Death Valley in 49 | Page 8

and a large
majority of the people were sick. At our house father was the first one
attacked, and when the fever was at its height he was quite out of his
head and talked and acted like a crazy man. We had never seen any one
so sick before, and we thought he must surely die, but when the doctor
came he said:--"Don't be alarmed. It is only 'fever 'n' agur,' and no one
was ever known to die of that." Others of us were sick too, and most of

the neighbors, and it made us all feel rather sorrowful. The doctor's
medicines consisted of calomel, jalap and quinine, all used pretty freely,
by some with benefit, and by others to no visible purpose, for they had
to suffer until the cold weather came and froze the disease out. At one
time I was the only one that remained well, and I had to nurse and cook,
besides all the out-door work that fell to me. My sister married a man
near by with a good farm and moved there with him, a mile or two
away. When she went away I lost my real bosom companion and felt
very lonesome, but I went to see her once in a while, and that was
pretty often, I think. There was not much going on as a general thing.
Some little neighborhood society and news was about all. There was,
however, one incident which occurred in 1837, I never shall forget, and
which I will relate in the next chapter.
CHAPTER IV.
About two miles west father's farm in Jackson county Mich., lived Ami
Filley, who moved here from Connecticut and settled about two and a
half miles from the town of Jackson, then a small village with plenty of
stumps and mudholes in its streets. Many of the roads leading thereto
had been paved with tamarac poles, making what is now known as
corduroy roads. The country was still new and the farm houses far
between.
Mr. Filley secured Government land in the oak openings, and settled
there with his wife and two or three children, the oldest of which was a
boy named Willie. The children were getting old enough to go to
school, but there being none, Mr. Filley hired one of the neighbor's
daughters to come to his house and teach the children there, so they
might be prepared for usefulness in life or ready to proceed further with
their education--to college, perhaps in some future day.
The young woman he engaged lived about a mile a half away--Miss
Mary Mount--and she came over and began her duties as private school
ma'am, not a very difficult task in those days. One day after she had
been teaching some time Miss Mount desired to go to her father's on a
visit, and as she would pass a huckleberry swamp on the way she took

a small pail to fill with berries as she went, and by consent of Willie's
mother, the little boy went with her for company. Reaching the berries
she began to pick, and the little boy found this dull business, got tired
and homesick and wanted to go home. They were about a mile from Mr.
Filley's and as there was a pretty good foot trail over which they had
come, the young woman took the boy to it, and turning him toward
home told him to follow it carefully and he would soon see his mother.
She then filled her pail with berries, went on to her own home, and
remained there till nearly sundown, when she set out to return to Mr.
Filley's, reaching there yet in the early twilight. Not seeing Willie, she
inquired for him and was told that he had not returned, and that they
supposed he was safe with her. She then hastily related how it
happened that he had started back toward home, and that she supposed
he had safely arrived.
Mr. Filley then started back on the trail, keeping close watch on each
side of the way, for he expected he would soon come across Master
Willie fast asleep. He called his name every few rods, but got no
answer nor could he discover him, and so returned home again, still
calling and searching, but no boy was discovered. Then he built a large
fire and put lighted candles in all the windows, then took his lantern
and wont out in the woods calling and looking for the boy. Sometimes
he thought he heard him, but on going where the sound came from
nothing could be found. So he looked and called all night, along the
trail and all about the woods, with no success. Mr. Mount's home was
situated not far from the shore of Fitch's Lake,