. There were
lawless hands of marauders called Cowboys and Skinners infesting the
Neutral Ground, which extended for thirty miles along the river and
was plundered by both bands of outlaws without much, if any, regard to
their victims' loyalty or disloyalty to the country."

"Those were bad times to live in," remarked Little Elsie. "I'd a great
deal rather live in these; though I should like to have seen
Washington and Wayne and Lafayette and--oh, all the rest of the good,
brave men who did so much to save our country!"

"Yes," said Grandma Elsie, "but though we cannot see them here, we may
hope to meet at least some of them in another and a better world."

CHAPTER IX.

A pleasant surprise awaited our party on their return to Crag Cottage
that evening, the bride and groom--Rosie and her husband--having
arrived during their absence. Everybody was glad to see them; and,
with the accommodations of the yacht to supplement those of the house,
there was room and to spare.

Finding such to be the case, and that it was very pleasant to be
together, all remained Evelyn's guests for another week, in which a
great deal of time was passed upon the river taking repeated views of
beautiful historic scenes.

But at length they separated for a time--some remaining where they
were; some going to the seashore; while Grandma Elsie and the
Raymonds, leaving the yacht at New York City, crossed the mountains
into Pennsylvania, visited some historical scenes in that State, then
traveled on through Ohio from south to north, spent a few weeks among
the islands of Lake Erie; then, the yacht having come to them again by
the northern route, returned home in it by way of the Welland Canal,
the St. Lawrence River, and the Atlantic Ocean. On their route through
Pennsylvania they spent a few days at Pocono, visiting the points of
interest about there. Wilkesbarre was their next stopping place, for
they all wanted to see the beautiful Valley of Wyoming.

"Is Wyoming an English name?" asked Elsie Raymond, as they drove
through the valley.

"No," said her father; "it comes from the language of the Delawares,
and means 'large plains.' It is probable that the Delawares were the
first tribe which lived there."

"And is Wilkesbarre an Indian name too?" she asked.

"No; it is a compound of the names of two Englishmen who were good
friends to America in the times of the Revolution--John Wilkes and
Colonel Barre