Page:History of Delaware County (1856).djvu/60

 36 HISTORY OF as Johnny cahe. Upon this scanty diet they subsisted for a brief period^ in the hope of a speedy cessation of the extreme cold weather. At last the remaining meal was all consumed, and but one small loaf of Johnny cahe was left to preserve the existence of the members of the new settlement. His faith- ful partner, who had borne up under all their former priva- tions with becoming fortitude, now began to yield. Cautiously she had concealed from her husband the real state of their provisions, well knowing, as she did, the imminent peril that would surround any attempt to reach the settlements, as well as that bold resolution that would prompt him immediately to undertake the journey, at any hazard. Noble woman, I would fain weave for thee, in this history, a eulogy worthy of such heroism. The fierce contest had raged in her own bosom, between alternate hope and fear — the love with which she cherished her offspring and the plighted affections of her hus- band — and would that the invocation of the prophet had been there, by his power from above, to have replenished the exhausted '^measure of meal.'' But the urgent claims of hunger and the prospect of starvation, will unnerve the strong- est mind and move the firmest purpose. A sad and painful picture did that little family circle pre- sent, as the children, prompted by hunger, gathered around the mother and anxiously presented their urgent demands for bread. The youngest were uttering their cries, while those who were older and better able to realize more fully their extreme situation, but hardly comprehending its fearful reality, were anxiously propounding the inquiry, Mother, must we starve V While the children were gathered around the mother, the father entered ; his eyes immediately fell upon the pale and anxious features of his wife; her tearful eyes met his own and revealed to him the reality of their situation. It was useless to conceal the truth from him longer, and she now told him