The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-06-06

night was passed in watching. fwas
wet and coated with mud from the
swsmpy marsh and shivered with ague;
but the cold within was greater than
all. No change had taken place; she
had never moved. 1 had plenty of fat,
and made four balls Of about half o
pound, each Of which would burn for
three hours. 4 piece of q broken water
jar formed lamp, several pieces of rag
serving for wicks. So in solitude the
still calm night passed away as l sat by
her side and watched. In the drawn
and distorted features that lay before
me / could hardly trace the same face
that for years had been my comfort
through all the difficulties and dangers
of my path. Was she to die2. Was SO
terrible a sacrifice to be the result Of
nv selfish exile?
Again the night passed away. Once
more the march. Though weak and
i'll, and for two nights without q mo-
ment's sleep, felt no fatigue. but me.
chemically followed by the side of the
litter as though in dream. The same
wild country diversified with marsh and
forest! Again we halted. The night
came, and 1 sat by her side in misera-
BILE hut. with the feeble lamp Pickering
while she lay as in death. She had new
er moved q muscle since she fell. My
people slept. l was alone, and no
sound broke the stiffness of the night.
The ears ached at the utter silence, till
the sudden wild cry of hyena made
me shudder as the horrible thought
rushed through my brain that, should
she be buried in this lonely spot, the
hyena would disturb her rest.
The morning was not far distant: it
was past four O'Clock. Ihad passed the
night in replacing wet clothes upon her
head and moistening her lips. as she lay
apparently lifeless on her litter. l could
do nothing more; in solitude and abjent
misery in that dark hour, in country
of savage heather, thousands of miles
away from q Christian land, beseeched
an aid above all human, trusting alone
to Him. s,.s.
The morning broke; my lamp had
just burned out, and cramped with the
nights watching rose from my low
seat, and seeing that she lay in the
same unaltered state went to the door
of the hut to breathe one gasp of the
fresh morning air. 1 was watching the
first red streak that heralded the rising
sun, when l was. startled by the words:
Thank Cod" family uttered behind
me. Suddenly she had awoke from
her torpor, and with heart overflow
ing 1 went to her bedside. Her eyes
were full of madness! She spoke, but
the brain was gone! G'-.
Twill not inflict on you description
of the terrible trial of seven days of
brafh-fever, with its attendant horrors.
The rain poured in torrents, and day
after day we were forced to travel for
want Of provisions, not being able to re-
main in one position. Every now and
then We shot few guines-fowl, but
rarely; there was no game, although
the country was most favorable. In the
forests we procured wild honey, but the
deserted villages contained no supplies,
as we were on the frontier of Uganda,
and M'tese's people had plundered the
district. For seven nights Ihad not slept.
and, although as wesk As q reed, l had
by the side of the litter. Nat
ure could resist no longer. We reached
a village one evening. She had been in
violent commissions successfully; it was
all but over. I laid her down on her
Scotch plaid and fell upon my mat in
worn out with sorrow and
fatigue. My men put now handle to
the plckaxe that evening and sought for
a dry spot to dig her grave!
Tie sun had risen when I woke. l
had slept, and Mortified as the idea
flashed upon me that she must be dead,
and that / had not been with her,
started up She lay upon her bed, pale
as marble. and with that calm serenity
that the features assume when the cares
of life no longer act upon the mind and
the body rests in death. The dreadful
thought bowed me. down; but rs
gazed upon her in fear, her chest gently
heaved, not with the convulsive throbs
of fever, but naturally. She was asleep:
and when at a sudden noise she opened
her eyes, they were calm and clear.
She was saved! When not ray of hope
remained. God alone knows what
helped US. The gratitude of that mo-
ment will not attempt to describe.