The Bad Lands cow boy. [volume] (Little Missouri, Dakota [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-1886, 1886-11-18

fainter. the breath shorter and more
1labored, until at eleven o'clock Sit
stopped, and the devoted wife was alone
with her dead. "a.
AS the sad truth was forced upon her
she sank upon her knees BY tho, bedside,
her head resting upon the cold, lifeless
hand OF her husband whiehWas clasped
between her own. For few minutes
she lost sight Of everything save the
sense Of utter desolation switch filled
her heart. At last through the open
window was borne 10 her ears the
q rI'umbling Of q cart down the deserted
street. and the call of the dead bearers:
Bring out your dead u
The sound reused all her dormant
energies, and q wild hope; sprang up
in her heart that life might not be quite
extinct in her hus band. Springing to
her feet she rang the bell for Katie,
who responded to her; summons.
..Do not let them in, she cried, ex-
,citedly. Toll them he is not dead.
l know he is still alive, and they shall,
not take him. I can revive him5n they
will only give me time.
Katie looked from the cold, rigid
body Of the husband 10 the white,
agonized face Of The wife, and feared
that grief had driven her mistress
insane, but she obeyed the request and
the death cart passed on its rounds.
Mrs zimmerman had by thisstime be-
come thoroughly possessed Of; the idea
that life still fingered in the apparently
dead body Of her husband, and the
thought Of having him taken away for
burial was too terrible to contemplate.
II she could only gain time she felt sure
she could revive him, though why she
should SO strongly hold to such belief
she could not have explained; but hope
she did, and proceeded to renew all
her efforts which had previously proved
in vain. Al III sts3 IS; 4: II. iii
With the energy Of despair she worked
on, and again the dead bearers entered
the room. L ss.S y.
we must take the body now, Mad.
am. : the man said who appeared to be
in authority. ..We can only hope to stay
the epidemic by the prompt removal Of
the dead and . thorough disinfection Of
the houses. y ss;l d ..;:54s$ ~
But he is not dead,1' sir, she persist
ed, Sell holding a hand mirror. over
his lips, there is q little moisture. y $s.s
The man looked closely and shook
his head.
..Your hopes deceive you,n he said.
kindly; she is surely dead and we must
take his body IS
With q wild cry Of agony she fell on
her knees, beseeching them with tears
to:giYes her just one half hour more:
Tie men gently put her aside, trying
ito reason: with her on the necessity OF
their own course. but she only pleaded
the more earnestly At last, finding
reasoning in yain,s they attempted to
lay hands upon the body, but thrusting
them aside she threw herself down be-
side her husband, and elasping him in
her arms declared with an agonizing
vehcmence that awed the men:
.'If you take him you shall bury me
withshims VI willtnss let ,himsgo.,,' d. 81
As the men stepped back she renew
ed her pleadings. 5z
:s.Giye me only one half hour. II
there are no signs of life then I win
ask no, more. q ;s Z! Is
Reluctantly ~. the men yielded, and
left her alone once more to her: hope
less task. 81 III. st; 80.
This time she saturated fannels
with hot mustard water, and enveloped
both body and limbs; then commencing
with the purple nails she rubbed each
finger vigorously downward to start the
CONCEALED blood. Every few minutes she
put a. drop of brandy in his mouth,
and raising his head applied strong
hartshorn to his nostrils. Five-ten
-ffteen-twenty minutes passed. Only
ten minutes more 2of that preclons half
hour which meant life or death to her.
She redoubled her efforts. Another
five minutes passed still no chan ge,
the face seemed even more death like,
the ICY limbs more rigid. She raised
his head upon her arm and administer
ed more brandy, then applied the bottle
of hartshorn{ to his nostrils. She glanc-
ed anxiously at the clock only two
minutes more, and far down the street
came the rumble Of the death-cart, and
like a death knell rang out tho solemn
cry, Bring ont your dead" She
raised her pallid face to Heaven with
an agonized cry. -.
ESQ. my God! my God! Save hint Z
cannot give him up. = -. ".
The head resting on her arm fell
backward the bottle shook in her
trembling hand. and 4 quantity Of the
hartshorn was spilled on tho deadly
face; a portion Of the fiery liquid pene:
trated the nostrils. There was sud-
den sharp, convulsiye movement Of the
dead mans limbs, o cry: Of pain, and as
the dead bearers entered the room he
sprang to q sitting posture, gasping for
breath ss
The wife turned to them . face trans
figured with joy. ..SeeH she cried ex-
ultantly, stretching out her hand to-
ward her husband. II have conquered
death!1 and fell unconscious across the
j5bed. 8 ;sss
The reaction in the sick mans case
| was complete; 9 speedy conyalescence
! followed and week later, with his de-