Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1879-12-11
DREAMS OF PEDESTRIANS.
A RecapitulatiOn OF the TOrments Of the
Walkers.
From the San Francisco Argonaut1

[From the San Francisco Argonaut]
The walkers sleep in their tents. The hour
of Inconsistencies are few. They can hard
ly be called hours of rest. The weary pe
destrian is sponged or has bath. He pitcne
in his cot. He is wrapped in his blankets
The lights in his tent are extinguished. HI
closes his eyes and enters world of phan
toms. The cheers of the crowd, the music
of the band, the clapping of hands, the mur
mur of a vast hive of bees, and the tread OF
many feet fit through his sleep. His body
is racked with pain. There is appalling heat
in his feet. His temples throb. The blood
becomes stagnant and frequently nightmare
| follows. The dreamer is still on the track
He sees his competitors passing him one by
one, and is unable to increase his own speed.
O'Leary says that during his walk for the
belt in London he never went to sleep with
out the shadow of Vaughn before him. 1t
would follow him around a phantom track
with looks OF exultation in its eyes. AT times
it would bar his way. 1t would stand facing
him in the curves, making grimaces and con-
tortiOns Up to the moment of waking
Vaughn's shade never left his sleep. The
dreams of the pedestrian are based on the
condition of his stomach. When the stom-
ach refuses nourishment, threatening appari-
tions frequently appear. In one case pe-
destrian fancied that he was rolling among
old logs covered with thousand-legged worms
In another case the pedestrian thought him
self on the track, but unable to walk. Upon
glancing at his feet he was shocked to see
that they had turned into hickory saplings,
and the saplings grew with such rapidity that
they raised him in the air.
The agony of those hours of unrest is in
creased when the hapless walker awakes.
His blood is still stagnant There is prickly
heat upon his skin. He feels as though he
was being pricked by million of needles.
Neuralgia pains throb through his muscles.
His joints are stiff. His eyelids seem para
lyzed. Worst of all, his feet and shin bones
are numbed. Every movement sends thrill
of pain through the body. He is oiled and
rubbed. A swallow of warm beef-tea, or
some other decoction, puts him into little
glow and infuses him with painful energy. |
He wobbles upon the track, and the noise,
the lights and the dark shadows of his COM
petitOrs confuse him. The cold air strikes |
him unpleasantly. He makes one lap, and |
the impulse to re-enter his cot is frequently
30 great that he finds it irresistible. Before
coming on the track he lies upon his cot in q
semi-unconscious state, while he is rubbed |
and clad. s
He hardly appreciates the situation before
he finds himself upon the track. If his shoes
have been changed during the rest his feet
feel like Jumps of lead. The sore spots smart
more than ever, and it is with the greatest
difficulty that he can lift bis feet from the
rack. He occasionally feels q nausea about
he stomach, and his nerves are strung to the
almost tension. The swapping of whip,
face. wide-brimmed hat. or a pc
,uliarly shaped bouquet excites his mind, and
le becomes in measure insane.