Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-06-15
' 'sa rocks and exposed aand.b,,,

!Iesln8 rocks and exposed sana.h,
snan water in its mile and mora " -.
Mio'h OF bed; q turbid boil;nn iii
s saee OF a mighty stream whose anads
sesmea strong enough to resist ali bu,
s slan power. Everybody was thara
iron. ron miles around; 1 could 500 nv
!fuant scholars fitting in all direct;ons
Nate, who had not reportad for t Us:
weeks, was there also. her eyas b,ov wv
s %..n e.citement, her long black hair
Streaming sl IN the wind and her brown
blood. A'" t'cn young
Already the great RATS were loosed
IRON their moorings, those that had
laid turthest out from the shore were
anoat' all manner of men were pressed
lnto service to help manage the I'M
.w1eldiy bulks in the mad flood. to aid
III guiding them, to fasten the logs that
nad become partly or wholly detached
rom the others, and it was a motley
crew that were engaged in this hard
ana very dangerous work.
a strange scene it was to ME. Some
questions l wished to ask about it and
mad Just contrived, with much trouble,
to temporarily secure Kate Imotf's at.
tentlon when loud cry from the en-
tire gathering made me look towards
the river for the cause.
saw there log detached from the
SIDE OF raft, whirled swiftly out in a
wilder current, and on it was a man.
striving with every effort TO balance
himself on its ever-revolving surface.
Another immense raft was bearing down
with terrible force and speed directly
upon this fatal log; there was no way to
stop it, no way to change its course
now, even my inexperienced eyes could
see that. As the end of the raft struck
the log man ran forward and tried
to grasp his fellow creature, but too
late, the slight impeachment was struck
with tremendous force, driven out of
sight for moment, and when it reap
peared on the other side OF the large
bulk, the human being that had been
on it was no where to be seen.
There was cry Of agony from q
young woman a few feet beyond me,
! and as she fell fainting to the ground,
Kate, muttering chat was Alex SUIT
ton," darted from my side and could
see her, aud the women around, lean
ing over the PROSTATE body, and hear
her calls of Nell! Nelly!" in tones of
, piteous distress.
! My eyes sought the river again,
fascinated, seeking some sign of the
man I had seen hurled into the terrible
gulf. The raft had hardly covered its
length over the waters in this short in
slant Of time. I saw the one man who
had tried to rescue the unfortunate
rise from the logs where he had been
! sitting to remove his heavy boots and
then plunge headlong into the torrent.
The efforts that had been made to
change the direction of the raft seemed
just then to be effective and its head
swerved to one side, directly over the
spot into which the diver had thrown
himself; the whole great body OF rough
timbers must pass over him before he
could come to the surface. There was
a deep sob from all on shore then silence.
Through my terror-blindel eyes
could see all on that raft, seemingly re.
gardless of its safety or their
own, abandon every attempt to
control it and to rush to its
sides and rear end with poles and hooks
and hands all ready to snatch their com
rade from the waters should he appear.
And he did appear. Isaw these men
grasp and tug and fight with the mad
tide, and then drag not one, but two,
limp, helpless bodies upon their float.
Then great cheer, yell of applause
and Joy went up from the bank, and I,
all unnerved, sick from unusual strain,
sought my home and bed, angry with
myself for being led into such scenes
of excitement, and glorying in the
grand display OF strength and humanity
I had witnessed.
Three DAYS the freshet lasted, and ]
was glad that there was no one for me
to teach at the school. The sun had
dried up all the roads, and, lacking my
usual occupation, my mind was con-
tinually dwelling on the late events.
OF Nell Imoff thought much, though
I did not know her, and l longed to
have news OF the young mau Sutton. 1
had kept my room and asked no ques-
tions indeed, few were at home during
those days to answer inquiries.
made my way for the first time to-
wards the iron mine; the direc-
GlO1 W 4u1Oll 4AOuo0 WIS POAn0Cu OUI
by the first passer-by met.
As drew near the cabin where the
two orphan girls lived, I heard clear
voice, which I at once recognized as
Hates, and in response to her very evil
dent teaching, came sturdy masculine
tones, "c-a-t, cat; dog, dog; hen,
hem" each of them were repeated by
the man. I stepped to the door; be-
fore had time to knock [ was seen
and invited in. Kate had been seated
on q rough bench with her we'll
thumbed "speller" in her lap; from be-
side her rose q rather tall, compactly-
built young man, his frank face blushine
rosy red; about his forehead was bound
q cloth, he had glorious wealth OF
auburn hair, and as he picked up his
hat, bowed, in no sheepish way, but
with natural manly dignity, and passed
out. I thought J. had never seen truer
type of natures gentleman. inquired
for the elder sister. Nell was called
from the other room, and seemed no
worse for her late fright and faint,
seemed in fact to be rather ashamed OF
s,1ch exhibitions of weakness. In re-