The Sierra citizen., 1854-10-21
[Wraten for the Citizen.
Restless Bill.
A MINERS STORY.

| A AlNEk STORY.
"Mothcr, why are you always beating
me-is it because am so ugly and stupid ?
And tear cour-ed down Bills cheek
and his little breast heaved with the in
ward struggle between anger and sorrow
creeping away to his rude pallet he criet
himself to sleep.
The sun rose clear and bright in the
morning; the green prairies stretched
away to the horizon, and the noiseless
ripples of the Illinois broke gently agains'
the shore. Bill sat watching the little
fishes playing in an eddy, when the angry
voice of his mother called him to the cabin
and Bill got another beating, for idlina
his time when he should have been doing
he knew not what.
That evening, when the shadow of the
single tree in front of the cabin began to
grow long, Bill coaxed his little sister
down to grassy knoll on the river bank,
where the two children sat watching the
birds whirring up from the prairie. The
i;ttie Ettie Girl was afraid to speak to her
brother, for his face was swollen with
crying, and she knew that it was i0T ner
....l ":.l. that he had been beaten.
aJan,e I'm, vy,,," ,,~ to run away; mother
ONbtit, u III HVshA
is so cross to me-"
"Hush. Bill. if mother hears you she
will be so angry, and she will only whip
you again. do not know what makes
her SO cross to you Bill, for you are good
to me-" and jamie threw her little sun
burnt arms round her brothers neck, and
cried bitterly.
Night came on, and Bill looked out of
the chinks in the wall, but all was still,
and the prairie was dark as sunless sea.
jamie slept in the corner, in that innocent
untroubled slumber, which Heaven vouch-
safes to childhood, before sin has caused
conscience to rebel in sleep, and scare its
victim with visions. Taking down his
bundle from the shelf, and gently kissing
Janic's sun-browned cheek, Bill noislessly
opened the door and stepped out into the
world, to look for the kindness JUS
tice-which was denied him at home.
The next morning there was gather
ING at his mothers house; the river bank
was searched to see if he had fallen in the
stream; the neighbors knew how badly she
had treated her stupid boy, but still they
pitied the coarse, cruel woman when they
saw her swaying to and fro, and the tears
chasing each other down her cheeks, fur
rowed with care and misfortune. They
knew that blight had fallen on her house.
and that she thought Heaven delighted to
wrest from her every prop that she would
lean upon. The search was vain, we all
returned silently to our homes; Bill was
gone, no one knew where.
Ten years afterwards, I was climbing
the mountains of California in eager pur-
suit of that ignis fatuus which has seduced
so many from their homes, and made so
many hearths desolate. There were some
fifteen of us in company; strangers to each
other, English, Irish and Americans. l
sat down on the snow to rest, and as the
gold hunters passed me in single file, l
looked narrowly in their faces, to see if I
could recognize any one / had ever seen
before. Last in the ragged train of bear
ers of burdens, was one bending under a
load of miners traps, which could easily
have carried in addition to my own. His
face was pale and sunken, plainly indica-
ting that he had been victim to that
fearful disease which hurried 50 many to
their graves, uncofined, in the fall Of 1850.
His limbs seemed to tremble under him,
and great drops of perspiration stood on
his face. My own lot had been hard
one; 1 too had felt what l thought was
the death damp gathering op my brow
had felt the gnawing Of disease and hunger
until I cursed the hour l was born, and
would have welcomed death had it not
been for that fearful Hereafter. When
health returned / was misanthropic, and
thought that l hated all mankind for their
inhumanity and neglect. But there was
a sort of helpness dispair in this mans
face, which made nae forget all the neglect
/ had suffered, and I inwardly resolved
that if / could gain his confidence, would
be his friend.
He sat down by the way.side to rest,
and his head sank on his breast from very