On the Trail of Pontiac | Page 6

on these rested two muskets, with the powder horns and bullet pouches
hanging beneath. Behind the door stood another musket, loaded and
ready for use, should an enemy or a wild beast put in an unexpected
appearance.
With no tablecloth, one could scarcely look for napkins, but a towel

hung handy, upon which one might wipe his fingers after handling a
bone. The dishes were far from plentiful and mostly of a sort to stand
rough usage. Coffee and milk were drunk from bowls with narrow
bottoms and wide tops, and sometimes these bowls served also for corn
mush and similar dishes. Forks had been introduced and also regular
eating knives, but old hunters and trappers like James Morris and Sam
Barringford preferred to use their hunting knives with which to cut
their food, and Barringford considered a fork rather superfluous and
"dandified."
When all were assembled, Joseph Morris said grace, and then Mrs.
Morris brought in what she had to offer--some fried bacon, a pot of
baked beans, apple sauce made from several strings of dried apples
brought from the loft of the cabin, and fresh bread, just from the hot
stones of the fireplace. All fell to without delay, and while eating Dave
and Henry told the particulars of the hunt just ended. It was not an
elaborate meal, but it was much better than many of their neighbors
could afford, and the Morrises were well content.
"I think you were wise to go out to-day," said James Morris, after the
young hunters had told their story. "There is another storm in the air
and it won't be long in settling down."
"It is going to be a long, hard winter, father," answered Dave.
"What makes you say that?"
"Henry said so. He found a squirrel's nest just loaded with nuts."
"Certainly a pretty good sign, for the squirrels know just about how
long they have got to keep themselves in food before spring comes."
"I hope it stays clear for a day longer," put in Joseph Morris. "I am
looking for Sam Barringford. He went to Bedford for me, and if it
should snow, traveling for him will be bad."
"Sam won't mind a little snowstorm," came from Henry. "He has been
out in the heaviest kind of a storm more than once."

After the evening meal, the whole family gathered around the open
fire-place and an extra log was piled on the blaze. As nobody seemed to
want to read, the tallow candle was extinguished and saved for another
occasion, for candles were by no means as plentiful as some of my
youthful readers may imagine. They were all of home manufacture and
the making of them was no easy task.
CHAPTER III
BARRINGFORD'S STRANGE DISCOVERY
The new cabin of the Morrises, built after the burning of the old, was
somewhat similar in shape to that which had been reduced to ashes.
There was the same small bedroom at the north end, which, as before,
had been turned over to Dave and Henry. But this room boasted of two
windows instead of one, each fitted with a heavy wooden shutter, to be
closed in winter or during an attack by the Indians.
The old four-post bedstead, of walnut and hickory, with its cords of
rawhide, was gone, and in its stead the Morrises had built a wide bunk
against the inner wall of the apartment, with a mattress of straw and a
pillow of the same material, for feathers were just then impossible to
obtain. Under the window was a wide bench made of a half log,
commonly called a puncheon bench, and the flooring was likewise of
puncheons, that is, split logs with the flat side smoothed down. Into the
walls were driven pegs of wood, upon which the youths could hang
their garments.
The room was cold, almost icy, and it did not take Dave and Henry
long to get into bed after they had made up their minds to retire.
Having said their prayers, they huddled close together for warmth,
covering themselves with blankets and a fur robe James Morris had
brought from his trading-post.
The wind had been gradually rising and by midnight it was blowing
half a gale, whistling shrilly around the cabin and through the heavy
boughs of the neighboring trees. The doors and shutters rattled and
awakened Mrs. Morris, but the boys and men slept well, for the sounds

were familiar ones.
In the early morning came a change. The wind went down and there
was a heavy fall of snow which kept up steadily for many hours. By the
time Dave and Henry arose the snow was several inches deep on the
doorstep, where it had previously been swept clean.
"Traveling for Sam Barringford will certainly be bad," remarked
Rodney, who