^■44 



448 



AUDUBON 



passage on the upper deck of a steamer, at a very cheap 

 rate, on account of the benefit of their labor in taking in 

 wood or otherwise. 



And now the vessel approaches their home. See the 

 joyous mother and daughters as they stand on the bank! 

 A store of vegetables lies around them, a large tub of 

 fresh milk is at their feet, and in their hands are plates, 

 filled with rolls of butter. As the steamer stops, three 

 broad straw hats are waved from the upper deck, and soon 

 husband and wife, brothers and sisters, are in each other's 

 embrace. The boat carries off the provisions for which 

 value has been left, and as the captain issues his orders 

 for putting on the steam, the happy family enter their 

 humble dwelling. The husband gives his bag of dollars 

 to the wife, while the sons present some token of affec- 

 tion to the sisters. Surely, at such a moment, the squat- 

 ters are richly repaid for all their labors. 



Every successive year has increased their savings. 

 They now possess a large stock o^ horses, cows, and hogs, 

 with abundance of provisions, and domestic comfort of 

 every kind. The daughters have been married to the 

 sons of neighboring squatters, and have gained sisters to 

 themselves by the marriage of their brothers. The gov- 

 ernment secures to the family the lands on which, 

 twenty years before, they settled in poverty and sickness. 



Larger buildings are erected on piles, secure from the 

 inundations; where a single cabin once stood, a neat 

 village is now to be seen ; warehouses, stores, and work- 

 shops increase the importance of the place. The squat- 

 ters live respected, and in due time die regretted by all 

 who knew them. 



Thus are the vast frontiers of our country peopled, and 

 thus does cultivation, year after year, extend over the 

 western wilds. Time will no doubt be, when the great 

 valley of the Mississippi, still covered with primeval for- 

 ests interspersed with swamps, will smile with corn-fields 



