Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1885-12-26

in soft ringlets, not curls, lies her great
wealth of beautiful hair; it is nearly the
shade of pale gold which shimmers in its
brilliancy as the light plays upon her
fair young head; her eyeiashes are
trife darker and her brows the
very acme of symmetry; her eyes
are as blue as the clear skies OF
her western home, and scintll-
late at times 80 they fairly dazzle you.
Her face is much Drowned just now
by the hot sun of the extraordinary sum-
mer, but sne stands as lovely picture
in the early morning among her favor
lite flowers.
She is dressed in very primitive style,
simple white muslin with large 6iue
bands. plainly made like the modern
Mother Hubbard" but gathered more per-
fectly at the waist, showing her fauitless
form.
1t was caught up about her, however,
exposing portion of blue petticoat, and !
as she stoops over the carefully tended
beds of verbena and pansies, out OF her
red lips comes gushes of sweet song, II
valling the larks that are WarpllDg al
over the prairie around her. >.
lS7S-that year of drought, Indian
raids and blasted hopes to nearly all
Western Kansas, involved the happy
home of the Sohmers' in its series OF dis
asters.
The spring opened auspicionsly and
the gentle showers fell upon the warm
earth, whose responsive efforts to the Ia
Dor of the husbandman was almost
miraculous-The corn and wheat, the
staples of the new emplre-reVeIeu
in the similitude of tropical luxurleDce,
but May-that usually fertile month OF
| blossoms and the sweet harblnger OF
bursting granaries. made its advent With
skies of brass and sun whose beams
only scorched and withered. The south
wind in its intense heat seemed to blow
from the furnaces of hell! Blasted and
witbered was the boundless prairie, and
the visible world seemed atrophied.
Thousands rushed from the New
West" and taose who per force renamed
were succored by their more fortunate
colleagues of the eastern border.
One by one the little bunch OF young
cattle were sold, not cow could be re-
tanned, for there was nothing to carry
them over the winter, even the very
hens died so intense was the terrible
drouth: and now the the little family
were living upon the all they had, after
the struggle of years, accumulated; and
the prospect for the future was almost
hopeless.
10 intensity the horrors Of natures
strange yagary, those incarnate tiends,
the CheyeDnes, broke through the re-
straints Of their reservation in the In
dian territory, and with unsheathed
scalpiug-knife and revenge long pent up,
like a swarm of locusts came down upon
the unprotected settlers in the remote
western counties Of the state.
. Edward Sohmers and his son at the
first hint of danger, mounted their horses
, and rushed to the defense of the settlers
on the supposed route of the savages,
their own home was in no danger from
their incursions-located in more thick
ly populated section, and too near Fort
, Hays, to tempt their temerity, but the
brave and impuisive, Sohmers deemed
, it an imperative duty to succor their
more remote and exposed neig hbors'
6 The days dragged their weary length
along and weeks passed, but no tldlngs
reached the little home of the absent
, husband and son. Dark forbodlngs nov
! cred over the fair inmates OF that mod
est sod cabin, and many bitter tears were
! shed at the horrid possibility, which
would persistently present itself, thai
. their dear ones had gene from them Tor
= ever.
! Annie comfo1ted her mother in all the
= hope and expectation of her young heart
she sung her favorite songs and In a
: dozen various ways attempted to rally
heI mothers waning spirits, until at last
:, as more than five months had elapsed
since the departure of her father and
. brother her own fervent nature gave way
. and she too abandoned herself to the
q most poignant grief.
It was November, and affairs about
their home began to assume serious as
8 pect. there had been no crops, their little
4 stock of money was exhausted and grim
waat began to present his CHASTITY form
at the door of the once happy cabin
Most of the neighbors, as the drouth In
= tensifed and Ill hopes of crop had to
be abandoned, left the apparently blast
, ed region, and even now their COM
: partnership was to be denied them.
' One day during the first week of the
2 month terrible storm arose, the WIND
; which had steadily proceeded from the
! south for nearly the whole dreadful sum-
, mer. suddenly veered around to the
north. and commenced to blow with ter.
rife fury; the sky which had been as II
I brass, was covered with patches OF dark
. clouds and little after noon the snow
began to fall. It came down at the be.
f ginning in great flakes which were car
I ried in eddies and piled in little drifts at
; the base of the sage bush and huge tum-
> ble.weeds, the only sign of vegetation on
> the scorched and CRASHES prairie; then
as the storm increased in fierceness, the
> flakes aggregated in numbers and grew
correspondipgly fine until the air seemed
filed with an impenetrable white mist.
, 1t became intensely cold, and as the
, night thickened the darkness deepened
the wind now augumenting to a gale
o howled and shrieked like q host Of de.
I mons as it swept remorselessly over the
$ drear expanse of prairie. 1t would soft
: en- anon, and then its moaning wss like
o the lamentations of one in deep distress
q Annie and her mother sat in the rela'
q lively large apartment that served fol
a psrlor and dining-room, which now
floored, was covered with bright rag
CARPET. the work of their cunning fingers
q A bright fire of gnarled and knotted
' chunks, drift wood that the turbulent
4 river at its recurring spring floods
o brought down from the mountains and
! was gathered, burnt briskly on the neat
: hearth stone, and its fitful blaze-there
/ was no other light-cast weird shadows
!. upon the white walls as If the ghosts Of
the happy past were taking advantage o.
{ the troubled night to worry the despond'
q ent inmates. Annie was at the organ In
: tuitively manipulating its keys respon'
!. sive to the soft strains that her brain IN
E provised in sympathy with their lonely
I surroundings and the sad melody OF the
/ wind at the moments of its most gentle