The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1888-03-30

CHAPTER Iv-CONrINUED.
A pore ole woman was cl,ngln' at the same
cart, but she let go to'ards night an fell
out of sight. No body could go back fer 'er
wen dark come, an in the mornin' not fur
from US some tore clothes an hair was
found, an a human skull with the wet
prints of wolf-teeth all over it That
mornin' we buried five froze folks in one
grave, I mind. an then went draggin'
-on'ard agin, but bout noon we could go no
furder, the snow was SO deep, an we
stopped ready to lay down an die. But
some of the stoutest Of US managed to get
the tents up, an fires started, an went
back in the snow an got the sick an the
froze, an some what was out of their minds,
an got 'em round the fires. 1t was tur-
rible sight, Ny Catharine never said nary
word that day. Her eyes looked big an
CLASSY, an she went wcavin' from one side
to tother, but she KEEP her eyes on the chill
dren an tryin' TO push. 1 could see the
end was comm, but l couldn't feel some
how. / seemed to be jest movin' in numb
kind of awful nightmare. Sometimes
didn't seem to know whar was; then agin
things'd look clear, but wild an strange,
an seemed to be workin' with all my
might, but I'm feerd it didn't mount to
much.
swell, that afternoon hep come. One of
the elders that passed us was shore we'd
never get through an urged President
Young to send US some pervisions. So
that day two Of a party reached US an tole
US teams with supplies would be there the
next day, an fer us to kill one oxen an save
ourselves. So we did, they hepin' us, an
that evenin' we had big fires and all the
meat we keered fer an used khat was left
of the provisions, an some on US got little
life agin. But many was past all mortal
hep, an that night my Catherine died, an
just afore she passed away my darter Trean
was bornr'
There he stopped and sat looking heavily
at the floor. A sweat broke out upon his
furrowed forehead, and for few moments
he seemed stupified by the shocking retro
spect.
81 hain't no words to show We it furder
WITH he said, hoarsely. without looking up.
"I've talked too much about it; it comes too
nigh to me! - and he swallowed painfully as
if the vision his memory brought suffocated
hun. 81 kent say nothin furder, only that
the child was saved an has always been sad
like an I've been a broken down man ever
since" and he got up and went tremblingly
out with something like a sob shaking his
form.
Elchard had said nothing as the story
progressed, and the alternate surges of
anger and pity in his bosom had followed
each other with no sign upon the surface
save a Tightening and trembling of the
fingers, clouds flying across the face, and a
darkening and melting of the eye.
And when it ended he still remained
silent, but with tears slipping from under
the lsshes of his closed eyes. What could
be said. What else given such folly and
suffering but tearsa 1t was of piece with
other large examples Of abuse in the
worlds life. One with the hurting to-
gether of countries in slaughter by design
ing tyrants; one with the enslaving Of
races by sleek opulence and greed; one
with combinations on the food for nations
that few might live fatty at the expense Of
general hardship, one with the stake, the
chain, almost with the assassin's knife. this
black abuse of confidence, and yet, alas!
what else was there for it bat tears! The
deceived. the foully injured, still chung to
the deceiver, still revered the destroyer,
still knelt to the idols that drowned them.
Aye, what could be said!
And what for the effecta All. it was one
with the trust of ignorance in all ages: one
with blind faith, one with reliance on a sys-
TEN in the stead of reason and simple
righteousness. But what for the causel
Alas, there was no penalty, no law with
which to blast it! Nothing but to leave it to
the One in whose name it was perpetrated
and to the long verdict of Time, and Paul
Elchard, lying there, ground his teeth in
silence.
Then nearly two weeks fell away slug
gishly. Trean kept about her work and
well under the shadow Of her heavy sad
ness, coming not often into the room where
Elchard lay, and saying little upon such en-
frances. The injured man, not knowing of
the swinging over her of this later cloud,
laid, and naturally. her enduring somber-
ness to the grief and horrors that hung
about her birth. His heart moved toward
her with the thought Day by day
she was melting into him, and
he could not put her back She
seemed like twilight to his nature, sad,
soft and beautifully sweet, spreading slowly
throughout his being. 1t did not give him
Joy, thrilling his soul upward into ecstasy
like the coming of love to many, but per-
vaded him all the day long like a tender
music, so-rowfui, haunting. but bringing q
holy pleasure. When he lifted his eyes to
hers the spirit of this was in them, and hers
would flicker down and seem to swim in
light as she turned away. Once he heard
her break into song when out among the
flowers that was so mellow and sweet it
thrilled him to the heart: then it fell away
SO piaintively his eyes were believed and
dim with pity. Blu: she did not sing again,
as day after day he lay watching the sun
shine sleeping in soft fakes about the
threshold, or trembling into little heaps of
untinkling coin as the vine-leavcs stirred.
She kept herself apart, yet were they none
the less together.
Her father remained much among his tiny
fields, turning on the clear irrigating water
and feebly hoeing the sandy loan about bis
vegetables. He still brought the sick man
his dainty meals religiously, but seemed de-
pressed and talked but little. DR.. Dubette
came frequently, talked much and turned
his small hard eyes about but Trean re-
manned to them invisible. Once Orson Beam
came too. inquired of the sick man his
health. delivered message from the mines.
and went his way. Then news came in by
q neighbor that on the morrow. SATURDAY.,
President Young would visit the settlement,
and expectation rose on tiptoe.
CHAPTER V.
THE COMING OF THE PROPHET.
The Mormon Prophet was making mis-
annual tour through the settlements Of the
Territory, and was locked for to-day in
Mooseneck. 1t was a visit Of moment, and
the inhabitants stirred themselves with the
dawn in its anticipation. Paul Elchard. too,
was out for the first time since his injury.
and, very carefully picking his way to seat
among the pines on the slope above the
house, sat through the long, delicious morn
ing looking down into the village A fever