The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1882-05-05

60 some thirty miles for load Of corn
The man and boy, accordingly, ct out
with sled, . yoke Of oxen, and pair o.
horses, and reached the place in time 70
purchase The corn and ~ it loaded up q
night. The man from whom the corn was
bought waslan old bachelor who kept
house by himself, and at whose house
Brannan and the boy lodged that night.
At four o'clock next morning they were
up, and being provided with breakfast,
consisting Of strong coffee, salt pork, pota-
toes and corn bread, were soon ON the
road. ,
The roads were bad, and their progress
very slow. The teams, 1t was soon found,
did not work well together, 30 the horses
were taken of, and the oxen were left to
draw the load alone over the level roads,
but the horses were put on ahead to help
up the numerous hills it was necessary to
ascend.
The travellers had expected to reach
home early in the afternoon, and had
therefore, neglected to provide themselves
with lunch, and there were no settle
ments until they had nearly reached their
home. There had been what is known as
a january thaw," and the roads being
soft and slushy, their progress was 80 re-
tarded, that at the early shutdown they
were still twelve miles from home.
They had just assembled the last hill,
when something about the harness broke,
so as to render the horses useless for fur
Their assistance with the load. Brannan
therefore gave the horses in charge Of the
boy, telling him to ride one and lead the
other, and push on, and that he could
reach home an hour OF two sooner than il
he waited the slow gait of the oxen with
the load. A drizzling rain had been fall
ing during the day, and the boys gar
ments were soaked through, and besides
hunger was beginning to be keenly felt.
For this, and for reasons that will be best
appreciated by boys Of his age, the pros
pect Of a brisk ride on horseback was We
ry welcome to George. He mounted one
of the horses, and refining both to the
side Of the road to give them better foot
ing than the sloppy track afforded rode
merrily on.
With the going down of the sun, a wind
had sprung up from the north, blowing
straight in the face of the boy. A few
stars came out from the cloudy sky, but
the night was dark and very cold. How
long he had ridden he,could not tell, when
he noticed that the wind, instead of blow
ing directly in his face, seemed to have
veered around to his right. Quick to no.
tice such things, his first thought was
that the wind must have changed, as he
knew the road he was travelling kept a
straight course to the north. Thinking
it over few moments another idea en-
tered his brain. In an instant he was off
his horse, and searching the ground. Yes,
he was right. The horses had left the
road. and were rambling about over the
prairie, in what direction he could not tell.
What was to be donef He had heard it
said that a horse lett to itself would find
its way home. To let the horses take
their own course now seemed the only
thing to be done. Again mounting his
horse he rode on, not without many mis-
givings, it is true. He had rode thus for
a short time, when with crash, down,
down settled both the horses at once, they
had gone into "sink hole" which had
filed with water from the recent thaw,
and breaking through the thin ice were
now laundering about in the water. Re-
leasing the horse he had been riding, and
clinging for life to the other he at last
had the satisfaction of seeing them on
solid ground again, but he could not help
knowing that he had had a narrow escape
the water being deep, and the ice not
easy to make passage through.
For time George rode on, the horse he
had been leading following at distance.
He watched it for some time, but being
white as the snow, and tagging farther
and farther behind, its form was at last
lost in the dreary whiteness. The boy
was now alone in the night, with only his
one faithful steed, which seemed to him
almost like human companion. There
was little rise Of ground ahead, which
broke the force of the bleak wind little,
and on which grew few small trees,
Feeling that it was useless to ride farther
that night and fearing another danger
like the one he had just escaped, the boy
resolved to remain here until morning.
The night was growing colder His
limbs were chilled through. He was tired
and wanted to rest, but the love of life,
and the fear of death here alone was
strong within him. Young as he was, he
yet knew if he remained quiet he would
sleep and that sleep would end in death
from freezing. Inaction lay his only hope
of life. Fastening his horse to tree he
tries by action to warm his benumbed
limbs. He leaps; he runs around the tree
and the horse; he presses bis chilled
hands to the warm neck of the beast, at
the same time calling him pet names and
plying his sad condition.
Harkl sound breaks the stiffness of
the night! The boy listens, every sense
alert. 1t is not the barking of dog, or
the lowing Of cattle. No. These would
be welcome sounds. But this is the dis
tant howl of VOLTA sound with which
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