Show WV W WV VW I A Man for the Ages II 4 A Story o of f the Builders o of f Democracy I By IRVING BACHELLER 4 f y nu 5 1 v l nA n nA C A LONG JOURNEY Synopsis Samson and Sarah TrAylor with their two children JosIah and Betsey travel by wagon In the summer Bummer of or 1831 1131 from their home homo In Vergennes Vt to the West Nest the land of ot plenty Their destination la le the Country of or the tho Sangamon In Illinois T They had read a little lithe book ng on It Sagamon was nae a word of or the meaning land of r plenty t It was the Iho name of 1 a rr river In n Illinois draining draining- boundless s. s flowery meadows meadows mead mead- of or unexampled beauty and fertility fer fer- belted with timber blessed with wath shady groves u covered with and mostly level without a astick game stick or 01 a a 11 stone to vex the plow plo man Thither they were bound to take tIke up a section of ot government 11 land d Through New York state they camp by the wa way often otten thc they are Invited In by farmers for the night Continued t.-Continued Continued I. CHAPTER I. I 2 2 The man looked around and leaned over o the wheel as If It about to Impart hupart f r l' l i secret i cret Say Ill I'll tell ye yc he said In a 0 alow low r loll tone toneA A real first-class first Idiot never never does docs You You ought to see my actions This land Is an Indication that foil youre you're re right Samson laughed Hit It lt proves pro It the stranger whis In e you any water here Sameon Samson Sam Sam- son Ion asked The fhe stranger stronger leaned le neater nearer and anu said Mid In his most confidential tone Say ml mister mier er Its It's about the best In the United States Statts Right over yond yonder r In n edge o 0 tle woods woods woods-a a spring spring cold cold us OR pure Simon Ice Simon pure water Bout the Daly j thing this raise rahe Is water rI land looks to me about as valuable as s so much sheet anti and I guess It It can cnn move Just about ns said sold Samson The Je stranger answered In a low tone Si Say Ill I'll tell ye e its it's a wild cow onto onto-don't don't dont stand still long nough to gl glye gle e ye th time e to git anything out of It Ive I've tolled toiled and prayed pred pr ed but Its It's Im haril to get much out of It it t wont won't do this land any good Samson answered What it iti i m eels eeds lIs Is manure manUle and plenty of ot It It Y You Tau u C cant can't 1 t raise anything here but oJik fleas It Isn't decent to expect God Godrun lu help run a flea farm He knows too no much for that and If you OU keep keepIt It UP IP Hell He'll lose all nil respect for ye e If you were wele to buy Imy another farm and bring II 11 here and put It down on toji toi oj ojo o 0 this one you could probably I ma male maVe e a living I wouldn't like to live idiom W ll e a the wind could dig my potatoe pota- pota toe Again the stranger leaned toward towardS S u on and ind said In a whisper half R Ray Q mister I wouldn't want you ou tl Ii to l n ln It It but o 0 fleas 1111 Im I'm like like- liken n II lug dog Iu with so o man many of em that 11 he dont don't have ha time Ume to eat caL Some Some- horl has body has got to soap him or hell he'll die You sec sec e I traded m my farm over In Vermont Yermont for five fhe hundred acres o 0 r m I I j li 1 1 H V Il mss ms's Elijah Was a Friend o 0 My Father this sheet an nn unseen un un- seen We Ve was ail ull crazy to go west westan westan westan an here we are If it wasn't for the thed d deer er nn 1111 the fish I guess wed we'd a u starved ell to death Ion long ago Where did je ye come from Orwell Vermont yer er name Henry the stranger whispered whimpered Son of ot Elijah 1 Yes sir Samson took his hand and shook It It warmly Well I declare he exclaimed ex ex- claimed Elijah was vas a af nil ill f o o 0 my father tather WIo are you asked Im 1111 one o 0 the o 0 Yergen- Yergen n nt ni j My r used to buy cattle of ot Henry Heury Tray Traylor lor henry Honry was my father Haven haven't you let em ern kno know about your ba bad III luck j 0 L I 11 i ii y oJ The man resumed his tone of ot con conn Sa Say Ill I'll tell yc ye C he an an- sw s red A man that's as ns big a fool foolas foolas foolas as I am sin ought not to advertise nd it A brain that has treated Its owner as shameful as mine has treated me should be compelled to do Its own er die lIle Ive I've Invented some things that may sell Ive I've been hopIn hopIn hopIn hop- hop In m my luck would turn turn when you turn It Samson Samson Sam Sum son assured him leaned close to Samson's ear and said in ID a n tone scarcely audible audible aud iud ible My brother Robert Rolert has his own Idiot asylum Its It's a 8 real handsome me one an an he has made It pay but I 1 wouldn't swap with him Samson smiled remembering that Robert had a liquor store Look here bre I Henry were we're hungry he said sold If It ye e furnish the water well we'll skirmish around for bread and give ye yc as good a n dinner as ye ever had hadIn hadIn hadin In yer life liCe Henry took the horses to his barn and watered and fed them Then lie he I brought two palls of water from the spring Meanwhile Samson started a afire afire fire tIre In a grove gro of ot small poplars by bythe bythe the thc roadside and began broiling venison venison veni veni- son and Sarah got out the brEadboard bread breadboard breadboard board and the flour and the rolling pin and the teapot As she waited for forthe forthe the he water she called the three strange children to her side The oldest was wasa a girl of ten with a R face tace uncommonly refined and attractive In spite of her ler threadbare clothes she had a n neat and cleanly look and gentle man man- ners The youngest was wa a boy of ot four They were wele a n pathetic trio Wheres heres your mother Sarah asked of the ten ten- year ten old ear girl Dead Died when my little brother was vas born Who takes care of you oU 1 Father and and God l Father ather says God does most of ot It t. t Oh Olt dear Sarah exclaimed with witha a look of ot pity I They had a good dinner of fresh biscuits and honey and venison and eggs ggs and tea While they were eating Samson told of t the land of plenty After dinner while was bringing the the team one of ot his children children chil chil- dren the blonde pale tattered little girl of six climbed Into the wa wagon on seat and sat holding a small rag doll which Sarah had hm given her When they hey were wert- read ready to go she stubbornly refused to get down Im goin away she said I Im Ini gob aw a off to find my mJ mother I dont don't like this place There n aint rit no Santa Claus here Tin Pm goin away awa She clung to the to-the the wagon seat sent and cried loudl loudly when her father took her ler d down wn Aint Int that en enough ugh to break a n mans man's heart icart he sad said with th a sorrowful look Then Ihen Samson turned to and ami asked Look here Henry are you ou ju a drinking Ulan roan 1 Honor HOllor bright now n Never drink a thing but bu water and tea ea i Do you Jou know anybody who'll give gl ye to anything fo for what you OU own here hel Theres a man In the next town who offered me three hundred and fifty dollars for my ray Interest Come along with us and get the money If It you can Ill I'll help ye fit up and go where ye can earn a liv- liv living Ing ng Id like Uke to to but my horse Is lame and I cant can't leave the children Put em right In this wagon and come on If theres there's a livery ery in the place Ill I'll send ye e home hornet So the children rode In the wagon and Samson and wall walked etl while Sarah drove the team to the next village There the good woman bought new clothes for the whole family and ond gold fold his Interest In the sand plains and nd bou bought ht a good pair of or horses with harness and nUll some cloth for for- fora a wagon cover and had fifty dollars in his pocket t and a new look In his face foce He put his children on the backs hacks of the horses and led them to his old home with whit a n sack of provisions on his shoulder He was to take the track or ot time the next day and begin his Journey journer to the shores of ot the Sangamon They got Into a had bad swale that afternoon and Samson had to tb cut some corduroy to make male a n footing for team m and wagon and do much prying with the time end of a heavy pole under the front axle By and by the horses pulled them out When ol 01 Colonel bends his Ills neck things have to move even en If he Is up to his belly In the mud said Samson As the day waned they came to a arher river rh-er In the deep w woods It was an exquisite bit of ot forest with the bells of a n hermit thrush ringing In one of Its towers Their call cull and the thelow thelow thelow low song of the river were the only sounds In the silence The Time glow of the setting sun which lighted the western windows of ot the forest had a n color like that of ot the music music golden Long Iong shafts of It fell through the tree columns upon the road rond h here hen II and there Our weary travelers stopped on nn the rude plank plan bridge that I. I ll t f crossed l th the river Odors of balsam and pine and tamarack came In a alI alight alight lI light ht cool be breeze ze up the river valley I guess well we'll stop at nt this tavern till tomorrow said suld Samson Joe was asleep and they laid him himon himon himon on the blankets until supper was ready Soon after supper Samson shot a adeer adeer adeer deer which had waded Int Into Into- the rapids Fortunately It t made the opposite shore before it fell All hands spent that evening c dressing the deer and Jerking the best of ot the time meat This they did by cutting the meat into strips sh about the size of a mans man's hand and salting and laying It on a rack nick some two feet Ceet above e a slow fire and covering It with green boughs The teat heat and smoke dried the meat In ID Inthe Inthe the course of two or three hours and andge gave g It a fine flavor or Delicious beyond beyond beyond be be- yond any kind of meat Is venison treated In this manner If kept dr dry It will retain Its flavor or and Its sweetness sweetness sweet sweet- ness for a month or more The They set out rather late Inte next morn morn- lag ing As usual Jo Joe stood by the head I of Colonel while the latter lapped brown s sugar from the timid palm of I the boy Then the horse was wont to touch the face of Joe with l his ls big hairy lips as a tribute to his generosity generos generos- ity ItT Colonel had seemed to acquire a singular attachment for tor the time boy and the dog while Pete distrusted both of them He lie had never a mo mo- moments moment's moments moment's ments ment's leisure anyhow being always busy with Ills 1118 work or the flies A Afew Afew few breaks In the pack basket had been repaired with green withes It creaked with Its load lond of Jerked venison venison venison veni veni- son when p put t aboard Farther on the bo boy got a sore throat Sarah bound a slice of f pork around It and Samson built n a camp by the roadside in which after a u good fire was started they gave ga him a hemlock sweat This the they did b by steeping hemlock In ID palls pails of hot water and while the patient sat In a chair b by bythe bythe the fireside u It blanket was spread about him mid amid pinned close to his neck Under t the e blanket they put the time palls pails of steaming hemlock tea teu After his sweat and a u da day and night In bed hell with n a warm firm fire burning In front front- of ot the shanty Joe was able to resume his seat In time wagon They spoke e of ot the and und thought It strange that they had not come ome along On the twenty ninth day after their Journey journe began the they came in sight of the time beautiful green valle valley valley- of the Mo Mo- hawk As they looked from the hills they 1 saw the roof of the forest dipping dipping dip dip- ping down to th the river rh-er shores and stretching far to too the east and west and broken here and there b by small clearings Soon they J could see see the smoke and spires of the thriving vil village lage Inge of Utica n. n CHAPTER II Wherein Is a Brief Account of Sundry Curious Characters Met on the Road A At t Utica the they bou bought ht provisions pro and a tin trumpet for Joe and a n doll with a real porcelain face fac for B Betsey tse and turned Into the great main maim thoroughfare thoroughfare thoroughfare thor thor- of the North lea leading eastward to Boston Doston and westward to a shore shon of the midland seas seus This road was once the great trail of the Iroquois by them called the time Long House because because because be be- cause it had reached from the Hudson to Lake Erie and In their day duy had been well roofed with foliage Soon oon they canine came In n view of ot the fatuous famous Erie Irle canal hard b by the road Through h It the grain gralD of the time Far West had just begun moving eastward In ism Ina Ina isma a tide that was Va flowing from April to December Big Dig barges larges drawn b by mules and horses on Its shore were rete cutting the still waters of or the time ennuI canal They stopped And nd looked at the barges harges and the long tow ropes and the time tug tub tugging ging gug animals There Is s a n real artificial river Ilver hundreds hUl o miles long hand made mode I of the best material water tight no I snags or rocks or other Imperfections durability guaranteed said suld Samson am onIt on It has made the name of DeWitt Clinton known everywhere I wonder what next I Sarah ex ex- ex claimed rhe They met many ninny teams earns and passed other movers ers going west and ond some prosperous pro farms on a road wider and sud smoother thai thun an any they hud had trav They camped that night close by br tire river with a Connecticut family nun fam ily lIy on Its wa way to Ohio with a R great load lond of household e on till one mile wagon and seven ell children In another So they fared along through null and across the Genesee to the village of Rochester and on through Lewiston and up the Niagara river rl to the falls fulls and camped where they could see the great grent water flood and hear Its muffled thunder When nearIng nearing near near- Ing the latter they overtook a 0 family of poor Irish emigrants of of the na name annie III l' l lof of Flanagan who shared their camp campsite site at the falls The Time Flana ans were on their way to Michigan and had imad come from the time old country three years bt before fore and settled In Broome I Bounty New York They too were i m an their way to a land of better prom prom- I ise tse Among them was a rugged l freckled red headed lad well along f I. I r laI la- la I In ID his teens of or the name of ot Dennis Dennl I Iwho who wore a tall toll beaver hat tilted saucily ou one side of his head and ond anda a n ragged blue coat cont with brass buttons as he walked beside the oxen whip In hand with trousers tucked lucked In the tops of his big cowhide boots Thoro Thore W was II also a handsome young man roan In Inthis Inthis this party of the name of John McNeil McNeil Mc Me- Neil Nell who wore a ruffled roWed shirt sari tall swallowtail coat now much soiled lolled by bythe bythe bythe the Journey He listened to account of the Sane Sangamon country aad nad said that lint he thought ho he would no go there Sarah gave e the Irish family a good supply of cookies and Jerked enl venison Q before she bade them theta good When our travelers left leCt next mom mom- mOl n. n Ing the they stopped for tor a last look at atthe atthe atthe the great falls Children said Samson I h want you Jou to take a good look at nt that Its It's the most wonderful thing In the world and 1 maybe you'll never ne see It again The Tie Indians used to think that the the the- Great Spirit was In this river said Sarah Kind o o 0 seems to me they were right Samson remarked thoughtfully Kind hind o o seems as If f the great spirit of America was In that water It moves on In the way It |