The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1888-11-16

guide as. no water N mo show & find emmy,
n every body most dead. Every body
looked mighty sober. Mexican Joe Jess
give one screech when he seed tn marks
o. camp, n begun q cuss himself n num-
BILE his prayers. Then all L once he give
q howl N set his spurs into his horses
sides n set off Mt q gallop. tn dern fool
had gone crazy, sure enough! TIL lieu
tenant sent a squad after him n they
catched him n brought him back, a chat
term idgit. He wuz out O. tn game. tn
lieutenant he'd got mighty quiet n spoke
low n gentle like. He called up two or
three o tn sergeants n talked to 'em.
Every man he'd a different opinion. FL
nally we started On agin. We couldn't
git lost worse n we wuz already, n eff we
KEEP agoin' somethin' might come NV IL.
We KEEP agoin' all day, resting frequent,
but we didn't get no whar. No sun yet.
Every body was o sufferin' terrible. Tn
hosses wuz as bad. They couldn't GO out
o q walk. Our eyes wuz blood shot.
Our lips wuz cracked n bleedin'. Tn
wind bowed tn alkali dust into tn sores.
Thet uz bout like red pepper rubbed
into a wound. We couldn't sleep. Ell
a man did drop off he'd dream o. lakes n
rivers II springs n moss covered buckets
in tn well n water all round, but he
couldn't get a drop NV it. fore it'd all run
away from him when he tried T. drink,
till he'd scream in his agony n wake up
and find himself drier n thirstier n
weaker'n ever, till he'd shudder n turn
over n shet his eyes n try t. fergit 1t all,
only { go over tn whole misery agin
when he'd drop into a doze.
Next mornin' three men never an
swered the buglc call. They died in tn
night. and nobody knowed It'll Lots more
O. tn boys w nightly nigh tn same fix.
We started ag'in, an under q cloudy sky
still, so it uz all guesswork about where
we uz goin'. We went mighty slow; jess
crept along. BY noon every tongue uz
hangin' out n all swellcd up; every eye
uz bloodshot, n every man w nearly
crazy. TIL hosses jest staggered along,
II tn boys'd hardly KEEP their saddles.
But tn middle O tn afternoon tn lieu
tenant seemed t make up his mind some.
thin'd got t be done. He called q lot to-
gether n held a council. Then he TUX
eight men n we all give up our canteens
& them eight. We went into camp n the
eight lit out, two together, ON each O tn
four sides. We watched IN o. sight,
n never expected { see any more o
OiChi. NhSh ~ bOJ dhIh VIC LuduO a
bright fire Ii kept it a-goin', Bout
ten or 'leven o'clock heard a gun
n got up t listen. Directly I heard it
agin. Sod everybody else; We fred off
a carbine II KEEP u shootin' bout every
half minute, tell, after awhile, the two
what d rode off tn way we thought w
east come ridin' into camp, every canteen
full o. water n them II their bosses fresh
n smart ez y please They'd found
water, n 'twasn't more'n six miles away
either. When they CONF ridin' up n
singin' out Water! you'd a thought we
uz all lunatics. Two more men he'd died
since we camped, II q dozen more never
expected to git home; but every one o
them got up II got u swig NV a cantecn II
Civ up all notion O. dyin'. They never
wuz u bigger change in e Wv cours
they wuZn't only jess one-fourth Il canteen
to each man, but it NJ life in it, yer bet.
Men cried II prayed, rough fcllers like
them wuz, too, when they know'd they
could git a drink. Half NV us couldn't
hev held out another day under tibet hot
sun n in tibet clkali dust. Nor tn bosses,
neither. didn't 'xpect t ever see tn sun
rise next morning
"Well, we jess broke camp. tibet is, all
but a squad t. stay n wait fer tother six
~fellers, n started fer tn waterin' place
our fellers had found. We got there long
fore mornin', and In two hours uz all
right agin, though it w a powerful poor
waterin' place, only o deep hole n q
kinder pond in a sorter ravine. But it
wuZ water, II | never knowed aforc how
much that meant & starvin' humanity.
Next mornin' all tn rest ken to us-ex-
cept tn two what went tother way from
where we found tn water-they never w
heard NV emmy more. We staid there half
q day, then tn sun come out oil right, VIC
took II bearin's n lit out, n fore dark
got outside the alkali n w all right.
Next day we struck tn Apaches n wiped
EN- out n got back to the fort 'ithout git
tin lost agin. But my hair w white by
tn time we got back, n so w tn hair O.
tibet lieutenant II one or two others. l
got my discharge soon arter tibet, n I've
been in tn mountains ever since-no more
alknli fer me. ] told my story once soon
arter I KEN here-'n I've been 'Alkali
jim ever since. '.-Malchijah in Cincin-
,nxt E.-,,suau