Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-07-06
Thirst I'm Australia.

IL !, already. though only an hour after sun
rise. very bot. there Is The coppefy glare about
the northwest portion Of the sky which alvays
accompanies a hot wind there Il dull smoky
look about the horizon that poriends regular
scorcher. and although he IL. "a Jet. only shout
four miles from The fringe OF tall trees that skirts
The river. they already begin 20 look cloudy aud
indstinct The day track IL already most obil.
Grated. aud the walking among the al, bushes
aud cotton bushes Il yery bad The bundleman
begins 20 think he would have been wiser 10 FOL.
los round the rivers. where be would have had
beaten track. shade aud water. than TO face the
plain fof the sake Of short cut However, he
l. good walker. and does not care for the heat
he marches on. with his bundle on biz back
and billy" Ia hi. hand. lie has done some
twelve or thirteen miles the sun il almost
perpendicularly over his head. aud he is
oct Of sight Of the river timber--fairiy
out 10 sea a. Il were. he throws down the roll
OF blankets. sta on them. opens the billy and
dnds that good deal of the precious water has
leaked he drinks little. il Is very precious. but
he pours q few drops into the lid Of the pot for
his dog. who. poor fellow. Is suffering already.
and looks strangely dusty. anxious and dispiritei.
That dogs ancestors came from breezy Scotch
mountains aud be would be far more at home
seeking sheep buried in a snowdrift than plod
ding across the scorching plain. The traveller
stops the leak with a bit Of clay. shoulders his
bundle and trudges on. The plain seems end
less NJ soundof living thing breaks the stiffness
the very flies that 40 tormented him near the
river have disappeared; there Is nothing moving
save unearthly looking columns OF red dust,
towering high in the hot air. raised from some
dista nj sand bill by the vhirlwinds On be plods,
hour after hour, looking anxiously for the faint
wheel marks that guide HIM. The hot wind
burns his eyes aud dries his lips. and he moistens
his marched mouth now and then with few drops
of the precious water. he Is unselhsh enough,
too. 10 spare his dog a little The water does not
refresh him much for IT is very warm and mawk-
ish and the rim Of the tin pot almost scorches his
lips At last he sees dark gray cloud suspended
over the horizon. quivering in the glare OF re-
Aected heat. He knows that cloud TO be the low
timber that skirts the dry bed Of the twenty mile
lake; be expects to find water in pit dug on is
edge Drinking the last of bis store, he stalks
on more quickly, knowing that on such day
the trees would not be visible more than a couple
OF miles; he begins to have pleasant thoughts Of
pot of tea, pipe and sleep in the shade OF
pine. lie hurrles on, the afternoon sun Is
shining ia his face. be crosses a beaten track al
most without seeing il. Perhaps thought may
arise within him as TO the possibility OF the hole
being dry and perhaps his heart may still mo-
ment, but be will not think Of il. Everything
seems strangely still; why are there no birds
about the water2 Not the twittering Of a wren,
| nor the croak of crow TO break the silence. he
notices with qualm Of fear that there is no
footmark of living thing in the dust OF the cattle
paths that lead to the water. hole.
Who can tell what passes through the mind Of
the lost sailor as he goes overheard in gale of
| the Hornl Who can realize what that seaman
| feels, as the great ship leaves him, far behind,
on the pitiless waves, among which, be knows
too we'll, no boat can live TO save himi And
this shepherd, as he looks into the pit and sees
| grim death staring Linn in the face from the dry
mud at the bottom of the hoel lie has heard his
mates talk of dead mems bones found on the
plain, and he knows what his end is to be Poor
| fellow He is very thirsty now. his tongue is
swelling in his mouth. he feels giddy and sick
1 and throws away his pack He will stagger oD a
| few miles more, hardly knowing whittier he is
going, lured on, perhaps, by the treacherous
mirage. which will mock his eyes with phan-
tom sheets of clear water rejecting the trees
around them and ripplng in the wind, on =
few hundred yards ahead He Will wander
on at random. throwing of bis clothes; az he
becomes weaker, perhaps he will feel his knife
and think Of his dog; but his dog has lain down
to die under a bush. and that last horrible re-
source is gone Then CLEAN OF hope. Two
dark forms looming up large against the resmoky
mist in which the sun is setting, come up rapidly
until within half mile of him. Are they
horsemenf TheY stop. Do they see him !
Yes, they have seen him, and they fly before the
hot wind: he knows they emu going to
water, and that their long legs will carry them
/ TO the cool river in two hours or Many
months after, some wandering stockman may
see some bones lying the plain. and may
curse the wild dogs for killing calves; he will
never notice the round white skull under a salt
bush few yards of-All The Year Round.
A