The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1877-07-19

-should. lese my life In their aeryics,
FsA As for myself, KNEW well enough
|, bow great was the risk i ran, and FOL
how momentous q stake I was about
to play and had not the goal before
rny. mental vision been the bright
project Of calling Rosamond my wife,
even tho -spr0spective partnership
would hardly have tempted me "a. SET
off ON al eryRndsO -perilOus. AS it was,
/ was resolved, and as i got ready for
the start / tried quietly to weigh the
chances for and against reaching Girls
'tobal. ,Lheda fair knowledge of the
country, which i had traversed on
four or five occasions, and was no
novice I'm camping out, or in the fa-
miliar Incidents of prairie travel.
could ride well, too, and was better
mounted than most Of the residents in
that district, where horseflesh Is cheap
and plentiful, having In my possession
q splendid chestnut thOrOugh-br
ioriginally brought from Kentucky by
some United States officer, and which
was celebrated for strength and speed.
: was fond of Sunbeam and he Of me,
for he was docile and intelligent as
web as swift, and would follow me for
miles, asa dOg. follows his owner, or
stand, when i babe him, with reins
hanging Loose upon his glossy neck.
There was scanty time for leave
taking. 1t was deep i'm the afternoon
when stArted, a dozen or more Of the
younger citizens of Tucson riding with
me for, the first half hour, and giving
me o heartycheefas we parted. More
than one strong right hand trembled q
little as It grasped mine in token of
adieu, and there was an upwonted
moisture glistening In the honest eyes
of some of the kind-hearted young fol-
lows as they wished me. "Godspeed
and a safe return.n Well dol remem-
Der wheeling my steed on little ele-
walton in the rolling, fiower-enameled
prairie, and waving my hat In answer
to the waving of hats and ihandker-
chiefs from the little knot of horse
men, not one of whom / am sure, ever
expected to see me again on this side of
the grave. Then / rode on and lost
sight of the friendly band of well
The heavy sultry heat seemed to en-
wrap the land like a mantle. There
was not breath to stir the dropping
leaves of the few cottonwood trees that
1 passed in the lower levels, and on the
uplands the long rank grass was parch-
ed brown by the fierce sun, for 1t was
long since rain had fallen. The shrill,'
sharp chirp of the prairie cricket, and
the far-off bark of that curious animal,
the prairie dog, alone broke the still!
ness that was absolutely oppressive.
Some three hours after leaving Tucson
i reined beside the blue, bright waters
of the creek, and Stacking my horses
girths, I allowed him to drink freely,
myself replenishing the metal canteen
that was slung at my, saddle-bow, for
in that desert land another opportunity
for appeasing thirst might not rapidly
occur. And Presently leaving, the
grassy prairie we struck Into a cOun-
try still more lonely and des0Iate,
where the only sound was the thud of
my horses hOOfs on the. scorohedh and
barren earth. - 80 70 ~ stri - la1.ss
Far away to the left there -glim-
inercd against the sky sornething like
q shining wall, iplperfectly Visible, but
which. i knew to. be the serrated .crests
and mountain peaks of the Mimbres,
the natural fastness where, sdwelt the
barbarian tribes whose torch and TOM
ahawk had laid waste many. q happy
home.l Nor were memontoes OF their
hostility lacking, asuI travepsed the
track deepiy, scanned by wagon
wheels, and strewn with the bodies of
mules and. oxenEtbat did duty for
rOad1 Blight or nine times there LOOM
ed up before me- a rude wooden cross,
on which was coarsely painted In let
ters of black or red sometimes q name,
more often mere initials, followed by.
the simple inscription, f" Killed by the
Apachea .FnSW'Is. z
The sun went down, the dew glisten-
ed on the rank heritage and tufts of
the wild sage, and welcome breeze
cooled the heated air, while the broad,
bright moon. like q silver sheen, rose
10 shed her ehastened light over the
vast expanse Of prairiess Onward i
rode, until at length, in o sort of oasis
where water and grass and trees were
10 be found, /, selected my camping
place for the night. With dawn was
again in the saddle, nor did any inci-
lent during that days journey or the
next vary. the monot0ny of prairie
tfxvel. Water was met with, but the
and turbid draught hardly
sufiiced to allay that tormenting thirst
which Is the great terror of the solitary
way-farer on those burning plains.
Wherever there was water, too, there
was pasture for my horse; while. for
nv own sustenance i was. provided
With q tiny store of wild bu1l-beef, cut
a strips and dried in the sun, In Mexi-
an fashion, and with q bag OF parched
maize. 1These. with q flask Of French
brandy, n Spanish popcho, and arplmu-
litiorc Dor my carhlne and revolver,
made UP, al my, equipment, cave only
my canteeR with, Its tin cup, and the
saddle-bags wherein were
:tewed away the gold and greenbaclns
destined to redeem the credit Of. Curtfs
Brothers withtheir creditors at Cristo-
pal. On the evening OF the third day
halted In o. welI-WAtered dell near
he head Ola creek, and at q distance.
N I computed, OF 40 miles from Tue.
would csfry be q Fol- Wooster t. m ana
)nce across the ella should be safe,
md Gould make certain Of combletinr
ny journey to CF1stsbAl. Hitherto I
mad met with No living souls friepdly
" hostile. More, than once I had fafi-
lied that on the verge Of The dim hori-
ION I had caught q glimpse. of tall
pears and feathered heads |; and on
me occasion i had beheld . distant
loud of dust arise from the bare brown
urface of the desert but this might
ls easily have been occasj0 ned by the
of q herd OF bison or wild
iorses, as a. The Apachesi or, their
allies. My spirits rose - u proceeded
N my way, and 4.bsgspI 70 feel conf
On thai, 1Siehk LIVING wrsnpe, IN mn