LESSON LVII.
declin'ing, failing.
expe'rience, that which happens to any one.
regard', look at; consider.
robust', sound in health.
ben'efit ed, made better; helped.
intense', extreme.
moc'ca sin, a kind of shoe made of deer-skin.
tem'po ra ry, for a time.
pe cul'iar, strange; unusual.
in tel'li gent, showing good sense.
A STORY OF THE SIOUX WAR.—PART I.
In the summer of 1862, while we were living in the State of Minnesota, I had an experience which I regard as one of the most remarkable that I ever met with.
We lived at Lac Qui Parle, or rather quite close to it, for we were about a mile from the place.
There were only three of us—father, mother, and myself. We had moved to Minnesota three years before, the main object of my parents being to restore their health; for they were feeble and needed a change of climate.
The first year, both father and mother were much benefited; but not long after, father began to fail.
I remember that he used to take his chair out in front of the house in pleasant weather and sit there, with his eyes turned toward the blue horizon, or into the depths of the vast wilderness which was not more than a stone's throw from our door.
Mother would sometimes go out and sit beside father, and they would talk long and earnestly in low tones. I was too young to understand all this at the time, but it was not long afterward that I learned the truth.