When you
try to take a live hog off its feet, he is likely to bite as well as to
squeal. We had no tackle for lifting them.
At last Willis set off to get help. He was gone till dusk and came back
without any one; but he had persuaded two Shakers to come and help us
early the next morning--they could not come that night on account of
their evening prayer meeting. One of the Shaker women had sent a loaf of
bread and a piggin half full of Shaker apple sauce to us.
The lantern and bucket that went with Willis's wagon had been smashed;
but I had a similar outfit with mine. So we tied the horses to trees
near our improvised hog pound, and fed and blanketed them by lantern
light. Afterwards we brought water for them from a brook not far away.
It was nine o'clock before we were ready to eat our own supper of bread
and Shaker apple sauce. The night was chilly; our lantern went out for
lack of oil; we had only light overcoats for covering; and as we had
used our last two matches in lighting the lantern, we could not kindle a
fire.
The night was so cold that we frequently had to jump up and run round to
get warm. We slept scarcely at all.
Pages:
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300