Early Settlers of the Shawangunk Region
page 4
Another settler in the vicinity of Pleasant lake was very much annoyed with wolves. They seemed to gather at a certain pond about a mile away, and every night would make the woods ring with their howling. One day this settler slaughtered a cow, and hung up the meat in the attic of his log cabin. That night the wolves gathered in numbers under his very eaves, and the father being absent, the mother with the children went up into the attic, drawing the ladder after them, being greatly terrified as they heard the hungry beasts leaping against the door, and snarling and snapping under the windows.
Mrs. Bailey and the Bear
The first inhabitants of Sullivan had another source of annoyance-the bark roofs of their cabins could not always be depended upon. On one occasion, during the temporary absence of Nehemiah Smith from his home, there occurred a great storm of wind and rain. When the storm was at its height, the roof of their house was blown away, and the family were left at the mercy of the elements. Mrs. Smith put the children where they would be partially sheltered and was diligently sweeping out the water when the neighbors came to her relief.
One winter's night the family were gathered around the ample fire-place, in which glowed a section of a tree that would have put to shame the traditional yule-logs of our British ancestors. The night was tempestuous; snow had been falling all day, and lay piled up in the woods to the depth of several feet, but within all was snug and comfortable. The labors of the day were over; the children were at their games; the older members of the family were relating Revolutionary stories and incidents of frontier experience; in short, the storm outside was unheeded, except when an unusual blast swept along, rattling the windows and doors, and screeching dismally down the chimney. The hour was approaching that the family were to retire to rest, when sounds of disintegration were heard. The roof was giving way above them. Mr. Smith slowly and cautiously ascended the ladder by which they reached the loft-stairs were a luxury unknown at that time in Sullivan county-when there came a crash! One half of the roof had slid over the outer side of the house, leaving that part of the dwelling roofless; and the other half of the roof, together with two feet of snow that had accumulated on it, had fallen in upon the puncheons of the upper floor. Had the catastrophe occurred an hour later, the rafters and snow would have fallen upon the children, whose beds were in the attic. This was an unfortunate dilemma for a stormy night, with a family of little children, and the roads impassable. Yet the family lived through it; and in after years used frequently to relate the incident to crowds of eager listeners.
Table of Contents