The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-07-08
Wv. "we'd "a sensed it before if it had

blow. "We'd a sensed it before If il ha(
BEEN"
"fiurt nobody to try, said 10.
4 "Oh, drowning men, said the Doctor
.Scateh at straws."
Drinking men do, know said 10
God! Peach, We'll be there, with oul
hee.s UP, at the Cliff House. swinking oul
cobblers, with the wind from the sea in
our faces. before we know it, now. :"
"TOo late for me-" sighed Peach
"'Tain worth the trouble"
"Sure cure, or your money back, urged
10. Here, Peach, old boy, swaller this
4 and you II be all right."a
Thank you," said Peach. in a whisper
=" thank you, 10. It's-it's very nice
paregoric."
"Lor@ Lord 7" cried Peachblow's part
ner, breaking down completely, "when a
when a man don't know old Bourbon
frOm-from paregoric, it's all up with
/ him ir And he choked with the sobs he
was swallowing with his own refresh
ment.
But how to get down to this Bethesda,
that PERCEPTIONS mile from the camp, was
the question being argued as the express
rider made his preparations. "a mule
can no more set his feet there" said 10.
Z" than camel can enter the kingdom OF
/
| their way alone, one could help another.
it was true, and those who were too i'll for
/ the effort at all might creep along the
| lodges, and be let down from shelf to shelf
in hammocks, if there were any left strong
enough to let them down; but as for Old
Peachblow, he would be a dead weight
/ the whole way.
"Lemme be-" said Peachblow, with a
| weak ejaculation, - You 9'lonp and lem
me be. can diein peace anyways, 'thout
you fellers a-pecking at me. You just
| leave the fiask-and leave me-"
You just wait here till we do" said
10.
"'Tain't no use, Jo," said Old Peach,
| trying to rise on one arm, and falling limp
Fly back. Pm too far gone for these yer
mud spring miracles. Go on, boys, and
don't mind me. You needn't be singing
hammock" he cried, with flush of
energy. IL shan't put up with it!''
"How yer geing to help it?'' said Tad.
"This way" said PeachblOw. and hi,
shaking hand drew the little Derringer
from under the blanket, and dropped it
halfway up.
10 laughed, perhaps to hide something
else. "'TwOn't go off, Peach," he said.
''This camps too darned wretched for that
little joker TO be in trim"
Look a-here, gentlemen" said third
party then. "let's stop this blowing. If
Mr.. Peachblow don't want to go down to
yer cure, he shall stay here. Pack up the
traps and march. | shall stay with him. "
Aud Mr.. Peachblow's partner sat down at
his feet, and defied the camp.
For all answer to this, 10 caughtup the
cause of the discussion with his well arm,
and slung him over his shoulder like a
sack, and started off on the downward
path with viii, but in a few moments
reeled and staggered and dropped in his
tracks: and Mr.. PeachblOw and Mr..
Peachblow's partner had their own way
for the present, aud were left with their
rations till called for" as the express
rider said when helping 10 himself down
the breakneck path, as the Camp of the
Dead-beats broke up.
1t was late in the afternoon when they
reached the bottom of the canyon and came
out through .defile to the plain where
the mud springs dubbed. A great fire
was built, and the necessary measures
were rapidly taken by those who were
able to take them at all, and by the time
the stars began to c0me out. 10 Rogers
and the rest were sally imbedded to their
necks in the healing mud, and the express
rider was sitting guard over them, reading
aloud, by the light of his fire, this scrap
and the other from the newspapers that
he had brought up with him-gradually
more and more intermittent in voice,
now yawning, now nodding, now fast
asleep.
1t was certainly an awesome scene. The
long valley, whose deep sides shut them
in. grew blacker and blacker with shad-
Ows /; the great mountains seemed to crowd
upon them more and more closely, their
peaks just OWNED, now blacker black
ness on the sky. now glittering at some
angle to star, silent and vast sentinels :;
| the air was full of sweet and soothing
murmur, the noise of multitudinOus wa
| ter falls; but once in while there rose
above that murmnr long, sharp, lonely
cry. the howl of the mountain wolf.
As 10 heard that sound, he shivered in
spite of his surroundings. Yes, it was in
\ deed an awesome scene. Far up in the
| heights above twinkled the little fire
where one dying man sat and watched
another. Near at band their own fire on
! ly cleft the darkness that seemed to come
| up shudderiHg round it, and lay with a
| ghastly flicker on the gaunt and terrible
faces ranged before it. And then that
! long howl of the wolf; as 10 heard it
again he made superhuman effort, and
set one arm free; they never should be
unable to tell whether the mud springs
| cured the scurvy or not because the wolves
came down and ate 10 Rogers's head of,
at anv rate! "'Twould be the scurvie It
story to take home to old Newbury," said
10 to himself. And then, rolling his eyes
on this side and on that, as well as he
COULD he gazed about him, and as he gaZed
the darkness and the desOlation entered
into his soul. Busted !" said 10.
Yes. by George, busted!"
Perhaps he could have chosen no word
more appropriate for his epitaph at tlNt
moment, when he was acting out his
prophecy of a few hours since, declaring
every man his own grave-stone, for his
hopes had gone up buOyantly as so many
bubbles, and this was the end ofthem all.
Fragments of those hopes came floating
through his mind now: the day, twenty
| five years ago or mere, when, walking out
over the lonely Highfield pastures, which
| looked like the leavings alteration, messed
over now, but where not even sheep
would find nibbling, he revolved the
| stories men were telling of the golden
| land, and balanced the difference between
his youth and energy there and here
there picking treasure from the wealthy
| rocks. ease secured before his prime; here
wringing beggar's pittance from stingy
soil, wasting life in hand to-hani
Struggle with want. He re-
membered what passion there
was throughout all the old Newbury
region concerning this California story,
what marvels were recited, what a new
crusade it was, how wildly the mems
hearts beat, and the blood in the boys
veins coursed like fever! He saw again
the day that he went down to the Port.
and. with his hands in his pockets, whist
ling " Roll on, silver moon," looked the
old "ark'' over, the ship that was soon to
sail out of the Merrimac carrying one OF
the first of the great parties that thronged
to the fabulous shores which held gold and
silver for the taking-the ship that carried
him! He felt again the plunge his pulses
gave as he resolved to sell the little farm
In Newbury, the worthless Highfield pas
ture among its desolate hills and down.
falls. where he had watched the blue-fiies
darting over the sulphur pool, to leGvt
the meadows with their sweet level greer
and gold in the sunlight-to leave swee
Fancy Poore. He recalled the long and
dreary voyage, tossing from sea TO sea
from storm to stOrm-as he bad beer