Produced by Ted Garvin, Erik Bent, Charles Franks and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
* * * * *
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858 by theAMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION, in the Clerk's Office of the DistrictCourt of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
* * * * *
No books are published by the AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION without thesanction of the Committee of Publication, consisting of fourteen members,from the following denominations of Christians, viz.: Baptist, Methodist,Congregational, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and, Reformed Dutch.Not more than three of the members can be of the same denomination, and nobook can be published to which any member of the Committee shall object.
* * * * *
Mr. and Mrs. Allis lived away out West, on a broad prairie, where Mr. Alliswas busily engaged in "making a farm." Perhaps some of my young readers,who have always been accustomed to see farms already "made," will notunderstand what I mean by "making a farm;" and I will try to tell them.
First of all, let them try to fancy a large meadow, either perfectly flator a little uneven, as large, perhaps, as can be measured with the eye, andsometimes without a single tree, or scarcely a clump of bushes. There willbe no fences in sight, and sometimes no streams of water, but the surfaceof the ground is covered with high, coarse grass. This is what Westernpeople call a "prairie."
In order to "make a farm," this ground must be ploughed, or, as Westernpeople say, "broken up." Some of the children would smile, I think, if theywere to see a regular "breaking team" before a "breaking plough." Thisplough is quite unlike that which is used in the older States, and it takesfive, six, and sometimes as many as eight yoke of oxen to draw it. Thisploughing is usually done in June. After ploughing, the ground must beenclosed, and then it is ready for the seed.
Some people make curious mistakes when they undertake to make a new farm.Mr. Allis was one of these persons. He arrived at the little town of B——,with his family, late in the fall, and immediately set about looking for alocation. Several miles from B—— he found a place that seemed to suithim. The soil was rich, and apparently inexhaustible; but it was poorlywatered, and destitute of any timber suitable for building or fencing, andthere was very little which was fit for fuel. The great thing he thought ofwas a large farm.
After a while he found out his mistake, but it was too late for him to helpit, for his money was nearly all expended for land. But Mr. Allis was aresolute man, and he immediately set himself to work to do the best hecould. It was a long walk to the grove where he went every day to cut downtrees for his cabin, and to split rails for his fence, and a whole day'swork to go twice with his oxen to draw the logs and rails to his farm. Buthe rose early, and was ready to begin his work with the dawn. On rainy andstormy days, when he could not be out, he was at work in a shop near hishouse, making doors and window-frames, and cupboards, and other things forhis new house.
...