The Minute Man on the FrontierPuddefoot, William George
History
The Minute Man on the Frontier
Puddefoot, William George
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.); Missions -- West (U.S.)
In those early days, Mr. Limblin, finding he had but one bushel and a
half of corn left, and one dollar and a half in money, prevailed on a
Mr. Clark to take both corn and money to Traverse City, thirty miles
away, and get groceries with the money, and have the corn ground, Mr.
Clark to have half for the work. One ox was all the beast of burden
they had. Mr. Clark started with the corn on the back of the ox;
about half-way he exchanged for a pony and sled for the rest of the
road, leaving the ox with the Indians till his return. On his way
back, a fierce snowstorm hid the shores of the bay from view.
Presently he came to a wide crack in the ice; his pony, being urged,
made a spring, but only got his fore hoofs on the other side. Mr.
Clark sprang over and grasped the pony's ears, but, as he pulled, his
feet slipped, and down he came. His cries brought the Indians, who
rescued him and the pony. Exhausted, he crawled back to their camp.
But, alas! the corn-meal and groceries were at the bottom of the bay.
A sad scene it was to see his poor wife's tears on his arrival home.
Rev. Peter Daugherty, now of Wisconsin, was the first missionary in
these parts. He once missed his way; and night coming on, he saw that
he must sleep in the woods. The air was chill. Not daring to build a
fire for fear of the damage it might do to the dry woods, he cast
about for a shelter. Spying two headless barrels on the beach, with
much trouble he crawled into them, drawing them as close together as
he could, and so passed the night. He got up very early and finished
his journey. But do we have such places yet? and does the missionary
still have to expose himself? Yes, friends, there are scores of such
places in every frontier State and Territory; and strong men are
needed more than ever to break up new ground, and cause the desert and
solitary places to be glad and blossom as the rose. Send us such men!
XXVIII.
SOWING THE SEED.
The land is bound to grow its crop. The more the land has been
enriched, the greater will be that crop, of useful grain or rank
weeds. And the only way to keep the weeds from gaining the victory is
by sowing good seed and pulling the weeds. A friend in Detroit once
called my attention to the luxuriant weeds in a fenced lot we were
walking by. In the vacant lot close by, the weeds were stunted. In the
fenced lot a market gardener once lived. He had enriched the soil.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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