The Nevada journal., 1860-04-13

the man who was carrying it had stumbled and
fallen, spilling nearly the whole of it.
They travelled till late the second night and
all the next day. Their stock of water was now
entirely spent, and though they had examined
every ravine they passed and looked anxiously
from the top of every hill, not drop of water
was to be found. At night they sat DOING
shout their sage root fire and at dawn again
suned their journey. They would, no doubt.
have given up and fallen fainting the sand
but for kind of priekly-pear which grew in
the sand in great abundance and the thick sue
culent leaf of which afforded a considerable
amount of slightly acid juice on being chewed.
Two of the men constantly ehewed these leaves,
but the other, the wounded man, could hardly
be persuaded to touch thcm indeed, he had
acted strangely ever since leaving the valley.
He would stop aud stand gazing back toward
the valley and would hear or heed nothing until
shaken aud aroused, when he would turn meekly
about and resume the journey, saying in a low
sorrowful tone "Yes, yes; I sill 90 little
further to please yea; | could die here as well,
but-yes. yes, to please you l will go little
iurthcr1zthe boys in the valley are lonesome,
the fire has g6ne otit at the hut, must go back,
but to please you can go little further-you will
go over the mountains, but one of you will
come back to stay in The valley with rie and the
boys" This he repeated over and again very
many titles during the day. His words and
manner struck chill to their hearts, they feared
he might have become insane, but he had no
wild look. his eyes met theirs with calm sor-
rowful gaze his voice low and sad, but steady.
He seemed TO have lost all desire to reach Cali
fornia. or to 20 any where but back tt the VAL
ley, vet since the first night he had never once
asked to return. though bis eyes, when resting
at noon and night, were always turned toward
the Three Peaks. At times they were almost
sorry they had not yielded to his persuasons
and returned to the valley. On this evening
they camped on little knoll. built fire of sage
roots and ate sparingy of their scanty store,
then huddlcd about the fire to doze. The
wounded man sat usual. gazing toward the
new distant peaks of his loved valley. Having
spoken to him several times without arousing
him. one of the said. Il sorry | ever
insisted on your leaving the valley, and if l
thought you would be Yourself again would be
tempted TO return
The words were hardly spoken before he who
had before seemed so utterly unconcious of all
that was said to him. sprang to his feet his
usually calm eyes all in a blake. eIclamng-
- The boys calling they like the stone we
put over them they like the willows we planted.
bnt the fire at the hut has gone out and thcy
are lonesome. lark they're calling!' lie
dafted from the fire and in an instant was oi.t
of sight. The men left thus suddenly by their
companion eat gazing on each other for some
momehts in silent horror at the words and sud
den flight of their friend. % He has gone mad -
at length exclaimed one of the men, we must
find him."
! they searched long, but in vain. and were
forced to rett;rn to camp and wait for daylight.
As it was light they took the track Of
! the missing man in the sand aid followed it
down the knoll; on, on it went. over the low
hills, the strides being often great that the
| two men many times stopped and gazed into
each others face with looks of superstitous ter
ror frozen into every line of their countenances
| At last. on reaching the summit of a hill near
two miles from the camp, they found him. He
was sitting with his back resting against 4 clump
of sage brush. his eyes staring on and his arms
stretched out toward tho Three Peaks which
were rosy in the first blush of dawn. They
/ shook him to him-he was dead, The
| two men were stricken with n sudden terror and
| fed from the spot, but soon gathered sufficient
courage to return and bury their dead friend as
well as they could by piling over him several
! layers Of sage brush and rocks. They returned
I TO the camp and sadly resumed their journey
/ and before noou. to their great JOY, found in a
| rocky ravine small stream of water trcklng
among the stones. Here they stayed day or
/ two catching crickcts, fFogs and snails, to eke
/ ont their fast failing stock Of provisions. After
/ few more days of hardship they reached the
Sierra and crossing over into Marposa County
/ eventually reached Coulterville Here one was
! Immediately taken sick He told the friend who
had been his companion in all his hardships that
ne was going to die and wished him to remain
with him the few DAYS he had to live. Said he
:" YOU remember what he always used to saw
that we would 20 over the mountains but that
one of us would return to stay with him aud the
boys in the valley. l knew he meant me- al
ways knew by the cold feeling that come over
me when he said it that it would be me, and be
sides you never wanted to stay there, and were
ALWAYS so strong and determined
few days later and the sick man was dying
his old compsnion and few new-fotind friends
stood about his couch be had apparently ceased
70 breathe those about glanced toward each
other n look that said "poor fellow. all is over
with him. when Of a sudden the diving man
raised himself in his couch and with blazing
eyes and outstretched arms exclaimed" he is
there he looks toward me. the fire is blazing
before the hut. I must go,' He fell forward on
his couch and on being raised life had forever
fed. EBEyEzRn