  she 
and  her  two  children  were  not  killed. 

The  spring  time  came,  and  with  it  came  a  man,  dark- 
eyed  and  swarthy,  elegant  and  tall  — 

"  Why  bless  my  stars !  it  can't  be  !  yes  it  can!  it  surely 
is  PEWAUBECK,  after  all! 

But  oh!  how  changed  !"  his  flowing  hair  cut  close,  en 
robed  in  white  man's  clothes  as  black  as  soot, 

His  feet  —  well !  well !  would  any  one  suppose  an  In 
dian  chief  would  ever  sport  a  boot  ? 

Oh,  Love !  you  are  a  little  tyrant  sure,  the  strongest 
to  thee  bow  the  knee  at  times ; 

But  since  of  barbarous  notions  thou  canst  cure  an  Indian 
chief  I  '11  bless  thee  in  my  rhymes ! 

It  was  PEWAUBECK,  then,  that  came  that  day,  and 
splendidly  the  noble  fellow  looked, 

And  from  the  "  sea,"  her  friends  declared,  straightway, 
no  worthier  "  fish  "  MELLISSA  could  have  hooked! 


293 

And  glad,  indeed  they  were  to  see  him  there,  MANO- 

MIN  needed  him  to  aid  a  plan 
She  had  arranged  with  most  elaborate  care,  but  which 

concerned  a  certain  other  man. 
It  was,  to  build  upon  the  dear  old  spot,  where  she  had 

known  so  many  days  of  bliss, 

A  handsome,  snug  and  cosy  little  cot,  and  neatly  fur 
nish  it  throughout,  and  this 
She  had  more  than  sufficient  means  to  do,  her  coin  her 

banker  having  long  since  sold, 
And  bought  "  5-20 V'  as  she  wrote   him   to,  when 

frightened  coots  $2.90  paid  for  gold. 
MELLISSA,  also,  caused,  at  the  same  time,  another  cot 
tage,  on  her  cousin's  plan, 
To  be  erected  near,  and  'twas  no  crime  that  she  should 

mean  it  for  another  man  ! 
MANOMIN   also   had   some  tombstones  and  four  rich 

de-odorizing  coffins  made, 
And  then,  with  her  own  superintending  hand,  in  nice 

new  graves,  beneath  a  willow's  shade, 
She  laid  her  dear  ones  near  her  cottage  door,  that  she 

might  keep  above  them  flowers  in  bloom, 
And  thus,  while  on  the  Earth-side  of  Time's  shore, 

grow  more  familiar  with  its  gate,  the  tomb! 
Events  are  crowding,  I  must  crowd  my  theme  —  'twas 

only  on  this  July  that 's  just  past, 
When  one  bright  morn  MANOMIN  gave  a  scream,  and 

cried,  "  Oh,  HARRY!  God  be  praised  at  last  " 


294 

Ah,  yes,  indeed!  the  gallant  lad  stood  there, — their 
cups  were  full,  their  sorrows  were  all  done ! 

There  was  a  wedding  shortly  after  where  two  pair  of 
souls  were  wed  instead  of  one! 

They  took  no  wedding  tour  and  needed  none,  but  from 
St.  Paul  straight  to  their  homes  they  went, 

Where,  after  all  their  generous  wives  had  done,  to 
spend  their  lives  there  all  should  he  content. 

That  HARRY  was  surprised  and  liked  the  cot  his  darl 
ing  built  and  furnished,  I've  no  doubt, 

For  does  there  live  a  sane  man  who  would  not?  if  so 
please  point  this  special  wonder  out. 

And  there  they  live,  and  there  may  they  increase ;  my 
story 's  done,  I  have  no  more  to  tell, 

So,  if  you  please,  we  '11  leave  them  there  in  peace  and 
listen  to  what  said  their  marriage  bell : 


SONG  OF  THE  MAKKIAGE  CHIME. 

"  It  is  ended !  it  is  ended !  four  existences  are  blended! 

Never  more  to  be  distracted  by  uncertainties1  dark 
spell ! 

They  are  married  !  they  are  married !  no  love's  prom 
ise  has  miscarried, 

All  is  well,  is  well  forever,  all  is  well  that  endeth 
well! 

Time  is  fleeting!  time  is  fleeting!  Life,  its  lessons 
are  repeating  — 


295 

What  has  happened  will  still  happen,  all  the  tongues 

of  nature  tell, 

God  is  living !  God  is  living !  and  perpetually  giving 
Other  lives  to  rise  and  marry,  bloom  and   perish,'* 

said  the  bell. 
"  'Tis  no  matter,  'tis  no  matter,  whether,  amid  show 

and  clatter, 

In  a  palace  or  a  hovel  your  first  throb  of  life  began ; 
Flesh  is  mortal !  flesh  is  mortal !  just  across  the  spirit's 

portal 
Swings  the  balance  that  shall  weigh  you,  is  the  test 

that  tries  the  man! 

There  eternal,  there  eternal,  'mid  existences  supernal, 
False  or  true,  uncouth  or  lovely,  every  child  of  earth 

must  dwell, 
Then  I  pray  you,  then  I  pray  you,  let  no  schemes  of 

earth  betray  you 
Into   shameful   prostitution  of  your   soulhood,"  sang 

the  bell. 
"Love  each  other!   love  each  other!  every  man  on 

earth's  your  brother! 
Children  of  one  common  father,  in  the  great  stupend- 

uous  plan; 
Then  remember,  then  remember,  you  are  an  immortal 

member 
Of  the  Fatherhood  of  Deus  and  the  Brotherhood  of 

Man! 


296 

I  implore  you,  I  implore  you,  ever  keep  these  truths 
before  you, 

Search  the  chambers  of  your  temple,  every  trifling 
vice  expel; 

Live  more  purely,  live  more  purely,  'twill  be  better 
for  you  surely, 

And  eternal  self-approval  will  reward  you,"  said  the 
bell. 

"  Truth  is  spreading !  truth  is  spreading !  and  the 
-beams  that  she  is  shedding 

Fall  in  places  long  in  darkness,  reach  the  farthest, 
humblest  hearth! 

Creeds  are  falling!  creeds  are  falling!  Error's  cham 
pions  change  their  calling, 

And  enlisting  in  God's  army  help  to  renovate  the 
earth ! 

There  are  millions,  there  are  millions,  there  are  bil 
lions  upon  billions 

Of  supernal  bosoms  thrilling  with  a  joy  that  none  may 
tell 

That  forever,  that  forever,  with  one  God-like,  grand 
endeavor 

You  have  struck  from  dusky  millions  slavery's  fet 
ters,"  sang  the  bell. 

"  Time  is  sweeping,  time  is  sweeping,  onward,  onward 
years  are  leaping; 

Every  soul  that  hears  my  chiming  very  soon,  I  know 
full  well 


297 

In  the  boundless  ether  o'er  us,  with  the  many  gone 

before  us, 
Will  be  marching  to  the  music  of  eternity's  great 

bell. 
So  adieu  then,  so  adieu  then,  oh,  I  pray  you  to  be 

true  men ! 
Beaching  upward,  upward,  upward,  —  ever  striving  to 

expel  — 
Eising  higher,  rising  higher,  when  your  lives  on  earth 

expire, 
Marching  grandly  up  the  pathway  of  the  ages,'*  closed 

the  bell. 


THE  END. 


romance  of 


rhythmical 
Minnesota, 


M57406 


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