Arkansas intelligencer., 1849-04-28
s=HHf""" BUREN, SATURDAY APRU ,s4a

becomes blackensd and darker grows; the creeks
swell, the water 'ols and pours down; rivers run,
where, a few hours before, all was seemingly dry.
Your goods are vet. your wagon covers shivered,
tattered and torn to threads your clothes all wet
and without ten, house or shelter. stand up and
sleep, and let rain: Your cattle, horses and
mules. discontinued. snort and snuff the breeze
fly the piques, and away they go--horses and
mules without rider, oxen without a wagon. peIl
nell. over hill and dale, far away.
The wolf, with his hideouS growl, breaks In Upon
your ears, and he sings you nightingale scng,
hoping to shars the tlt-bs you will leave. The
flavor arising from the fried bacon, sha rpeis his
appetite, until his notes become shrill and near.
When darkness hoyers over, his snuffind and
growing becomes nearer. The guns being wet,
prlmlng OUT and no sentinel shot be hea rd then
comes reflection. o what a fool was TO leave
home and suffer here-nothing TO shelter me from
the northwestern blast Of al Apri's shivefing
rain, sleet and hail, and all the imps Of the evil
one come to sing psalm tunes over my distress
and misery. wish had stayed at home, as dad
and mann said-ploughed the old fields, learned
a good trade, and been con,ented when was well
oil, instead of coming on this 'iwd goose chase"
However, fellow may well be chung for an
old sheep as lamb;'' my fist is n,'' nd this
is on Iy beginning and it is said that "a bad be-
ginning makes good ending."-so here goes,
through thick or thin, thunder, lightning or rain
But STOP; where in the name Of sense have those
internal brutes run to in this storm? They've
got started back, and all creation can't get tha,
thunder storm out of them, until they reach the
settlements; and Just here, among these wild var.
mints-snakes, lizards, wolves, and the Lord only
knows what-:hese women, children and wagons
must stay until they are brought back. GewhilIi-
kins, how they run! Old Zurababel could'n
catch them.
How you. stranger! Whose company is this!
Captain Pushafter's.
see you in bad fix there-vour wagons
in that gully half buried in water! Where's your
stock -!
All run of last night in that storm, like the
devil was after them. ] never horned horses
run so before In my born days. and the mules took
after them-and il raining so awful hard, we
could not see. But such stampede and Gathering
Of hoofs Of four-egged animals it fairly shook
the year,h, it did
Don't you Enow what started them! - ..
No! thought II was the thunder and lightning
or the cursed wolves, that kept up such an nferna
barking-it SCI red the children into fits.
Fudge! man. It's no wolves but some rovinr
bands OF Lipan' and Cumanche indians, who are
a II over the pla n--tor our boys saw them in The
distance just baore the storm, and they have run
Oft our best hoses and mules but our cattle were
So tied they could mt run. We lost at east fifty
horses and mules last night, and Pm out in search
for them, while others have gone in different d.
rections on the same errand. Did you see any
come this way alIer night
See, hell! | couldn't see my shadow, il was so
dark. How far ahead is your company
About ten miles, on a small branch.
How many do you number
Fifty. ........ .. .
w no commands?
Captain Knovsall. Good-bye I'm opH.
"Hell's ahoat, and the rivers risn!
Nancy! o! Nancy! tell your dad to come here
This child is mighty powerful sick, and Pm afeard
it will die.
What's the matter, old woman? ..
Matter enough. This baby's gon' to die,
rally believe.
o, jest hush up! give it a drop O. whiskey, and
it'll git well.
And there's Molly. what picked up lizard,
thinking 1t was bird--and it bit her hand so or
ul hard, that 1t has swelled clean TO the shoulder
And Jim says there's snakes all round here, for
he seen them crawln' under The blanket Jest little
bit ago. I'll tell you, old man, we'll all die here, /,
or be eat up by the varmnts. | wish we had
stay ed back, and let this gold go old scratch.
Hadn't we better turn back before we all die?
Well, believe can do well enough anywhere
IN s. Elenoys" or /" Misery's" but how's feIler
10 GIT back! Here we're, three hundred miles from
St. Joseph, all the oxen gone, wagon broke down,
and no one TO lend US leam-and too poor to buy,
if we could
OLD WOMAN. ] believe | can walk, if you'Il
only try TO git back. We can pack all that's
worth takin' on the old lame steer, and let the
wolves have the rest. for to 60 ahead-we can't.
OLD Man. Agreed by hokey, 'nough said
Hurra for the settlements I! You don't catch this
child agin with your humbug EZEL.