Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1888-12-27
NO.. 5

quite so bad. But we suffered lots more
from it. An hour afterward tn lieuten-
cnt pulled up his horse short like n luked
round, fairly dazed.
eve vaz right down t our camp O. tn
night sforo. We uz goin' in circle. We
uz lost-lost right in big alkali plain,
18th tn wind hot ez q furnace blast ablow-
in alkali dust into our lungs no sun t.
guide us, no water n no show t 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 t cuss himself n num-
BILE his prayers. Then all t once he give
howl n set his spurs into his horses
sides n set off at gallop. TIL dern fool
had gone crazy, sure enough! Th' lieu
tenant sent a squad after him n they
catched him n brought him back, chat
term idgit. He wuz ont O tn game. TIL
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 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 it.
We KEEP agoin' all day, resting frequent,
but we didn't get no whar. No sun yet.
Every body was a sufferin' terrible. Tn
hosses wuz as bad. They couldn't 60 out
O. a walk. Our eyes wuz blood shot.
Our lips wuz cracked n bleedin'. Th'
wind blowed tn alkali dust into tn sores.
Thet uz bout like red pepper rubbed
into wound. We couldn't sleep. Eff
man did drop off he'd dream O lakes n
rivers n springs n moss covered buckets
In tn well n water ali round, but he
couldn't get drop Nv it, fore it'd all run
away from him when he tried = 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 it all,
only t 90 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'll Lots more
O tn boys uz nightly nigh tn same fix.
We started ag'in, an under 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 swelled up; every eye
uz bloodshot, n every man uz nearly
crazy TIL hosses jest staggered along,
n 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 lot to-
gether n held a council. Then he TUX
eight men n we all give up our canteens
t them eight. We went into camp n the
eight lit out, two together, on each O. tn
four sides. We watched m out O. sight,
n never expected t. see any more O.
them. When it got dark we made q
bright fire n kept it a-goin' Bout
ten or 'leven o'clock heard a gun
n got up t listen. Directly heard it
agin. Sod everybody else. We fired off
a carbine n KEEP shootin' bout every
half minute, tell, after awhile, the two
what d rode off tn way we thought uz
east come ridin' into camp, every canteen
full O. water n them n their hosses fresh
n smart ez y please. They'd found
water, n 'tWasn't more'n six miles away
either. When they come ridin up n
singin' out 'Waterp you'd thought we
" all luHatics. Two more men he'd died
since we camped, n a dozen more never
'xpected to git home; but every one O
them got up n got swig Nv a canteen n
Civ up all notion O. dyin'. They never
wuz bigger change in men. Nv course
they wuznt only jess ne-fourth canteen
to each man, but it uz life in it, yer bet.
Men cried n prayed, rough fellers like
them wuz, too, when they know'd they
could git drink. Half Nv us couldn't
hev held out another day under thet hot
sun n in thet alkali dust. Nor tn hosses,
neither. didn't 'xpect t. ever see tn sun
rise next morning.
well, we jess broke camp. thet is, all
but squad t. stav n wait fer tnthnr siv
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 uz a powerful poor
waterin' place, only deep hole n a
kinder pond in a sorter ravine. But 1t
wuz water, n never knowed afore how
much that meant t 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 uz
heard Nv emmy more. We staid there half
q day, then tn sun come out all right, we
took our bearin's n Lit out, n fore dark
got outside the alkali n uz all right.
Next day we struck tn Apaches n wiped
em out n got back to the fort ithout git
tin lost agin. But my hair uz white by
tn time we got back, n so uz tn hair O.
thet lieutenant n one or two others.
got my discharge soon arter thet, n I've
been in tn mountains ever since-no more
alkali fer me. told my story once soon
arter l KEN herein I've been 'Alkali
Jim ever since. -Malchijah in Cincin-
natl Enquirer.