Arkansas democratic banner., 1851-12-30
Prairie Mira.

As T by entertainment, the q snowy surface all al once disappeared. Greeklds lay before us, and tall trees spring sp coHd with thick and veydant foliage,
 " ColtonwoolS s' cried a lher, as his eye rested on these s,ill distast grd.
 ''Tall sap ins, at that-Wagl ejseulated an- other.
 "Waier thar, fellow. red" remarked third.
 "Yes. sir-ee. yer don't zee safprouts as them growing out Q dry peraira. bk hliloa v
 l" By Gollies, wonders hous4
 GA house 0ne--twe--thfd A house - thars a whole town. if thars single shanty.-- Gee! Jim, look yonSiet. WS4" was riding in front with sgsin-the rest Of the band struag out behind l had been for soEne tune gazing upon the pnnd in so,t of abstractlon. looking al lhe Iow whste eflores- eence. and listening to the crFhlng of my horse s hoots through it's incrus.ationEf excamstory phrases caused me 10 raise eyes. The sight that met ihem was one ihapade me reign up with sudden jerk. Seguin ! done the same, and l saw that the whole bal ad halted with 6 similar impulse.
 We had just cleared one dhtbuttes, that had | hitherto obSirEcted our viewf te great gap l This was nov directly n trofof S; and along its base on the southern side rosthe walls and bat dement's of city-a vast ct juging from its distance and the colossal apFranc of is archI- lecture We could trace thsolumS of temples, and doors, and gates, and wipws, all balconies, and parapetS. and spires Ehere we're many towers rising high over the rGs; and n the mid dle was tempie-l!se Structu, with Is massive dome towering far above all others l looked upon this sndde apparitio with a feeling of incgedulity. IL waa dfeam--u imsgi- nation--a mirage. fia !! t wathe ming, | But no The mirage couIlnot effect such a coclpete picture. There wereis roofs, .antc him neys. and walls, and wiudowi There wee the parapets of fortified houSesyRith their rcuar notches and emJrazures isTas a reallt, IL was ely
 Was it the Ciboo of the Snish Pad,e Vas 1 II the city of golden gates anCburnlshed towsS l Was the story of the wandsrg priest afler al. true Who had proved l. liable Who hd ever penetrated this region, [ very country n which the ecclesiastie Tepresa ed tie golden cit ] of Clboio to exiStl
 i saw that Seguin was paaed-dismayed--a well as myself He knew nding of this land He had never witnessed Eire Ike that 1 For some time we sat in ounddIes influenced i by strange emotions. Shall wSo hrward Yes We must reach water. We E dying of thirSt and iInpe!ied by this we spur eNad. We had ridden only few reS further, wher the hunters uttered a suddenlnc smultaneon. cry. 4 new object-an obbt of tenor-wa, before us Along he mounta fsot appeared { string of dark forms. They we mounted men We dragged our horses to ttr nunches-oal whole line halting oS one man.
 "lnjuns r' was the exciamann several.
 ." Inaiaas they must be-" auteed Seguln.- There are no others here-lndaas}No There never were such as them. See! ,Aeafe not nIen
 -iook theIr huge hc;ses--thel: lenssuHs-they are giants By leavensIr coatnue he, after a moments pause, "they are bodies They are phaatoms r'
 l' There were exclamaions of terror bm the hunt ers behind.
 Were these the inhabitants Of | city? There was striking proportion in the cosSai size ot Inc horses and The horSemen For moment was awe strucAke the res' Only moment. \ sudden menorlashed upon me. l thought of the Hartz Inonbins and then demons. l knew that the pheno:na before us could be no other-an optical del tpn-a creation of the mirage.
 raSed my hand above my head The foremost of the giants initiated the motion
 put spurs 10 my horse and gbped forward. So did he, as if 10 meet me; afteE few springs had passed the refracting angie; 1, like thought, the shadow gIaHi vanished into al
 The men had ridden forwsrhfter me; and, having also passed the angle of naction, saw nc more of the phantom host.
 The city, too, had disappeared but we could trace the outlines of many a siniar formation oi the trap-rock strata that traverstthe edge of Inc valley.
 The tall groves were no longdo be seen; but a low belt of green wilows-re$ willows couit be distinguished along the foo, the mountain within the gap. Under theIr lsge there va: something that sparkled in the h like sheets O silver. 1t was water l. wase branch of the Pueio
 Our horses neighed al the Sht, and shortl! after We had alighted upon is anks, and were kneeing before the sweet spEof .he stEeaIn.- Ssir!' ct tie T,mts.