to us, for my brother Oliver was among those lost. The ship
struck on an uncharted rock.

During the stay at Steilacoom in the time of the Indian troubles, we had
begun a trading venture, in a small way. The venture having proved
successful, we invested all our savings in a new stock of merchandise,
and this stock, not all paid for, went down with the ship. Again we must
start in life, and we moved to a new location, a homestead in the
Puyallup valley. Here we lived and farmed for forty-one years, seeing
the town of Puyallup grow up on and around the homestead.

In the Puyallup valley there were more neighbors--two families to the
square mile. Yet no neighbors were in sight, because the timber and
underbrush were so thick we could scarcely see two rods from the edge of
our clearing. But the neighbors were near enough for us to provide a
public school and build a schoolhouse.

Some of the neighbors took their axes to cut the logs, some their oxen
to drag them, others their saws and cleaving tools to make clapboards
for the roof. Others again, more handy with tools, made the benches out
of split logs, or, as we called them, puncheons. With willing hands to
help, the schoolhouse soon received the finishing touches.

The side walls were scarcely high enough for the doorway, so one was cut
in the end. The door hung on wooden hinges, which squeaked a good deal
when the door was opened or shut; but the children did not mind that.
The roof answered well enough for the ceiling overhead, and a cut in one
of the logs on each side made two long, narrow windows for light. The
children sat with their faces to the walls, with long shelves in front
of them, while the smaller tots sat on low benches near the middle of
the room. When the weather would permit, the teacher left the door open
to admit more light. There was no need to let in more fresh air, as the
roof was quite open and the cracks between the logs let in plenty of it.

Sometimes we had a woman for teacher, and then the salary was smaller,
as she boarded around. That meant some discomfort for her during part of
the time, where the surroundings were not pleasant.

One day little Carrie, my daughter, started to go to school, but soon
came running back out of breath.

"Mamma! Mamma! I saw a great big cat sharpening his claws on a great big
tree, just the way pussy does!" she said as soon as she could catch her
breath.

Sure enough, upon examination, there were the marks