Early Manners and Customs. 23
��EARLY MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.
By Mary R. P. Hatch.
Fiction is sometimes truer than his- can tell? but we know that the blood
tory or biography, — paradoxical as it of the pioneer has baptized every
may seem ; for in dealing with feel- land where gleams now the light of
ings and motives, one can reason from happy homes.
the inner consciousness, and, by a Anon the foot-path in our forest
natural sequence of ideas, arrive at has become a bridle-path, for seven
truer understanding than by the ren- families have wrested from the wil-
dering of facts as they appear in in- derness their log huts. The sound
cident and event. of the axe is heard on the clear air ;
Thus, in a work of the kind we have the wild beasts recede somewhat,
in hand, it is lawful, I think, to allow coming now at nightfall to howl
the imagination to roam over the fer- around their dwellings, or to gaze
tile fields of the past, and gather here through the windows at the family
and there posies of thought ungar- seated about the blazing fire ; while
nered bv the strict historian. Manv the Indian, with growing hatred,
times have I gazed beyond the beau- passes by, or scowls at the peaceful
tiful, mosaic meadows at the gleam- sight from behind the bushes,
ing surface of our winding Conuecti- Ah ! and here comes a horseman,
cut, or stood upon its banks, and As his horse's feet fall with soft thud
fancied myself back to the time when upon the yielding earth, he is saying
the primeval forest with its under- to himself, perhaps (who knows?),
growth of bushes lay close to its as did Tennyson's Northern Farmer :
banks, and rendered our now beauti- t^ . -. .v , . , .
'■ Do sn't thou ear my orse s legs as they canters
ful valley well-nigh impassable, ex- awaay?
cept to the trained hunter or the Ind- P'-^P^rtty, propertty, propertty, that's what i
'ears 'em saiJy."
ian. And I can see now in imag- ination the dusky savages silently But we love to think it was some- assembling from behind the trees, thing besides property that induced stepping into their bark canoes, and our forefathers to settle in the wilder- floating down the river with hunting ness. High courasfc and dauntless or warlike intentions. Again, I see will were theirs first of all, and these the adventurous white man entering traits, united to the smiling valley the wilderness after his toilsome they have left us, make a priceless march of a hundred and fifty miles, heritage indeed.
blazing his way by cutting notches in The pioneer has invariably been
the trees — alert, and daring to thus possessed of unusual character ; for
brave the Indian and the wild beasts it requires not only great hope, force,
in their forest home. He has passed, and courage, but discrimination and
Will he return in safety, or fall a vie- endurance, to successfully map out
tim to his dauntless courage? Who and plant a colony : so when it is said
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