The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-10-30

guide us, no water n no show 4 find envy.
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 Z cuss himself n mum.
Die his pra, ers. Then all I once lie give
howl n set his spurs into his horse 5
sides n set oil at a gallon. Tn dern fool
had gone crazy sure enoughl Til lieu
tenant sen, squad after him n they
caiched him n brought him back, q Chat
term idgit. lie wuz on. o IN game. Tn
lieutenant he'd got mighty quiet n spoke
low n gentle Ike. lie called up two or
three o tn Sergeants n talked to ,en.
Every man he'd different opinion. Fl.
nally we started On agn. We couldn {
GIT lost worse n we wuz already, n ef 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 q sutferin' terrible. Tn
hosses wuz rs bad. They couldn't 60 out
q walk Our eyes wuz blood shot
Our lips wuz cracked n bleedia' Tn
wind bowed tn alkali dust into Ia sores.
Thet NJ bout like red pepper rubbed
into a wound. We couldn't sleep. IF
a man did drop off he'd dream o lakes II
rivers IA springs n moss covered buckets
in tn well n water all round. but he
cogldnt get drop nv il, fore it'd all run
away from him when lie tried { drink
till he d scream in his agony n wake up
and find himself drier n thirster II
weakern ever, till he'd shudder n turn
over n shet his eyes n try { fergit it all,
only Z go over tn whole misery agin
when he'd drop into doze.
Next mornin' three men never an
swered the bugle call. They died in tn
night. and nobody knowed it, Lots more
o tn boys w nightly nigh tn same fix.
We started agin. an under a cloudy sky
still, so it NJ all guesswork about where
we w goin We went mighty slow; jess
crept along BY noon every tongue w
hangin' out II all swellcd up; every eye
w bloodshot, n every man w nearly
crazy. tt hosses jest staggered along
n tn boysd hardly KEEP their saddles.
Bat IN middle o tn afternoon IT, lieu
tenant seemed { make up bis mind some.
thin'd got L lee done lie called lot to.
gether II held council. Then he tux
eight men n we all give up our canteens
l. A.
eight lit nut. two together. on each o tn
four sides We watched m out O sight,
n never expected L see any more o
them. When it got dark we made a
bright fire II kept it goin'. Bout
ten or leyen o'clock | heard gun
n got up L listen. Directly heard it
agin Sod everybody else. We fred of
a carbinc II KEEP shootin' bout every
half minute, tell, after awhile. the two
what d rode off iii way we thought w
east come ridin into camp, every canteon
full O water ii them II their bosses fresh
n smart 81 y please They'd found
water n 'twasnt mOren six miles away
either. When they come ridm' up u
singin' out 'Waterp you'd a thought we
NJ all lunatics. Two more men he'd died
since we camped, n dozen more never
Expected to git home; but every one O.
them got up II got swig nv centeon n
Civ up all notion O dyin'. They never
WIZ a bigger change iii men. w course
they wuzn't only jess one-fourth canteon
TO each man. but il w life in it, yer bet.
Men cried n prayed, rough fcllers Ike
them WIZ, too, when they knOwd they
could gi,' drink Half NV MS cduldnt
hey held out another day under thet hot
sun n in thct alkali dust. Nor ia hosses.
neither. didn't 'xpect { ever see tn sun
rise mex, morning
Wei, we Jess broke camp. thot is. all
but a SQUAD T. stay II wait fer tother six
felers. n started fer tn waterin' place
our fellers had found. We got there long
fore mCnin', and in two hours w all
right agin, though it NJ q powerful poor
waterin' place, only deep hole n a
kinder pond in sorter rlyine. But II
wuz water n never knowcd aiorc how
much that meant E starvin' humanity.
Next monin all tn rest KEN 70 us-cx-
ccpt tn two what went tOthcr way from
where we found tn water-they never W
heard NV emmy more. We staid thcre half
a day, then tn sun come out all right, we
took our bearin's II lit out, n fore dark
got outside the alkaii n " all right.
Next dag VIC struck tn .tpaches n wiped
EN- out n got back TO the fort 'ithont git
tin lost agin. But lay hair ~ white by
tn tine we got back II so NJ ia hair O
tibet lieutenant n one or two others.
got my discharge soon artor thet, y I've
been in ia mountains ever since-no more
alkali fer me- told my story once soon
arter | ken herc-n I've been 'Alkali
jim over since '-Malchijah in Cincin-
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