“If he does he won’t blab it all round,” said Peter.
James took with him flint, steel and tinder, fish-hooks and lines, and one blanket, and provender for Frank.
He started off with the good wishes of all the household. Bertie put his arms round old Frank’s neck and told him to remember that he had a character to sustain, and not to stumble on the mountains. The old roadster bent down his head, rubbed his nose on the shoulder of his young friend and seemed to signify, I will.
Uncle Nathan Kendrick, an old trapper, not far from the age of the deceased grandfather, had given James a rough draft of the roads, with the names of the streams, fords, and towns, the localities of the public houses and log taverns, and the distances, and the places where grass and water were to be found, and that were good camping grounds.
In the meanwhile the object of all this solicitude rode on, crossed the Susquehannah at Harris Ferry, and found a good tavern, where he put up. The next morning he started on, fed his horse on grass and provender, buying provender at the farm-houses for the horse and what little he required for himself, as he shot or trapped most of his provision. At night he camped early, and after he left the older settlements behind, he built a brush camp every night and put Frank into it to protect him from the wolves, building his fire in front.
He found no difficulty in regard to living. When he stopped to bait at noon on the banks of the Yellow Breeches Creek, he shot a wild turkey, and had a sumptuous dinner. At Falling Spring he caught muskrats and snared a partridge, and caught fish in the Conococheague Creek; on the top of the North Mountain he found a log tavern, where he obtained provender and camped; from thence, crossing the Alleghanies, he came to Laurel Hill and Chestnut Ridge. This ridge was covered with a heavy growth of chestnut trees, mixed with oaks, which rendered it a resort for wild turkeys, coons and deer, and in the openings was an abundance of sweet grass for the horse. Here he camped two days to rest the horse after the fatigue of climbing the mountains, and while there he shot a deer and trapped two minks.
James now found himself within about two miles of Pittsburg village, then an assemblage of log houses, having some trade in furs and by flat-boats down the river with New Orleans, Ohio and Kentucky; also some trade by pack-horses with Baltimore and by water carriage by way of the Kiskiminetas Creek and by portage.
Frank had not been in a stable since leaving Harristown. It was near sundown, the wood was too thick for grass to grow, and James resolved to put up at some farm-house and give him a good baiting of hay.
Seeing a log house, the logs of which were hewn on the sides and chinked with lime mortar, a large barn and good breadth of land cleared, he made application and received a cordial welcome from the farmer, a Scotchman. His family consisted of a wife and three children, with all the necessaries of life in abundance. When the evening meal was over, he called the family together for prayers, and, according to the Scotch custom, read a hymn, and finding that James sang, they all, even to the children, united in praising God.
James had now the opportunity to clean his horse thoroughly from dust and sweat, and feed him bountifully. Aside from his attachment to a good horse, he knew that Mr. Whitman would never have let anybody else have him, and was therefore very anxious to bring him through in good shape, and nothing could exceed the pains he had taken with him on the road, the result being that he was in excellent flesh and spirits, and showed no signs of a hard journey.