Milford chronicle., 1888-02-17

his limbs drawn up 1t was evident that he
died in great agony In acouple Of hours
was able to be up and assist Charley in
caring for the Others but it was far into
night before the last man could use his
tongue in a sensible manner. It was Big
Ben, and when consciousness returned
and he saw the white faced boy bending
over him the great tyrant whispered:
"Ayel The corpse Of the lad has risen
up to confront and accuse mel 1t was a
cruel thing / did 70 drive him out, and the
Lord VIII never forgive me for itr'
While out Of danger, we were yet weak
and almost helpless. and none OF us could
attend the fire or do a bit Of cooking for
nearly week. The whole work devolved
upon the boy, and no one could have done
better. He was cook, nurse, doctor and
protector all in one He got three more
hares and a couple Of birds, and don't
believe a spoonful Of the broth went down
his own throat
Well, l, for one, had been watching Big
Ben TO see what he would do. The first
moment he was able to sit up he called
Charley and pulled the frail little fellow
down on his breast, saying:
"If you'll only forgive me I'll pray to
the Lord to do the same. I'm rough and
wicked, but to turn a lad like you out o.
doors on such night as that wasn't me
at all. Old Satan must have had possess
sion OF me-"
That great big fellow cried like a child,
and Charley cried with him, and I might
as well own up that we all cried What
made it more solemn was the fact that VIC
had a corpse at the door. When it was
known that Hale was dead none Of the
other four of us could lift hand. How
the boy got the body out of doors / never
could understand, but get it out he did,
and it was three long months before we
could give it Christian burial.
On the morning when we all got out Of
bed feeling pretty strong again, Charley
went to bed with fever, and before noon
was raving crazy. tell you it was awful
to hear him cry ont every few Izinutes in
his delirium;
"Oh, Ben, don't drive me ont. I'll
work. I'll work as hard as I canrn
Every cry went through the big fellow
like q bullet. lie nursed and soothed the
poor boy with all the tenderness he could
command, and two or three times carried
him about in his arms as father would
his ailing babe. There was doctor at tho
Forks, and after dinner Big Ben braved
the blizzard and made the trip down and
back. The doctor could not be induced
to return with him, owing tOthe cold, but
he sent some medicine Poor Charley was
beyond human aid, however. He raved
through the afternoon and night, and next
morning was struck with death. His
mind came back to him at the last, and as
we stood over him he calmly said:
81 know Pm going to die, but I'm not
afraid. III see father and mother in
heaven, and perhaps Brother James is
there too.''
While we all felt bad enough, Big Ben
was completely broken down. He got
down on his knees and begged Charley to
forgive him, and 1 never saw a nan feel
the bitterness Of an act as he did.
eyes, II forgive you," replied the boy,
"and if you pray to God, he'll forgive too
Has it come night SO soon again?"
''No, my child, - answered one of the
men.
"But 1 can't see any Of you any moro. |
Good-by Let me take your hand,
And with that he breathcd his last,
and there were two to rest in the snow
until spring came. Did you ever hear Of
"Charley Gulch?n Yes, Of course ycu
have, and if you have passed that way yCI
have seen the boys grave The head
board contains Only the name-crt deep
by Big Ben's knife-but the story of The
boys heroism has been told in every min
ing camp in Nevada, and it has never
been told without bringing moisture TO the |
eyes Of all listeners.-Hew York sun.