Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1872-10-05
gratefully remembered by all the

i =,
placed aside in their respective
covers, ready at moments notice
, our sportsmen retired at an early
hour, and were soon wrapped in
undisturbed slumber save, perhaps,
by gentle dreams of home, wife and
children and those domestic ties
which are drawn all the closer, and
arc doubly cndeared to the heart
by absence.
80 We were awakened before day
break, while the moon was yet
riding high in the heavens, casting
down n shower of yellow light that
played wierd Ticks and formed
fantastic shapes of all surrounding
objects. There is a witchery about
such an hour that is probably more
appreciated by those who seldom
witness it. The cool, damp and
dead stiffness Of tho morning, bro.
ken only by the movements of
your comrades in the house, and
the unnaturalncss of the situation,
all tend to indamc the fancy and
give II ghost-like unreality to every
sight and sound. You walk to the
windows and gaze abstrctcdly
down the deserted street of the vii
lage at your feet; nothing averst
your vision-not even n dog prowl.
ing about in search of food. The
moon shines steadily, envcloping
everything in her mystic light; it
needs no stretch of tho imagina
ton to watt ones thoughts to Pom
peii, the City Of tho Dead, save the
signs of bakery and drug store that
impudently stare ono in the face,
and bring us suddenly back to the
commonalities of our American
life. Tho thread of sentiment is
broken, and VIC turn and join with
different feelings in the CHEEKY con-
vcrsation of our fclow-sportsmcn.
But q sound of wheels is heard,
and glancing out, our teams are
seen rapidly approaching. They
reach the door Of the hotel, and
now all is hurry and hustle to place
the proper dogs in the right wag
ons, amid which we finally start off
with commands of "io down" to
the various canincs from their re-
spcctivc masters.
The long road Of black prairie
earth stretches ont before us, bor-
dcred alternately by fields of corn
and stubblc. Ga these latter tho
party cast glances plainly botokcn-
ing that the sport Of chicken shoot
ing is uppcrmost in tleir minds.
We passed some fens and many
small farms, the houses of the lat
ter being severely plain and unat
tractive to the eye. During our
sojourn here, necessity, as well as
inclination, brought us in frequent
contact with the tenants Of the lit
tie estates of n hundred or two
acres, and though evidently Of or
dinary intelligence, yet aside from
local affairs their minds are but
"tabula raSa" on which the "stilus"
of education has made but little
impression.
They evidently have not sound.
ed the depths Of canine pysiogno-
my, for once at the hotel II serious
faced man, who certainly knew not
the preparation of Il joke, remark
ed that "some of them yer stran-
gers had brought q lot Of dcrncd
fine hounds with EN-"
At another time a fellow, desir-
ing, no doubt, TO gain my appro-
baton by complimcnting, as he
thought, my favoritc setter, re-
marked. 81 kin see that this yer
dog has got lots of fine bloodhound
in him." Some ofmy friends laugh
cd, though very naturally declin-
ed to see where the laugh came in.
Tho prairie land here cultivated,
though in many respects rich and
pre- emincntly adapted to the rails
ing of grains is yet, from its un-
common flathess, highly liable to
great injury, both from long
drouths and excessive rain; and
were it not for the fact that the
roads are frozen the greater part
of the Winter, they would be quite
impossible on account of mud. Wa
ter can generally be obtained by
sinking a well some ten or twelve
feet on almost any part Of this prai-
ric, but it is of very inferior quail
ty, and being forced to drink such
was one of our greatest hardships
while here.
We were now fast approaching
the scene of our labors, and the
constant questioning of the driver
showed the anxiety of all to be at
work.
The East was reddening up, and
the moon looked pale on her bed
of daffodil sky. The morning star
in the stcadfast blue had faded
from sight, and all nature assumed
a more animated appearance, in
welcome to the coming "God of
Day" Tourists and travellers who
have visited all parts of the known
world, seen sunrises from the Al
pine heights Of Switzerland, and
sunsets from Tivoli, in the clear
blue of an Italian sky, have yet
lost one grand sight of Nature, in
her various phases, until they wit
ness the birth Of the new born day,
at the opening of the portals of the
sun on our great western plains.
The vision is unobstructed by eth
or mountains OF trees, and The eye
ranges away down TO the clear cut
horizon, that seems to sink-as at
sca-to unfathomabfe depths be-
yond. But sunrise is near at hand,
and the rosc-like red of the sky is
tinged with yellow and gold, while
the few floating clouds that hang
I;Lo boralds of his comino- are en-