beloved son.

Our messenger had told him that the horses had given out just beside
an Indian encampment, and that, unless all haste was made, the load
might be carried off. So the boy, without a moment's delay, took his
horses and came at full speed to save the goods. Hence his first
salutation, greeting, as he supposed, a party of Chippewas.

The little camp was all alive with surprise and joyful excitement, and
with a hearty appreciation of this very good practical joke, we were
soon in motion again, wending our way, with lightened hearts, to our
journey's end, which we reached without further let or hindrance.
After a brief, but much needed rest, we opened our eyes on a calm fair
Sabbath morning, and our new home, in the soft hazy light of an Indian
summer sunrise was very lovely. It required no very vivid imagination
to fancy ourselves in the happy valley of "Rasselas, Prince of
Abyssinia," and it seemed to me impossible that any one could ever
desire, like that discontented youth, to leave so charming a spot. The
term prairie is a misnomer in this case; instead we found a beautiful
fruitful valley lying between two low ranges of hills, interspersed
with groves of trees and picturesque lakes, and watered by a river
winding gracefully through its whole length. It had been the seat of
the Winnebago Agency, and there were, still standing, in pretty good
order, a large number of houses. These buildings, empty though they
were, gave the idea of a settlement, dispelling every thing like a
feeling of loneliness or isolation. On our way to our new home, we
had purchased, at Dubuque, ample supplies for a year, but, (the
steamboats at that season being much crowded), were obliged to leave
them with our household goods to follow, as we were assured in the
next boat. Resting in this assurance and being supplied for the
present, we had no anxiety for the future; we knew not what was before
us. God tenderly "shaded our eyes," and we were very happy and full of
hope. Prairie hens and pheasants were abundant beyond belief. Our
boys, standing in the kitchen door, could frequently shoot as many as
we needed from the trees in the dooryard, while the numerous lakes in
the vicinity afforded us most excellent fish, such as an epicure might
have envied us. Some of our family, enfeebled by malarial fevers, and
the ills resulting from them, imbibed fresh draughts of health and
life with every breath, the weak lungs and tender irritable thr