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ries worked at it until the meat was
reached inside, and they never left it
until every bit of the kernel was taken
out.
To Chip, who was very fond of good
living, this was a happy season indeed.
He ate and ate until he grew so fat lie
could hardly stir. When he got his
stomach full, he would stuff his cheeks
with the rich meats and carry them
about in that way until he thought he
could force them down his throat. Oh !
he Avas a sad glutton in those days 5 this
little Chip. Os course, as he grew fat
he got lazy and stupid. Friskey talked
to him; she told him that the cold
weather was coming, and soon the siioav
would cover the ground, and then they
could get nothing whatever to eat, and
she thought they ought to commence to
lay in a store of food. But it was all
in vain ; so she gathered what nuts she
could by herself, and laid them away
down in the lower story of the house :
and she carried in grass, and mosses,
and leaves, and made herself that warm
winter bed which Chip had talked so
sweetly about in the spring-time.
“And didn’t he help her one bit?”
I hear some little boy or girl saying in
surprise. No, I’m sorry to say he did
not; and when she got it all done it
was very cold weather. Then Chip
looked at it, (he was so fat he could
hardly see out of his eyes,) and said he
was so tired and sleepy he guessed he’d
go to bed, So he threw himself doAvn
in Friskey’s soft bed and rolled himself
up into a little fur ball, and all in a mi
nute fell into a sleep from which he
didn't waken for several weeks.
As for Friskey, there were signs of a
snow storm in the air, and she was busy
filling up the Avindowand the two doors
with dry leaves. When this was done,
and the care Avas off her mind, she be
gan to feel sleepy too, for cold Aveather
always makes nut-crackers drowsy, and
so she crept into the bed, folded up her
little paws and laid her bushy tail up
over her back to keep it warm, and soon
was sound asleep also.
The snow came next day, as she ex
pected, though neither of the little
sleepers knew anything about it. They
didn’t know how it Avas piled up out
side, reaching several feet above their
heads, and they didn’t see it melting
slowly aAvay, for they did not wake until
the earth was almost bare again.
One night, after they had slept about
four months, Chip was startled by a
great creaking all through the house,
and he wakened Friskey right away to
keep him company. After listening
aAvhile to the noise, they decided that it
was a March Avind blowing which caus
ed their house to shake and tremble,
and were very fearful that it might be
torn up by the roots. However, the
wind passed away in the morning and
were not harmed. When their
fright Avas over, both the nut-crackers
felt very hungry, and both of them found
BURKE’S WEEKLY FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.
they had grown very lean during their
long sleep.
So they began to eat the nuts Avhich
had been laid away in the fall, and
which lasted but a single day. Poor
Friskey ! she thought she had gathered
a great plenty; but she was so young
she couldn’t tell, of course, lioav many
would be needed. When these Avere
gone, they laid themselves down and
tried to go to sleep ; but no! they were
Avide awake norv, and must have some
thing to eat or starve. So Chip had to
get up and go out in the cold, and of
the trouble which this brought upon
him and Friskey, I will tell you next
week.
Children's Hour.
-
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
Songs of Mercy. —No. 3.
“The tender mercies of are wicked are cruel."
Tune — Hebron.
'
Leads on to do a cruel deed:
Jk p To tease or cause some Avanton smart,
fOr make’a helpless creature bleed.
How wrong, in sport to take away
The life which God in goodness
gave;
Or maim poor insects, though in play,
And spoil the happiness they have.
Oh, how can any love to see
A poor dumb creature suffer death ;
To watch it writhe in agony,|
And 3ee it gasp aAvay its breath.
How sad that one should thus proceed
To harden more a hardened heart!
And this is what he does indeed
Who in such cruelty takes part.
How can we hope that such a child
Can e’er to Heav’n, to Jesus go I
No! He is merciful and mild,
And cruel tempers lead to woe.
0, may we all sweet Mercy seek,
And Avalk in her delightful ways ;
Then shall our spirits grow more meek,
And gild with peace our latter days.
Sidney Herbert.
Clayton, Alabama, 1870.
Love to a Mother.
A little boy, the son of a poor widow,
once repeated to his teacher four chap
ters in the Testament. A gentlemau
Avho was present was so much pleased
that he called him to him, and gave
him the choice of a pair of blankets for
his mother, ora suit of clothes for him
self. Although he was dressed in rags,
and greatly needed a neAv suit, he at once
chose the blankets. The gentleman
then gave him the clothes too as a re-
Avard for his kindness to his poor mother.
A Passive Verb,
“A passive verb,” said a teacher,
“ is expressive of the nature of receiv
ing an action, as‘Peter is beaten.’ Now
what did Peter do?”
“ Well, I don’t know,” said the schol
ar, deliberating, “unless he hollered.”
Very likely.
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
THE ADVENTURES OF
BIG-FOOT WALLACE,
The Texas Hanger and Hunter.
By the Author of “ Jack Dobell; or, A Boy's
Adventures in Texas."
CHAPTER XLII.
ENCAMPMENT AT THE WATER HOLE
WRETCHED APPEARANCE OF THE MEN
MARCH BACK TO SALTILLO —MEXICAN
VERMIN —IIOAV AVALLACE AVAS DRESSED
—MEXICAN VEGETATION —THE TIGER
THORN —CONFLICTING RUMORS.
fHEN at length we came to the
water, (which was contained
in a sort of artificial tank or
reservoir,) we were led down to it under
guard, and only permitted to drink for
a feAv moments; but before they suc
ceeded in “ horning me off” I am con
fident I secured at least a gallon “ un
der my belt.” But I experienced no
bad results from having drank so free
ly ; on the contrary, my strength Avas
rapidly restored to me from that mo
ment.
Here we found encamped the main
body of the Mexican cavalry that had
been sent in pursuit of us. The wretch
ed appearance we presented seemed to
touch, to some extent, even the callous
hearts of our enemies, and Avith the ex
ception of again tying us together in
pairs, they offered us no indignity. In
truth, Ave were as Avoe-begone a looking
set of “ scare-crows ” as Avere ever con
gregated together, I suppose, at one
time. Some were without hats, some
without shoes, and one could scarcely
tell from the shreds of clothing that
still hung about us to what garments
they originally belonged.
I noticed one fellow who was hatless,
and with but one shoe on, Avith one leg
of his pantaloons torn entirely off, and
nothing left of his coat except the col
lar and sleeve., and a few little strips of
the lining still dangling behind his back.
Our beards were rough and unshaven,
and our matted and uncombed locks
hung down in “ swads ” around our
faces, pinched and sharpened by long
abstinence from food and water, from
out of which our sunken holloAv eyes
glared with a wild and demoniac ex
pression not at all pleasant or assuring
to the beholder.
We remained at this tank or water
hole for three days, during which time
most of the men that had Avandered off
from us in the mountains, singly or in
squads, Avere hunted up by the Mexicans
and brought into camp. Only thirteen,
I think, Avere missing, and as nothing
was ever afterwards heard from fjiem,
it is reasonable to suppose they ulti
mately perished from thirst, and no
doubt their bones are bleaching to this
day in some of the dreary gulches and
ravines of those inhospitable mountains
from which we had made such a narrow
escape ourselves.
Early on the morning of the fourth
day, Ave were told by our guard to pre
pare for the march, and in a few mo
ments they started off with us on the
road towards Saltillo.
To prevent all chance of another “up
rising ” on our part, (of which they
seemed to be continually in dread,) they
tied our hands securely behind us with
raw-hide thongs, and thus “ hampered”
we had to march all the way back to
Saltillo.
I never knew before how necessary a
free use of the arms was, to enable one
to Avalk with ease and celerity. A twen
ty miles march with our arms pinioned
down in this Avay, fatigued us as much
as twice the distance would have done
if they had been unfettered.
We were several days on the road,
during which time nothing of interest
that I remember now occurred. On
our arrival at Saltillo, we were taken
again to our old quarters, in which Ave
Avere once more securely fastened up
and closely guarded. I had been but a
day or so in these dirty barracks Avhen
I fully appreciated the extent of the
misfortune I had met with in the loss
of my fine-tooth comb.
And here I may as well say to over
sensitive readers, that perhaps it would
be as well for them to skip to the bot
tom of this chapter, as it is not my Avish
or intention to say anything offensive to
“ears polite,” but I have started out
with the determination of telling my
story my OAvn way, and I must do it, or
abandon the attempt altogether. With
this fair warning, I shall resume the
story of what I endured from the loss of
my fine-tooth comb.
Vermin swarmed in countless num
bers in the miserable quarters in Avhich
we were confined. Even the bare floors
at times were thickly covered Avith
them. Our Mexican guard did not
seem to mind them much ; in fact, I
rather think they liked them, and that,
in some way or other, they Avere abso
lutely necessary to their health and
comfort. I verily believe if one of them
had been suddenly freed from all sorts
of the vermin with which they were in
fested, that he would have slept sound
ly for a week afterwards. They never
use a comb, and of course it is only the
larger and overgroAvn felloivs they suc
ceed in capturing by the primitive me
thod of “looking each others' heads.’
These they “crack” between their teeth,
apparently with much gusto and relish,
by Avay, I suppose, of retaliation —“bite
for bite.”
For want of a comb myself, I was
compelled to have my hair cut off short
and permit my finger nails to groAV un
trimmed. With these I became so ex
pert, after long practice, that 1 could
rake out a fellow above a certain size