Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1872-02-24
Written for the Gold Hill Ncws.l
THE MILKY WAY.
TIN the DHtrk.)

was very new to tho sagebrush then,
And not so old as now,
And, tell you the truth. I never had been
Compelled TO "plsy 1t low"
But, out O. work and out o cash, means
Out o. tho camp and "git;"
Though I had been playing 1t close on beans,
And kind O. waiting q bit.
At last I took my blankets and put
No use bummlng around!
And away ! went-and / went afoot-
Mighty close to the ground.
The weather was hot and tho way was dry
A hundred miles to 90,
And never q house for a passer.by,
Nor track the way to show.
There was first q valley, then some hills,
Then valley again, and SO
More hills, more yalleys-without the rills,
Whore such things ought to dow.
So MP and down l padded along,
And thought / was going right,
And making the trip both stout and strong,
And so camped over night.
Half the water I carried I drank,
Suppered and went to sleep;
And, bright and carly, I formed In rank
As tho morn began to peep;
FOTmCU III IhLk uuu Dckuu TUG LuuICu
Over the Ia and sand,
Under the beautiful azure arch
That never was moro grand.
The water I had was gone At length,
And that was q little rough;
But I didn't care ~much-youth and strength
Told mo that ! was tough.
On. on I trudged-and on, still on
YEARLY, slow, yet stout,
Till tho sun Of heaven from sight was gone,
And tho quiet stars came out.
Ny tongue did burn and my throat was hot,
But l swallowed tho cool night air
And pushed ahead for the camp-1 thought
Ere morning I'd be there.
And morning camo, but never q camp
The day.dawn to me showed.
Lost! lost all night In q useless tramp,
Packing . heavy loadl
Tho sun came up In his glory old,
But never q bird to sing,
Nor a tree or flower In green or gold,
Nor the babble Of q spring.
Gray, gray and desert far and widoi
No living thing save i;
The heat danced over the country side,
And steadily poured on high.
flung myself on tho earth to rest,
And solemnly ! gazed.
saw q squaw with a child at breast
Or, was / o moment dazed?
No: wearily on, like me sho came.
beckonod her 10 come
could not shout-my throat was flame,
And, save in a whisper, dumb.
"watorr / eroaked in her STOPPING cars;
"Wateri You catch 'em quick! /"
But she only said, with q falling tear,
ma D%ApDoose heaD q sick"
And sho passed away. I watched her 60
Farther and farther on,
Winding tho sage about, to and fro,
Till finally she was gone.
Then, up with a bound, I shook myself,
Dead-set TO fight II out;
No place there TO 10y on the shelf
No going 1t "up the spout"
Away again, md I took such route
As luck, not sense, would send;
Determined to keep on going about,
With q struggle, to the ond.
But all In vain | Ny throat was full
or . swelling, hot and dry;
Ny eyes grew scalt. my vision dull,
As / gazed upon tho sky.
AsI gazed and saw tho sinking sun
Trailing his evening rcd,
sank In the sand-alone-undone-
On a descrt-dying bed.
Ali boys, lyon bet your lives" I cried
Bitterly into tho sand,
And moaned TO think that / hadn't died
At homo, In a Christian land.
The sun went down. and the stars again
Came coolly out on high.
/ watched and wished they would fall in rain
Like ice.drops from the sky.
And as | lay In q sorrownil plight,
Gazing In pain and awe,
There came between my eye and tho light,
The figure of-of-a squawi
"whito:oe man, me pappoose dead-heap
No put him gonc-heap gomez
And then she squattcd beside my head,
As mute as o desert stone.
tried to utter water" again,
But | was dumb as death.
II words would bring me q flood OF rain,
couldn't have whispered q breath.
Iscooped my hand, like q water.cup,
And mimicked q cooling draught.
But the squaw In her robs still huddlcd up,
And, damn tho dcnd, she laughed.
She laughed In that queer, wild, Indian tone
That Is not Of Joy or fup,
And ended her laugh with o sort OF moan
From Q spirit oyerdone.
And again / played her tho pantomimo
or drinking the empty air,
ScoopiDg to sip froma phantom stream
That never was running there.
And I looked and longed at the milky way,
Wishing l bod II to drink,
While she sat rocking the night away
With o heart too sore to think.
Atlast, quick, close, 'twixt me and tho light,
Again the form ofihe squaw,
AndI heard her heart with all Its might
Boat-beat against my jaw.
couldn't begin to sabc " at first
What under heaven she meant.
Mo pappoose dead" she walled, and the
thirst
Well, no mattcr-at It I wenti
"oh.hi See yer, Bill, now that won't dol
DO you pretend to tell"
did It, l tell you, and 80 would you,
With q throat as hot as hill.
It gave mo lise-I was born againl
But l left my blankets there,
And followed tho sqaw to the haunts OF men,
As she crooned hor sad, wild air.
"Well, what became OF that sauaw, I sayf
You didn't throw off, on her Z"
Not much, l didn't Whenever that day
Comes, I'm her ~worshiper.
Sho isn't q beauty, nor generally, clean;
But once q year, at least,
mako her presents, and she 10 queen
or my second birthday feast.
SNaLnLISE.
MORA Nevada squaw carries her dying