The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1881-02-18

A Drover's story.

/ My name is Anthony Hunt. I am a
drover, and live miles and miles away
upon the western prairie. There WASH t
house within sight when we moved
1 there, my wife and I; and now we have
not many neighbors, but those we have
are good ones.
One day about ten years ago I went
away from home to sell some fifty head
/ of caffeine creatures rs ever saw. /
was to buy some groceries and dry goods
| before came back, and above all,
doll for our youngest Dolly. She never
had a shop doll Of her own, only the rag
babies her mother had made her. Dolly
could talk of nothing else and went down
q big one." Nobody but parent can
understand how my mind was ON that
! toy, and how, when the cattle were sold,
| the first thing hurried off to buy was
| Dollys doll. I found a large one with
eyes that would open and shut when you
| pulled wire, and had it wrapped up in
PIPER and tucked it under my arm, while
had parcels of calico and delaine, and
tea and sugar, put up. It might have
been more prudent to stay until morn
ing; but felt anxious to get back, and
eager to hear Dolly's prattle about the
doll she was so anxiously expecting.
was mounted on steady-going old
horse of mine, and pretty well loaded.
Night set in before I was a mile from
town, and settled down as dark as pitch
while was in the middle of the widest
bit of road know of. could have felt
my way through, remembered it SO
we'll, and it was almost that when the
storm that had been brewing broke, and
pelted the rain in torrents, five miles, or
may be six, from home, too. I rode on I
as fast as I could ;but suddenly heard a}
little cry like child's voice. I stopped
short and listened. heard it again. I
called and it answered me. I could not
see anything. All was as dark as PITCH
I got down and felt about in the grass;
called again, and again was answered.
Then began to wonder; I am not timid;
but was known to be q drover, and to
have money about me. I thought it
might be trap to catch me, and then
rob and murder me.
I am not uperstitious-not very--but
how could a real child be out on the
prairie in such night, at such an hour?
It might be more than human. The bit
of coward that hides itself in most men
showed itself in me then, and was half
inclined to run away; but once more I
heard that piteous cry; and said If
any mans child is hereabouts, Anthony
Hunt is not the man to let it lie here to
de-
I searched again. At last ] bethought
me of hollow under the hill and CROPPED
that way. Sure enough, found little
dripping thing that moaned and sobbed
as L took it il my arms. call
ed my horse and the beast
came to me, and mounted, and tuckaa-
the little, soaked thing under my xoat as :
we'll as I could, promising to take it
death, and pretty soon cried itself to
sleep against my bosom.
It had slept there over an hour when
saw my own windows. There we're
lights in them, and supposed my wife
had lit them for my sake; but when
got into the dooryard. saw something
was the matter, and stood with dead fear
of heart five minutes before I could lift
the latch. AT last did il, and saw the
room full of neighbors, and my wife
amid them weeping. When she saw me,
she hid his face. -
"oh, don't tell hian," she said, "it
will kill him."
ssWhat is it, neighbor?" I cried.
And one said, ''Nothing now, I hope;
what is that in your arms?"
s'A poor lost child" said T. s'I found
it on the road. Take it, will you? I've
turned faint" And lifted the sleeping
thing, and saw the face of my own child,
my little Dolly.
It was my darling, and no other, I had
picked up upon the drenched road.
My little child had wandered out to
meet daddy" and doll while the mother
was at work, and they were lamenting
her as one dead. I thanked God on my
knees before them all. It is not much of
a story, neighbors, but I think of it often
in the nights, and wonder how could
bear to live if had not stopped when
heard the little cry for help upon the
road-the little baby cry, hardly louder
than a squirrels chirp.-l Christian