Here they had to fell trees and make a rough bridge to
cross a stream; there they hewed their way through bushy undergrowth.
Again they climbed steep hillsides or picked their way painfully
through swamps, suffering many discomforts and fatigues.
But there were delights, too, for the sky was blue above them:
birds sang to them night and morning, and wild flowers starred the
ground and scented the air. All day they marched beneath the sunny
blue sky, every evening they lit their watch-fires as a protection
against wild beasts and lay down to rest beneath the stars, for
"they had no cover but the heavens, nor any lodgings but those
which simple nature afforded them."
For a fortnight they journeyed thus through the wilderness. Then
they reached the Connecticut River and their journey's end. And
here they built a little town which they called Hartford.
Other communities followed the example of Hooker and his flock,
and Wethersfield and Windsor were built. At first all these towns
remained a part of Massachusetts in name at least. But after a time
the settlers met together at Hartford and, agreeing to form a little
republic of their own, they drew up a set of rules for themselves;
the chief difference from those of Massachusetts being that the
religious tests were done away with, and a man need no longer be a
member of a church in order to have the right to vote.
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