Fighting The Wilderness

Fruí tlie Clnistiau Union. lt vvms tin; third duy of a northeast -tui ui Ttie wmd had tretted the lake luto nu mijiry mood, hal here and there .;,st np il nirijHcing line of white spiay. C..H uní ffi'iíy itri ped the clouds with iuip 01 fog tlittt erept down from the shadowy p irees un thf hill, and dnijfp il ilitiiiiüives alotig the quiet strwis ot towu. 1 had resigned uiyseit' tifthe coi:Silitt:on lif a cigar, and reUpsud luto a Micawi'er frame of tuind, wneii H sluucliy-lnuking man, with a haiii'hnjí iíiiii, loumed up out of tho luist at ihi: s reet door, ana with soine shuw et hesitution apuroHolied me at the Imck of the ofHue. Without any word of introductioti he opon d w.th : " 1 vu.ts doo hundert und fifdy tollars on a flrxt moitgajfe on iny ptoberdy of lone liuiicit-it uud sixdy und ftfdy six hundert lijéis." ' W hui o ia it r" I asked. " D. r uonleast guai ter section of downsh?p foiay-nine, lumuh fii(ieen. " "And "wlmi soit of title have you to the land '( ' ■ Vel], I serves fit'e year in der army, und so 1 ht dees luooch tor mine hoinuhtead, und 1 vill show you dor dublioate certiüeate: und l haf Oeen dere doo year und siebtii mout, U'id haf twel: booshei of Oiiti und sex booshei of barley, und one hnndred corts of vood, und my name is Chris'ian AiutmanH - '' "That will do, Chrisiian. 111 go out your way morro w, and if I like the looks of things, 1 will let you have the money. Next morning the wind had veered arüund to the northwesl. A cool breeze tempted the ardor ut' the unclouded sun, and enlivened the surfnce of the darkblue lake with a inultitudinous ripple, joyous and radiant. My way at first led through a low stretch of valley bottom, with tangled alder bushes here and there, but mostly covered with white birch, until it stiuck the slope of a hill and roso by a winding ascent over pebbles and broken rooks and the confused acuumulations of drift, with innumerable wild rttxpberries iïinging the path and teruptmg ttiu tiiivihr to piuok their ripened fruit, until it seitled the crest and afforded i fat i-xtfiidtd view back into the green valley, which hi-re broad -ried toward its junciion with the luke. Theu it declinad over tour or tive undulations, enen lower tliau the precutiing, their funows ñlled m with inacshes, and making long causeways or' corduroy essential to their passage, while at long intervals some rapidly flowing stieam fallintr downward over mossy rocks, suggested trout and the pleamires of fijtaing. At length, after crossing a fallen tree by the side of a hroader and deeper ëtream than all the reit, 1 saw au opening in the wilderness, and my viMtor of the day btfore waiting to receiVH nu: A sevt'n-larred fenóe separittnl tilt; clearing trom the narrow trail hiel) hen' tiiih the place of thn road, aui through ilie rails miglit be seen a wide U-act iif waving tiniothy, oats, and bal !.■; tlu-re was a large patüh of potatoes, and nicloscd ly a tali paling at the side of house, whioh wa of the kind that i u Virginia is styled " uhink und du ub," was a fluurisbiug kitchen-garden. AU this appeared simple enougb, and it was ouly aftel' souie reflectioit and conversation witb iny plebeian Cinuinuatuith.it I appitciateil the btuidy common seiis, the intelligrrtt forethought, the rit mid manline-s wbioh, without other ad tl an i trusty x ;ouid give two strong ;n tus, ...id in lts tiiiiu tlwee years put tbis c'lU'eiiul hume m pluce of a beast intestj ed f.xest. '■ Wlmt iid yon do first, Christian, '.un yon gut iipiii ycur laudr" 'Veil. J'OU sie it vas ou der twenty1 scchs ut December, vor doo year und sibben munt, ven I comes to dese place, unJ it vas niuht so very kalt, und fiiat I builds a leetle schnndee; den I cuts der trees von sechs or sieben agers, uud piles de best wood here and dere, just so far an I cnn cany hun. Den I makes der fence, und der lsetl wood I bimis myaelf, und der brush I takes in one corner, und ween der vind vas right, I burns hini all oop right away." r ] "And what did you do next summerf" " Veil, I plimts a good innny podados, und dree agres timotdy, und sorue barley and oats." "But when did you build tbis loghouae ? Thero must havo been a good deal of work on that. Whoro did you get those fine-looking shingles V" "You seos I makes all der timbers wenn I havo der times. Und I digs a cellar fife feet deep, uud denti begins der house four feet abovo dat, and ïuaks a bank all round, so dat der cellar is very big und nine feet deep, und sehr varra in vinter. Und I puts lat on der inside von der logs und clay between, undso kommt dor vind nicht in. Dio schinglo I makes myself, und dey ist so ruooch better as der schinglo von dein mili, so der house coat only der nails." " And what did you do the oext wiuter '" " I cuts niore trees und tnakes more wood, und now I half un hundret norts ; uud wenu I pulls hiui to town I uaf dree dollar a cort. Und I piles all der tonos bv der stuiups, und makes more timbers und schingles for der atable." Here ho pointed to the solid framework of a good sized stable, already in position, the sbingles in a pile beside it, and souie oonical heaps of stones around the stumps near by. " What are you going to do with all those stones i'" " Vy, now, I have to bring der wasser von der cveek. So I builds so soon as I can a veil tweudy feet deep, uud valls it oop init der stones, und mit der rest I takes haf lime und haf wasser-lime, und valls oop my cellar so dat der dainpf und kalt. kummt nicht in im vinter time." Being left alone, while he went down into the potato patch, I looked into the garden and was surprise i to see how thrifty the onions, lettuce, cahbages, peas, beans, and beets were in this high latitude, and how extensivo a garden hu had put under cultivation without assistance. Entering the house, which had tv hinder apartment used as a store-room, I asked hun where his wife was. "Ach, I hav no vooman yet. You ees I first in doo year more builds a big bain, und den after dat I builds in doo ; year more a grosser house, und den I gets i mine voomau." By this time he had finished cookirig, 1 and motioned me to a table in one corner . of the room, where smoking ham, a dish of mealy potatoes, some hot coffee, and a . large loaf of delicious white bread greeted my hungry and somewhat astonished gaze. The dishes and knives were scrupulously clean. The cooking excellent. " Whnt is that cage lor in the other corniT, and the one under the bed?" " Dey ist vor die shickens in vinter, es is here su shr kalt." "And why don't ynu get a cow? It would makt your living so muoh easier." "Vot could I do mit dem cow venn I first kominit herei' It vas ouly woods ,allaround. TJnd venn I gets dr cow iiow she eats all der hay in next viuter, No, I waits till next spring und den der cow finds sometliing to eat i'or himself." 'Bnt, you are getting alongso well, wliat do you want the money forV" " Vy, now, I must hive dem oxen. Denn 1 tuakes a sled, and venn der snow komiiiit I takes der vood im town und sells hira I haf plendy von hay now for dem keetle. Und im spring I gets a plow und puts im veet. I vill hat' fife ager more cleared by spring." I fait convinced that ihis man at Iea9t was a succt'SS. Ifelt interested in hiin, and wanted to do him a kiudnesg. "Chnstian, you can have the money on mortgage and I shall ask you only twelve per cent."