New National Fourth Reader Part 12

shy, _easily frightened; timid_.

es tab'lished, _formed; settled_.

war'rior, _a soldier; one who fights in war_.

fur'ni ture, _articles used in a house_.

dread'ed, _feared very much_.

pros' per ous, _successful; rich_.

THE STORY OF INDIAN SPRING.

PART I.

"You want to know why this is called Indian Spring, Robbie? I will tell you.

"When Mary and I were little girls, father moved away from our pleasant home on the bank of the Delaware River, and came to this part of the country. There were five of us: father, mother, Mary, our dear nurse Lizzie, and I.

"Lizzie was a colored woman, who had lived with us a long time. She was very handsome, and straight as an arrow. She was a few years older than mother.

"Grandfather Thorpe, your great grandfather, boys, gave her to mother when she was married. Your grandfather was a miller. The old mill that I went to see to-day, was his. It was the first mill built in this part of Pennsylvania.

"O, this was a beautiful country! my eyes never were tired of looking out over these mountains and valleys. But I saw that mother's face was getting thinner and whiter every day; they said she was homesick, and before we had been in the colony a year, a grave was made under an elm-tree close by, and that grave was mother's.

"I thought my heart was broken then, but I soon forgot my sorrow: I still had father, sister Mary, and Lizzie.

"In this part of Pennsylvania at that time there were very few white people, and besides our own, there was no other colony within ten miles. But our people being so near together, and well armed, felt quite safe.

"Ten miles away on the Susquehanna, was a small village established by a colony from the north, which was used as a trading-post. There the friendly Indians often came to trade.

"Father went twice a year to this village to get supplies that came up the river. He often spoke of Red Feather, an old Indian warrior. Father liked Red Feather, and he learned to trust him almost as he would have trusted a white man.

"Time pa.s.sed on until I was thirteen years old, a tall, strong girl, and very brave for a girl. I could shoot almost as well as father.

"Little Mary was very quiet and shy, not like me at all. I loved fis.h.i.+ng, and often went out hunting with father, but she staid at home with Lizzie, or sat down under the trees by the spring, watching the shadow of the trees moving in it.

"Our colony had by this time become quite prosperous. A good many of the settlers had built houses for themselves more like those they had left behind on the Delaware.

"The spring that I was fourteen, father built this house. The mill had already been grinding away for two years. We were very happy when we moved out of our little log cabin into this pleasant house.

"We had but little furniture, but we had plenty of room. Up to this time, there had not been much trouble with the Indians, and though we had often dreaded it, and lived in fear many days at a time, only four of our men had been killed by them.

"We had trusted many of the friendly Indians, and Red Feather had frequently spent days at our settlement. He seemed to like the mill.

"I became quite attached to the old man; but Mary was always afraid of him, and Lizzie kept her sharp eyes on him whenever he came into the house. She hated him, and he knew it.

"One beautiful clear morning in August of that year, father went down to the mill as usual. Lizzie was busy with her work, and little Mary was playing with some tame doves, when looking up, I saw Lizzie start suddenly.

"She had seen something in the woods that frightened her. Without speaking, she went to the door, closed and fastened it, then turned and looked out of the window. She never told mo what she saw.

"Father came home early that day; he looked anxious, and I knew that something troubled him. Without waiting to eat his supper, he went out, and very soon most of the men of the colony had gathered round him at the spring."

Directions for Reading.--With what tone of voice should this lesson be read?

What other lessons before this, have been read with the same tone of voice?

Name two _emphatic words_ in the following _exclamation_:

"O, this was a beautiful country!"

Language Lesson.--Change the _exclamation_ given above to a _statement_. What word would be omitted? How would the punctuation be changed?

Syllabify, accent, and mark sounds of letters in the following words: _Delaware, thinner, Susquehanna, grinding_.

LESSON XIV.

con fu'sion, _disorder_.

sense'less, _without the power of thinking or acting; seemingly lifeless_.

re vived', _came back to life; recovered_.

cun'ning, _slyness; skill_.

pro voke', _make angry_.