rare Luck to snare a Six-Footer who
owned a good Squirrel Rifle and could out-wrastle all Comers.

The Hills of Pennsylvania were becoming congested, with Neighbors not
more than two or three miles apart, so Rufus and his Bride decided to
hit a New Trail into the Dark Timber and grow up with the Boundless
West.

Relatives of the Young Couple staked them to a team of Pelters, a Muley
Cow, a Bird Dog of dubious Ancestry, an Axe and a Skillet, and started
them over the Divide toward the perilous Frontier, away out yender in
Illinoy.

It was a Hard Life. As they trundled slowly over the rotten Roads,
toward the Land of Promise, they had to subsist largely on Venison,
Prairie Chicken, Quail, Black Bass, Berries, and Wild Honey. They
carried their own Coffee.

Arrived at the Jumping-Off Place, they settled down among the Mink and
Musk-Rats. Rufus hewed out and jammed together a little two by twice
Cabin with the Flue running up the outside. It looked ornery enough
to be the Birthplace of almost any successful American.

The Malaria Mosquito was waiting for the Pioneers. In those good old
Chills-and-Fever days, no one ever blamed it on the Female of the
Species. Those who had the Shakes allowed that they were being jarred
by the Hand of Providence.

When the family ran low on Quinine, all he had to do was hook up and
drive fifty miles to the nearest Town, where he would trade the Furs
for Necessities such as Apple-Jack and Navy Twist, and possibly a few
Luxuries such as Tea and Salt.

On one of these memorable Trips to the Store, a Mood which combined
Sentiment with reckless Prodigality seized upon him.

He thought of the brave Woman who was back there in the lonesome Shack,
shooing the Prairie Wolves away from the Cradle, and he resolved to
reward her.

With only three Gills of Stone Fence under his Wammus, he spread his
Wild-Cat Currency on the Counter and purchased a $6 Clock, with jig-saw
ornaments, a shiny coat of Varnish, and a Bouquet of Pink Roses on the
door.

Susan burst into Tears when she saw it on the Wall, alongside of the
Turkey Wing, and vowed that she had married the Best Man in the World.

Twenty years later, Jennie, the first begotten Chick at the Log House
in the Clearing, had matured and married, and was living at the County-
Seat with Hiram, Money-Changer and Merchant.

Railroad Trains, Side-Bar Buggies, Coal-Oil Lamps, and the Civil War
had come along with a Rush and disarranged pri