Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1880-08-12

whirled heavily away from my horse
and fell Black Dan had found me!
Slowly and with great pair conscious
ness Observation-Disclosures, for my
brain was still alive, but not personality,
for of my body l knew nothing,
What had happened'
Laboriously my mind travelled
through the mists of death that still
surrounded it. Slowly one idea follow
ed another until at last came the know
led &c that sought. had been waylaid
and shot
Yes,I remembered how Remembered
the growl of my dog, thering ola rifle the
sheet of flame, the blow of the ball, and
then-nothingness!
l had been shot and was dead!
And yet not dead, for pain revived
and dead men feel no pain, l was shot,
not dead. And SO came at last the con-
seriousness of matter. still lived.
l sought to rise, but l could not, for l
was bound hands and feet, arms and
legs, body, neck and head, fingers, lips
and eyelids even; bound, yet not with
cords! =
Where was II What was the trouble
Nearer and still nearer came the truth,
as l groaned in spirit and struggled to
gain knowledge of myself; nearer,
and still nearer, until, with mighty
effort, throwing off all lethsrgy, made
one desperate attempt to rise then the
damp odor of newly broken earth filled
my nostrik the weight of newly turned
earth pressed upon my heart, the cling
ing bonds of newly-dug earth bound me-.
and witt a wild cry of horror and de-
spair l recognized my situation-I was
buried alive.
l did not faint n first; life was too
dear-but lay simply deadened, crushed
by the blow, the loose mould admitting
air for my respiration, my poor stunned
brain rolling these words up and down :
'Buried alive" Until from sheer mad
ness ana loss of desire knowledge fled
a second time. .rs. .-r.....
And then it was the tongue ofmy dog
which awakened me. Don dug me out
and Tapped ~ back to life again.
As the dull gray of the winters morn
ing dawned, with groans l dragged my
stiffened limbs from their narrow bed,
and crept tremblingly down the little
trail toward the river, the blood oozing
from the rife wounds in my head, my
eyes wild aud fierce, my heart painting
my life half gone.
As | thought Black Dan must have
followed and ambnshed me then suppos-
ing me slain, he had the grace to seek
to bury me. 1t was owing to his haste
or8his carelessness that my dog had
been able to paw the loose dirt from my
grave, and save me. If l could reach
Johnson's ranch might live; if not l
had been saved but to die second time,
for fierce storm was brewing along the
mountain tops above my head. My horse
was gone, my rifle, pistols, knife, gone
only the dog remained, and, faithful to
the last, followed as slowly and pain
fully tzod the descending trail toward
the river. ... .H.,.,
Suddenly, amid wild roar of wind
and creaking of trees and the whirl of
freezing snow, the storm burst, and in
its furys wept me from my hold and rolled
me, crying and shouting, far down the
canyon side, until a great boulder
caught aud held me. Then it ragged on.
Fierce and relentless tho wild wind
tore through the wilder forest pitiless,
md cold the snow fell and, except l had
dragged my broken bruised body into
crevasse of the rock ledge before me, l
had died where l laid. Then even blacker
than ever fell the storm, and ragged I'M
ceasingly through all the slow hours of
the day, until night came second time
to cast its pail upon the scene. And az
the darkness crept up from the east, my
last friend, my dog, who all day laid at
my feet, deserted me, speeding away
through the shadows and snow. l was