Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-01-17
ms closed firmly. and her whole face ha,

! l observed many others doing. Never be-
| fore did human countenance SO quickly
transform It's expression. The dark eyes
twinkled, the corners of the mouth gave
humorous curl, the lips parted in speech
revealed a double row of perfect, natural
teeth. cleaning with drollery, and the
whole changed physiognomy was laughter
provoking.
"Friends and neighbors: Seem as how
Mr.. Evans has sort O give out that I'm the
herowine o this tale o horror, maybe it
would sound better for some one else to tell
it. SO much by way Of preface.
1t was Benjamin MYERS child that was
lost Ben started one mornin' in October
to get some grindin' done. There was no
mill nearer than the one on Taylor's Fork,
twelve miles off, and the way roads was
then it would take him away long into
the night to get home. That little boy o
hisn, Just five years old, took a notion to
go long, but his pa wouldn't let him. He
whipped the poor little fellow in the
mornin' for erwin to go, but when he
started the child just follered the wagon
and bawled to be took in. The other
young ones told me that and that precious
mother O his, instead O coaxin' him into
the house and fryin' him dough horse,
and twistin' him FIVE or six yards of tow
string for drivin lines, Just went on about
her work, and paid no tention to him till
he was clean out O sight. 'Leng toward
noon Mary Ann Nvfer, the oldest GAL
came over to my house, lookin real scairt,
and said Sammy was lost. He follered pa
away in the mornin' and hadn't come back
says right away:
90 He's all right. Your fathers given
in to his yellin' and took him long.
But the girl shook her head and re-
| marked:
Father never gives in to nuthin
He's druv him back, and Sammy's lost
q went home with her, and found Luke
Wilson there We three families lived
pretty cloast-all within a mile. Luke
thought just as l did, that Nyfer had took
the boy along, but the mother and Mary
Ann seemed to doubt it. Wilson said he'd
90 down the road and stop at Fell's and
Harder's-maybe little Sam had stopped
to play Well, he didn't find him, and the
good Teller hoofed it on till he met Nyfer
three or four miles this side the Fork.
There was no Sammy with him He said
the child had turned back at the big
shingle-tree stump, about a mile from
home.
when Ben druv up to his house there
was quite a company of the neighbors there
waitin' to see if he had the boy. A search
vas started that night with lanterns and
KEEP up till mornin'. Word was sent far
and near, and before noon the next day
three townships were on the HINT. Horns
l. ! I, Ill IL,
baby's name called in hundreds of voices
The woods and swamps were secured and
every brush heap and holler log peeked
into.
"The search lasted another night and
another day, till in the afternoon some
begun to give out, myself among the num-
Der | went home and throwed myself
onto my bed with my clothes on, and slept
as I'd never slept before. About 10 o'clock
that evexn' l woke up sudden, just as wide
awake as | am this minute. My mind
seemed uncommon clear and quick That
child can't be fur away ! thought. He's
been with the rest to the huckleberry
swamp this summer The trail leadin' to
the swamp leaves the main road not far
from the shingle-tree stump. I'd often
heard that lost children would never an
swer when called, but at night when every
thing was quiet, they'd cry and make a
noise 1t seemed as though the hull ken
try had been well searched, but | still be-
iieved he was stickin' somewhere in that
hucllleberry marsh.
Now, | don't want anybody to think |
was a herowine, for | wasn't. | think |
felt more common sorry for Rachel Nyfer,
because I'd had dislike to her for quite
spell. 1t growed out Of an egg trade-I
wanted a settin' of goose eggs; she had
some, and said she'd let me have dozen
for two dozen hens eggs. Well, we traded,
and | s'posed it was all right, till one day
she come over and said she thought she
orter have about another half dozen eggs
for she'd opened goose eggs she'll and then
broke two hens eggs into it, and it wasn't
quite full 'TwouId have held easy half
another egg! l counted out six eggs, and
she lureed EN- home; then | told Miss
Luke Wilson and one or two other women
that was purity thick with, and we made
no end Of fun about it whenever we got to-
gether.
q didn't like the general makeup Of
the woman. She had five purity children,
bat she didn't seem to take no kind O
comfort with EN-; Just pushed EN- aside
and druv ahead with her work. She and
Nvfer both seemed to think that all the
duty they owed their young ones was to
make en- mind from the word 60, and dig
away like all possessed TO make property
for EN-. But | was there that eyenin'
when Ben came home without the boy,
and | saw them stand and look in each
others faces, like the end Of The world
had come, and neither one csuld help the
other. Then she went about putin a bit
of supper onto the table; bat when she set
out Sans little tin plate and mug, all the
mother in her broke loose, and she flung
herself down, shudderin and sobbin' in a
way I'll never forgit. Well, seem as how
| kinder misiudged the creeter for hayin'
no heart, felt pushed 10 make one more
try for that poor lost kid o hern; so !
jumped right up and said out loud
%" With the Lords help, III find him
yet
Il lit ny lantern and shaded it 50 it let
iJ;st 4 little light down onto The ground.
Then | went over the road Just as guessed
the boy had done. turnin of on the trail
at the big red-oak stump and right down
to the swamp. There / stopped and lis
tened still as death Sure as there's
mercy for Us all above, heard him al
most right away.
Ooh. ma Such a pitiful call Then
he cried and whimpered, very weak, like
his breath was most gone, and his heart
most broke ! followed that sound and
found INN easy. He was aired to his arm
pits in mud and water. l couldn't at first
Z, Ia xse- q
body OF big walnut tree lynn back on the
hard ground, and the bark was loose. |
pulled it oil in slabs and throwed EN- onto
the hummocks, and So brideed my way out
to that little WALLER heap. lie struggled
wild when | first pulled him OUT then
gave up in = kind Of faint. I carried him
home in hurry There was still good
many people at MYERS. They made some
milk warm and put taste Of liquor in it,
and forced a few drops down his throat, rs