San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-07-05

deer or antelope were sAen, and they were
so shy that il was impossible to shoot them;
b ut in place Of them tortoise and snake,
every living and creeping thing was seized
upon and swallowed by our furnishing men
with rapacity that nothing but the direst
hunger could induce, Occasionally skunk
or polecat would reward some one more for
tunate than the rest; but seven out of every
ten of us were compelled to journey on with
out morsel Of anything to appease our suf-
ferings.
One little anecdote will here relate. TO
show in the first place the direful straits to
ond to give my readers an insight into tho
trickery of old campaigners. We had reach
ed camping ground late one evening,
where sufficiency of wood was found to
kindle good substantial fires. While knot
of us were reclining around one of our fires,
specializing as to our prospects, yonngster
brought in a spotted-backed land tortoise,
alive and kicking, which he had been fortu-
nate enough to find on the prairie. Threw
ing it upon the ground, and placing the end
of his rifle upon the back of the animal to
prevent its crawling of, he next asked an
old hunter how to cook his prize The ans
wer was, that he must open the Goals and
throw the tortoise in, cover it over, and al
low it to remain for at least halt an hour in
the fre-a longer time would only serve to
make the repast moro savory.
No sooner said than done; for in less than
minute the unfortunate tortoise was roast
ing alive beneath bushel of Goals. The
countenance Of the Young man was lit with
| Joy in anticipation of meal, which, although
at any other time would have been revolving,
he now coveted with that longing which
starvation only can create. But it was a
meal he was not destined to enjoy. The old
campaigner, after telling him three or four
times that his supper was not cooked, final
ly found means to withdraw the youngsters
attention from the Goals, and then to whip
the animal out with his iron ramrod was but
tho work of moment Another moment,
and the well-roasted tortoise was safe be-
hind the back of the more elderly ranger,
and where the youngster could not see it,
"Don't you think he's nearly done9" in
quired the latter, now turning his head and
looking wistfully at the fast-expiring bed of
Goals.
"Pretty well cooked by this time--you
can take him out" retorted the old border
er. while he quietly watched the first speak
er as he eagerly raked open the embers.
The movements of the youngster, as he
first commenced opening the Goals, were
slow and decided: bye-and-bye, as he near
ed the bottom Of the smoldering heap, his
action grew excited and hurried. The ex-
preston Of his countenance may be easier
imagined than described, as, after having
dug to the hard ground itself, he turned to
the author of his misfortune and in utter
ignorance of the trick, exclaimed: "He's
gone!"
"Gone~ slowly repeated the veteran
borderer. "Was he alive when you threw
him in the fre!"
"Certainly-why ?"
| "Why!"
''Yes, why?"
Because" continued the ranger, "you
must have thought the tortoise nightly
troubled with the simples if you supposed
he would stay in the fire and be roasted
alive, when he could easily crawl out and
make tracks off J"
Gloomily the youngster dragged himself
to his blanket supperless, while the cd
trickster quietly wended his way TO neigh
boring fire to pick the scanty meal from his
ill-got prize, and chuckle ut his success in
doing" the green-horn out Of his supper
APRoPos of the completion of the great
Brooklyn suspension bridge, aplain man Of
the people, bold and original thinker,
of the last century, Thomas Paine, is credi-
ed with the first idea of this class of bridge
construction. He made model from which
a bridge was built which yet spans an Eng
lish river. Rev. Robert Collyer writes as
follows of the Brooklyn bridge celebration
When Thomas Paine first get his idea OF