The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1875-12-30

the savage enemy, when 1 astonshed my
employers bv volunteering to he the mes
senoer
You shall not have to repent it, IIar-
ry. my boy" said the elder of the two
brothers, as he wrung my hand in his
own horny one; ''Nouye stood mGntully
by Us at this pinch. and we'd be mean
enough for niggers TO trample on if we
didn't show grttitute Il little more sub
stantially than by few fair words We
never yet did raise u clerk to be a part
ner, but-Ihere, there Lvndham; did
not intend to egg you on by an oticr, a.
If YOU needed that hastily added tile
| honest old fellow. fearing rs he saw tile
color rise to my face, that | had taken
innbrage al his rough speech . Come
safe back TO us, lai and all will he
right"
Mr.. James Curtis spoke words to much
the same effect, at the same time bidding
me be careful, and indeed it was curious
to watch the struggle in my employers
minds between their natural cageIues, to
escape q financial wreck that almost
amounted to ruin, and the kindly appre-
| hension lest should lose my lie in them
! service,
AS Of myself, knew well enough how
| great was the risk ran, ami for how mo-
| ment0uS a stake i WAS about to play, and
| had not the goal before my mental vision
| been the bright prospect OF calling Rosa
mond my wife, even the prospective part
nership would hardly have tempted me to
set oil on an errand so perIOus. As il
WAS, was resolved; and as | got ready
for the start, | tried quietly to weigh the
chances for and against my safely reach
ing CriStObal | had Il fair knowledge OF
the country, which | had traVersed on
| four OF five occasions, and was no novice
III camping out, on in the familiar mel
dents OF prairie travel. / could ride well. !!
| too, and was better mounted tnan most OF
the residents in that district where horse
flesh IS cheap and plentiful, having IN my
| possession Il splendid chestnut thorough
Bred originally brought from Kentucky
| by some United States officer, and which
was celebrated for strength aud speed. !
was fond OF Sunbeam. and he Of me, for
he was doclc and Intelligent as well as
swift, and would follow me for miles a, Il
dog follows his owner, or stand, when !
| bade him, with the rcins hanging loose 4
upon his glossy neck.
There was scanty time for leave e-takmg /
1t was deep in the afternoon when | start |
ed, Il GOZeh OF more ot the Younger cti- |
zens OF Tucson riding with me for the |
first half hour, and giving me q hearty |
cheer as we parted More than one /
strong right hand trembled q little as it !
grasped mine in token of ;tleu ;uid there |
was All unwonted moisture gIistening i'll |
the honest eyes of some ot the kind |
hearted young fellows us they wished me |
''God speed and a safe return" Well do |
| remember wheeling my steed on little |
elevation in the rolling. noWer-enamellca |
prairie. and waving my hat IN answer to
the waving Of hats and handAerchcts /
from the little knot OF horsemen, not one
of whom, | am sure, ever expected to see !
me again on this side OF the grave. Then |
| rode on, and lost sight ot the friendly /
band of wcll-wishers
The heavy. sultry heat seemed to en-
wrap the land like a mantle There was
not Il breath to stir the dropping leaves of |
the few cottonwood trees that | passed iu
the lower levels, and on the upIands the |
long, rank grass was parchcd brown by |
the fierce sun, for ii was long since rain /
had fallen. The shriil, sharp chirp oi the
prairie cricket, and the lar-0tl' barking Of |
that curious animal the prairie dog, alone
broke stiffness that was absolutely OPP
pressiYe. Some three hours after leaving
Tucson | reigned up beside the blue,
bright waters OF - creek, and stacking
my morse glfths, alloWed MN TO drink
freely, myself replenishing the metal can
teen winch was slung ut my saddIe-poW,
LOT III lhat deSFi1 lahd another oppoitu-
nlty OF appe"SlhS lAIIst might not readily
occur. And presently leaving me grassy
pfaifIe, we struck INTO a tract OF country
stlll more lonely ana desoIatc, where the
only sound was the thud OF my horses
hoois ON the s2orched ana barren earth.
F:lF aWa} to the leil' thefe @leamed
against 'he SKY solncthlnS !lke shlnlhg
wall, hhpcrleclly visible, put Whlch
Knew TO pc lne se'fated eFeSt5 ana noun
laln peaks "l the Mlihores' the natural
businesses where dWcl1 the hafDarlan
tribes whose loren ana tolnahtWk hAu
lald waste many u happy home Nor
were memehtoeS "i lhelf hostiIll} lack
ing, us tfaVefaeH the track = deeply
seanc1 bN wagon -Wheel7 anu streWhed
with the bieacheo bones OF mules anu
oNen--that qua duty lor road. Eight or
nlne tlmes lhefe Ioomed before me II ruue
wooden cross, on Whlch was coarSeIy
painted, III letters OF plack or reg some
tlmeS il name, more o'teh mere Ih'li3Is'
followed by the simple inscription, "hliI-
ed by the Apaches."
The sun went down, the dew elistcned
on the rank herDage and TUFTS of the wild !
SAGE, and welcome breeze cooled the
heated air, while the broad bright moon,
like a silver shield, rose to shed her chas-
tened ioht over the vast expanse of prairie
Onward rode, until at length, in a sort Of
oasis. where water, and grass, and trees,
were to be loand, selected my camping
place for the night With dawn | was
again in the saddle nor did any incident,
during that DAYS Journey or the next
vary the monotony OF prairie travel Wa
ter was met with, sparingly, indeed, and
of poor quality. but the brackish and tur
bid draught at any rate sutliced to allay |
that tormenting thirst, which is the great
terror of the solitary wavtarer Oh these