Early Candlelight

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X HE expedition returned by way of the lakes. TNaturally: the dwellers at the Entry were proud of their lakes. The prairie country to the west, they heard, had only an occasional starved creek or weedy pond, but in this land which the Sioux called Minisota the sky was reflected by myriad shining waters, each with its gracious guardian circle of trees. It was extremely hot by the time dinner was eaten; oppressive, indeed. Gentlemen were loosening their stocks and wiping wet brows; ladies were impatiently shaking out their dresses, and children were growing so fretful in all their sticky finery that Deedee’s wagon was no longer a caravan of joy. But as the procession crunched through the spicy grass, jogging along, up and down the little hillocks, under a torrid sun and a sky which seemed to have dropped nearer to the earth, the hosts refreshed their guests with tales of this chain of lakes: Cedar Lake, Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun for the much troubled statesman, and Lake Harriet to do honor to Harriet Leavenworth, wife of the first cornmandant . It was on Lake Calhoun that the Pond brothers lived. Deedee was pleased at the prospect of seeing her friends. And as she came in sight of that entrancing sheet of x THE expedition returned by way of the lakes. Naturally: the dwellers at the Entry were proud of their lakes. The prairie country to the west, they heard, had only an occasional starved creek or weedy pond, but in this land which the Sioux called Minisota the sky was reflected by myriad shining waters, each with its gracious guardian circle of trees. It was extremely hot by the time dinner was eaten; oppressive, indeed. Gentlemen were loosening their stocks and wiping wet brows; ladies were impatiently shaking out their dresses, and children were growing so fretful in all their sticky finery that Deedee's wagon was no longer a caravan of joy. But as the procession crunched through the spicy grass, jogging along, up and down the little hillocks, under a torrid sun and a sky which seemed to have dropped nearer to the earth, the hosts refreshed their guests with tales of this chain of lakes: Cedar Lake, Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun for the much troubled statesman, and Lake Harriet to do honor to Harriet Leavenworth, wife of the first commandant . It was on Lake Calhoun that the Pond brothers lived. Deedee was pleased at the prospect of seeing her friends. And as she came in sight of that entrancing sheet of 106 x THE expedition returned by way of the lakes. Naturally: the dwellers at the Entry were proud of their lakes. The prairie country to the west, they heard, had only an occasional starved creek or weedy pond, but in this land which the Sioux called Minisota the sky was reflected by myriad shining waters, each with its gracious guardian circle of trees. It was extremely hot by the time dinner was eaten; oppressive, indeed. Gentlemen were loosening their stocks and wiping wet brows; ladies were impatiently shaking out their dresses, and children were growing so fretful in all their sticky finery that Deedee's wagon was no longer a caravan of joy. But as the procession crunched through the spicy grass, jogging along, up and down the little hillocks, under a torrid sun and a sky which seemed to have dropped nearer to the earth, the hosts refreshed their guests with tales of this chain of lakes: Cedar Lake, Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun for the much troubled statesman, and Lake Harriet to do honor to Harriet Leavenworth, wife of the first commandant . It was on Lake Calhoun that the Pond brothers lived. Deedee was pleased at the prospect of seeing her friends. And as she came in sight of that entrancing sheet of EARLY CANDLELIGHT 107 water she looked for their cabin eagerly. There it stood on the lofty spot which Man of the Sky had selected, the spot from which, he had said, they could see the loons on the lake. They could see the loons, no doubt, but little else. The Indian village was hidden behind the hill. And if their eyes could have reached to the Pacific they could have found no abode of brother white men. The lake, the interminable prairie; water and grass in summer, ice and snow in winter; that was the view their single window held. Accustomed as Deedee was...