The Young Trailers: A Story of Early KentuckyAltsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)
History
The Young Trailers: A Story of Early Kentucky
Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)
Kentucky -- History -- To 1792 -- Juvenile fiction
It was worst at night, when he lay awake by a window, breathing the hot
air, then the deep cool forest extended to him her kindest invitation,
and it took all his resolution to resist her welcome. The wind among the
trees was like music, but it was a music to which he must close his
ears. Then he remembered his vast wanderings with Black Cloud and his
red friends, how they had crossed great and unnamed rivers, the days in
the endless forest and the other days on the endless plains, and of the
mighty lake they had reached in their northernmost journey--how cool and
pleasant that lake seemed now! His mind ran over every detail of the
great buffalo hunts, of those trips along the streams to trap the beaver
and the events in the fight with the hostile tribe.
All these recollections seemed very vivid and real to him now, and the
narrow life of Wareville faded into a mist out of which shone only the
faces of those whom he loved--it was they alone who had brought him back
to Wareville, but he knew that their ways were not his ways, and it was
hard to confine his spirit within the narrow limits of a settlement.
But his long martyrdom went on, the summer was growing old, with the
work of planting and cultivating almost done and the harvest soon to
follow, and whatever his feelings may have been he had never flinched a
single time. Nourished by his great labors the Ware farm far surpassed
all others, and the pride of John Ware grew. He also grew more exacting
with his pride, and this quality brought on the crisis.
Henry was building a fence one particularly hot afternoon, and his
father coming by, cool and fresh, found fault with his work, chiefly to
show his authority, because the work was not badly done--Mr. Ware was a
good man, but like other good men he had a rare fault-finding impulse.
The voices in the woods had been calling very loudly that day and
Henry's temper suddenly flashed into a flame. But he did not give way to
any external outburst of passion, speaking in a level, measured voice.
"I am sorry you do not like it," he said, "because it is the last work I
am going to do here."
"Why--what do you mean?" exclaimed his father in astonishment.
"I am done," replied Henry in his firm tones, and dropping the fence
rail that he held he walked to the house, every nerve in him thrilling
with expectation of the pleasure that was to come. His mother was there,
and she started in fear at his face.
"It is true, mother," he said, "I am not going to deceive you, I am
going into the forest, but I will come again and often. It is the only
life that I can lead, I was made for it I suppose; I have tried the
other out there in the fields, and I have tried hard, but I cannot stand
it."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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