of the
Englishmen came along towards the stairs and ascended to the saloon.
Presently they began to descend with their mate in the middle. Jack
looked at them, and for some reason or other he did not want any more
prestige. He sauntered away along the guard deck, and remained in
retirement during the rest of the voyage. He was not, after all, a
very desperate desperado.

During the next night our boat was racing with a rival craft, and one
of her engines was damaged. She had then to hop on one leg, as it
were, as far as Peoria. The Illinois river had here spread out into
a broad lake; the bank was low, there were no buildings of any kind
near the water; some of the passengers landed, and nobody came to
offer them welcome.

I stood near an English immigrant who had just brought his luggage
ashore, and was sitting on it with his wife and three children. They
looked around at the low land and wide water, and became full of
misery. The wife said:

"What are we boun' to do now, Samiul? Wheer are me and the childer
to go in this miserable lookin' place?"

Samiul: "I'm sure, Betsy, I don't know. I've nobbut hafe a dollar
left of o' my money. They said Peoria was a good place for us to
stop at, but I don't see any signs o' farmin' about here, and if I go
away to look for a job, where am I to put thee and the childer, and
the luggage and the bedding?"

"Oh!" said Betsy, beginning to cry; "I'm sorry we ever left owd
England. But thou would come, Samiul, thou knows, and this is the
end on it. Here we are in this wild country without house or home,
and wi' nothin' to eat. I allus thowt tha wor a fool, Samiul, and
now I'm sure and sartin on it."

Samiul could not deny it. His spirit was completely broken; he hung
down his head, and tears began to trickle down his eyes. The three
children--two sturdy little boys and a fair-haired little girl--
seeing their dad and ma shedding tears, thought the whole world must
be coming to an end, and they began howling out aloud without any
reserve. It was the best thing they could have done, as it called
public attention to their misery, and drew a crowd around them. A
tall stranger came near looked at the group, and said:

"My good man, what in thunder are you crying for?"

"I was told Peoria was a good place for farmin'," Samuel said, "and
now I don't know where to go, and I have got no money."

"Well, you are a soft 'un," replied the stranger. "Just dry up and
w