Catamounts and bears and panthers Sniffed around the lonely cabin In the dark and dreary night-time. Molly feared these forest creatures, Feared they'd break the fragile windows, Feared they'd enter through the windows, Feared they'd kill herself and Chaugham. Many sleepless nights she trembled At the howling of the wolf-pack In the valley by the Tunxis. Oft she thought of home and mother By the mighty Central River, But her courage did not fail her When she thought of Peter Barber And his cruel, angry shouting. Oft she whispered in the darkness, "Better fear the catamountains, Better face the bears and panthers, Better hear the wild wolves howling Than an angry father shouting, Or reside within the shadow Of his dark and gloomy presence." For a hundred years this cabin Stood beside the Tunxis River, By the famous Tunxis River, River nam,ed for Tunxis Indians, Calm and peaceful Indians dwelling In their Farmington round houses, And the term, "The Tunxis River," Signifies, in Indian accents, "Beautiful and rapid river." 19. HIDDEN IN THE GLOOMY FOREST. And deep within the dreamy wood, Where the sheltering hemlocks rustled, Beneath the hill their cabin stood, Looking out upon the river. The oak leaves trembled in the breeze, Slowly rolled the Tunxis River, And high above the leafy trees, Flew the woodcock ever circling. Thus it was that Molly Barber And her spouse, the Honest Chaugham, Were the first of all the settlers, In the town of fair Barkhamsted, Where her father couldn't find them, Hidden in the gloomy forest, Where the Tunxis River wanders Through the dark and gloomy forest, With the woodcock ever tapping, Tapping on the mighty oak trees, O'er the pine trees ever screaming, Circling high above the mountain, And the sea-gulls, fishing, screeching, Dipping low above the water, And the great, blue herons wading, Wading, fishing in the river, Calling, calling through the twilight. 20. HERE THEY BUILT THEIR LONELY CABIN. One ford above, one ford below, Easy crossings of the Tunxis, For shallow there the water's flow In the Town of fair Barkhamsted. Here they built their lonely cabin In a Paradise of Beauty. Shaded by a spreading larch tree, Midst the spring time's rich profusion, Near the Tunxis winding southward, Like a pathway through the forest, With two fords for easy crossing, Where the leafy boughs are parted And the slanting rays of sunlight Glisten on the tiny wavelets As they dance along the shallows O'er the pebbles and the boulders. Here the mountain bending eastward, Leaves a place for habitation Midst the rocks and mighty ledges-- "Light-House Flats" beside the river, On the side of Ragged Mountain, In the town of fair Barkhamsted. 21. CHILDREN IN THE HILL-SIDE CABIN. Then one by one the children came, Eight in all to break the silence, And each one bore a pale-face name Hiding not its Indian features.