The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-09-07

you. / know them ALL
"No matter whether l believed him
or not, l did not feel flattered."
"Two weeks later received letter
from Sarfurt, promising me $1,000 if
l won.
"The $4,000 was a strong argument.
Was not law really game of chance,
in which the strongest hand and long
est purse must win? l told myself
yes. Yes-and l sat down and wrote
a reply, saying that | would take the
case. But 1 did not mail it at once.
That night l put it under my pillow,
and slept over it; and on the follow
ing morning threw it into the fire. |
would not make up my mind until
had seen other parties-until | had
been on the grounds. And ! wrote to
Laban Sarfurt to wait.
"Two weeks later | harnessed my
horse to the wagon, and, with my wife
and child, started for Shireton. l had
been married two years, and our little
babe, girl, was a year old, our pride,
our pet, and our darling. Shireton
was distance of about thirty miles.
We had been having rainy weather for
week or so, and it had now cleared
off bright and beautiful. We stopped
and took dinner at wayslde inn,
four miles beyond which was stream
which must be forded. The innkeep-
er told me that the stream was some
what swollen from the late rains, but
that if my horse was trusty there could
be no danger.
ARRIVED at the stream, the Wam-
patuck River, | found the water in
deed risen, and the current strong, but
| saw that others had recently gone
over, and | resolved to venture. |
knew my horse, and had faith in him.
My wife was anxious, but she trusted
my Judgment. a third of the way
across the water was over the hub of
the wheels. A little more and it
would have reached the body of the
wagon. | began to be alarmed; |
feared l had left the true track. Pres
emily my horse stumbled and stag
gered, having evidently stepped on d
moving stone. The wagon swayed
and tipped, and the Hood poured in
upon us. My wife Slipped, and in a
moment more we were in the water.
With one hand | grasped the harness
upon the horse and with the other
held my wife. | was thus struggling
when wild cry from her lips startled
the air. Our child was washed away.
"Oh, my soul! l cannot tell you
what l suffered during those moments.
| could not help our darling. If | left
my wife she was lost. ! clung to the
horse and ,lung to my Shrieking
wife-shrieking to God for mercy for
her child. In the distance, upon the
bosom of the surging food, | could see
our little one, her white dress gleam-
ing i'll the sun, being borne swiftly
away. A moment more and | saw a
man plunge from the bank into the
river. | saw this much, and then an
intervening point of land shut out the
scene. The horse was now rapidly
nearing the shore, and ere long my
wife and | were on dry land, with the
horse and wagon. AS soon as | was
sure my wife was safe, left her to
care for the horse while | posted off
down the river bank in quest of the
swimmer and the child.
"YOu may well understand that all
this time | was frantic. I was ma
chine being operated upon by surg
ing and agoniZing emotion. How long
or how far I wandered | do not know,
but at length I met a man, wet and
dripping, with my darling in his arms,
my darling safe and sound. He told
me that he had caught the child within
a few rods of the falls, and that il
landing he had cleared the fatal abyss
by not more than two yards. He was
young man, not more than twenty
five, handsome and stalwart. He saiC
he had seen my wagon tip, and wa!
coming to my assistance when he saw
the child washed away. L threw
my life into the balance said he
with a genial smile, and, thank God
both the lives were saved!
"I asked him how | should ever re
pay him. He stopped me with an i'm
ploring gesture:
"'If you talk of more pay than
have already received, he said, if yOl
can rob me of the only solid reward
can claim, mercy! if saving the life o
such a cherub is not enough of reward
in itself, then hard is the heart tina
Graves more And, with mOistenet
ewes, he told me that he had a child o
his own at home-an only child 0
very nearly the same age.
Il asked if he would tell me hi
name. With smile, he answered tha
his name did not matter-he was no
sure that he had a name. | thel
asked him if he knew me. He nodded
and said he thought l might be MI
burlington, of Walbridge. When
told him he was correct he said that h
must hurry home. And with that h
turned away. | was too deeply move'
to stop him, and when he had disar
peared started to rejoin my wife wit
dawning impression that the ma
4 might be slightly deranged. But m
darling was safe--her broad, fleee
cloak had fioated out and kept he
head above water-and | went on m
way rejoicing, resolved that the pre-
server of my child should not be fol
gotten.
81 will not tell you of the emotio
of my wife when she held her chill
once more in her arms. We reache
Shireton before night, and found qual
ters at comfortable tavern.
"On the following day Laban Sal
furt called upon me and was about
spread his evidence for my inspection
when interrupted him. | told him
could not accept his confidence until
had made up my mind to take his Gas
in hand. Something seemed to viii:
per that there was danger ahead.
did not feel comfortable in that man
,,ravopoa 7 falt nc thouph he was tr,