Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1889-02-08

guide ms, no water n no show Z find emmy,
n every body most dead. Every body
looked mighty sober. Mexican Joe less
give one scroech when he seed tn marks
O. camp. n begun & cnss himself n mum.
bic his prayers. Then all I onco he give
a howl n set his spurs into his horses
sides n set OF at q gallop. Tn dern fool
had gone cuzy. sure enough Tn 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 might quiet n spoke
low n gentle like. He lied up two or
thrce O. tn sergeants ! talked to en-.
Every man he'd a different opinion. FL
nally we started on ngin. We couldn't
git lost worse Il we wuz already. n Fl We
KEEP agoin' sOmethin' might come nv II.
We KEEP agoin' oil day. resting frequent,
but we didn't get no whar. No sun yet.
Every body was a sufferin' terrible. IN
bosses wuz as bad. They couldn't 20 ont
O a walk. Our eyes wuz blood shot.
Our lips wuz cracked n bleedin'. Tb'
wind bowed tn alkali dust into tn sores.
Thet uz bout like red pepper rubbed
into n wound. We couldn't sleep. FL
q man did drop of he'd dream o. lakes n
rivers n springs n moss covered buckets
In tn well n water all round, but be
couldn't get a drop NV II. fore it'd all run
away from him when he tried L drink.
till he'd scream In his agony n wake up
and find himself drler n thirstier n
weakor'n ever. till he'd shudder n turn
over n shet his eyes n try { fergit It all.
only { 20 over tn whole misery Rgin
whom he'd drop into a dOze.
Next moruin' three mon never an
swered the bugle call. They died in til
night. and nobody knowed lei Lots more
o tn boys w nightly nigh tn same Gx
We started agin. an under IA cloudy sky
still. so II w all guesswork about where
wo uz gOiu'. We wont mighty slow. less
crept along. BY noon every tongue uz
hangin' out n oil swclled up. every eye
~ bloodshot. n every man uz nearly
crazy. Tn bosses Jest staggered along.
n tn boys'd hardly KEEP their saddles
But tn middle o tn afternoon tn lieu.
n seemed { make up his mind some.
thin'd got { be done. He called n 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 wu1thed m out o. sight,
n never expected { see any more o
them. When It rot dark we made a
OAAknh ~ u hEUk ~ n-HOAn nGlLh
ten or 1even o'clock ] heard q gun
n got up t listen. Directly | heard 1t
agin. Sod everybody else. We fired OF
q curbine n keep a shootin' bout every
half minute. tell. after awhile. the two
what d rode of tn way we thought uz
east como ridin' into camp. every cnnteon
full O. water n them II their hOsses fresh
n mart ez y please. They'd found
water, IA twasn't more'n six miles away
either. When they come ridin' up n
singin' out 'Waterl' you'd a thought we
w oil lunatics. Two more men he'd died
since we camped. n a dozen more never
expected to git home; but every ono o
them got up II got O swig NV a canteen n
Civ up all notion o. dyin'. They never
wuz a bigger change In men. Nv course
they wuzn't only Jess One-fOurth a canteen
to each man, but 1t w life In II. yer bet.
Men cried n prayed. rough fellers like
them wu2, too. when they know'd they
could git Il drink. Half NV us couldn't
hev held out another day under tibet hot
sun n in tibet alkali dust. Nor III hosses.
neither. didn't 'xpect I ever sec til sun
rise next morning
well. We Jess broke camp. tibet Is. all
but q squad { stay u wait fer tothcr six
f~cllers. n started fer tn waterln' place
ONA aNaACAo h14 aAAN VIZ BOh hgAb AOlE
fore mornin'. and IN two hours w nil
right agin, though it w a powerful poor
waterin' place, only q deep hole n a
kinder pond in a sorter ravine. But II
wuz water, n ! never knowed aforo how
much that meant { starvin' humanity
Next mornin' all tn rest ken to us-ex.
cept tn two what went tother way from
where VIC found tn water-thcy never w
heard Nv emmy more. We stuid there half
q day. then tn sun come out all right, We
took our bearin's n lit out, II fore dark
got outside the alkali IA w oil right.
Next day we struck tn Apachos IA wiped
EN- out n got back to tho fort ithout git.
tin lost ngin. But my hair ~ white by
tn timo we got back. n so uz tn hair O
thet lieutenant n one or two others.
got my discharge soon arter tibet. n I've
been in tn mountains ever since-no moro
alkall fer mo. | told my story once soon
arter | KEN horo-'n I've been 'Alkali
Jim ever since. "-Mslchijnh In Cincin.
natl Enquirer.