The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1883-02-17
LASCA.
FRANK DESPREz.

FRANK DEsPREz.
/ want free life and I want fresh air;
And sigh for the cnnter after the cattle,
The crack Of the whips like Il shot in battle,
The mellay OF horns and hoofs and heads
That wars and wrangles and scattersu and spreads
| The green beneath and blue above.
And dash and danger, and life and love.
And Lascai
Lasca used to ride
vi With blue sSaqs serape and brishtbelied spur. IT,
laughed with joy rs l looked at her!
Little knew she Of books or of creeds;
An Ave Maria sutficed her needs.
Little she cared save to be by my side,
To ride with me, and ever to ride
From San Saba shore to Lavacca's tide.
She was as bold as the pillows that beat;
She was wild as the breezes that blow;
From her little head to her little feet
She WAS swayed in her suppleness to and fro
BY each gust OF passion; sapling pine
That grows on the edge of KANSAS bluff.
rough,
Is like this Lasca, this love Of mine.
She would hunger that might eat.
Would take the bitter and leave me the sweet;
But once when made her jealous for fun,
At something I'd whispered, OF looked, or done,
One Sunday, in San Antonio,
She drew from her garter n dear little dagger,
And-sting of wasp!-it made me stagger.
An inch to the left, or an inch to the right,
And shouldn't be maunderlng here tonight;
But she sobbed and sobbing, SO swiftly bound
That quite f0rgave her. Scratches don't count
In Texas. down by the Rio Grande.
Her eye was brown-a deep, deep brown!
Her hair was darker than her eye!
And something in her smile and tnswn,
Curled crimson lip and lnstep hlgSt4
Showed that there ran in each blue vein,
Mixed with the milder Aztec =, strain,
The vigorous vintage OF Old Spain.
She was alive in every limb,
With feeling to the finger tips.
And when tho sun is like fire.
And sky one shining soft sapphire,
One does not drink in little sips.
The air was heavy, the night was hot,
sat by her side and forgot,forgot;
Forgot the herd that were taking their rest,
FOrgok that the air was close opprest,
That the Texas norther comes sudden and soon,
In the dead of night or the blaze of noon;
That once let the herd at its breath take fright,
That nothing on earth can stop the flight;
And woe to the rider and woe to the steed
Who falls in front of their mad stampede!
Was that thunder? No, by the Lord'
l spring to my saddle without word.
One foot on mine, and she chung behind,
Away! on a hot chase down the wind
But never was fox hunt lalf so hard,
And never was steed 80 little spared,
For We rode for our lives. You shall hear how
we fared,
In Texas, down by the Rio Grande.
The mustang flew, and we urged him OH;
There was one chance left ,and you have but one
Halt, jump to the ground and shoot your horse,
Crouch under his carcass and take your chance;
And if thesteers i'll their frantic course
Don't batter you both to pieces at once
You may thank your star; it not, good-by
To the quckening kiss and the long-drawn sigh,
And the open air and the open sky,
| In Texas, down by the Rio Grande!
The cattle gained on us. and Just as l felt
For my old six-4hoOter behind In my belt,
Down came tho mustang. and down came we,
(IInp1np tOVstlpf, pDii-What the reSt!
A body that spread itself on my breast,
Two arms that shielded my dizzy head,
Two lips that hard on my lips were preSt;
Then came thunder in my ears.
As over us surged the sea of steers.
Blows that beat blood into my eyes,
And when l could rise,
Lasca was dead!
| gouged out grave few feet deep,
And there in earth's arms laid her to sleep;
And there she is lying, and no one knows,
And the summer shines and the winter SHOWS;
For many day the flowers have spread
And the little gray hawk hangs aloft in the air,
And the sly coyote trots here and there,
And the black snake glides and glftters and
Into rift in a cottonwood tree;
And the buzzard sails on
And comes and is gone,
For the things that are like the things that were.
Does half my heart lie buried there,
In Texas, down by the Rio Grende7
HILL AND STEPHENs.-We have just pub
lished fine portrait pictures of two of Georgia's
most noted statesmen: Gov. Alex. II. Stephens
and the late Senator Benz. Fl. Hill. They are
engraved from photographs and have been pro-
nounced lfe-hke and perfect. Size II 10
inches, on heavy plate paper. A sample copy
of either picture will be sent by mail, postpaid.
receipt of so cents. or the two for 81. cash or
stamps. Agents wanted in every part Of the