San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-01-31

horse, quite close to the fire, which
was still burning brightly. Next second
there came noise of galloping hoofs,
and before | could even rise my poor
horse appeared in the ring of freight.
AS in flash of lightning, saw his star
ing eyes and wide stretched nOstrils, and
the broken rein with which he had been
knee battered flying in the air Also
saw something else, for on his back was
great dark form with glowing eyes,
and from the form came growing
sound. 1t was lion.
The horse dashed on. He galloped
right through the fire, for which he had
run in his terror, fortunately, however
without treading on us, and vanished
into the night. We heard his hOOfs for
hundred yards or more, then there was
silence. broken now and again by distant
growls. As may be imagined, we did
not sleep any more that night, but waited
anxiously till two hours later the dawn
broke.
As soon as there was sufficient light
we rose, and, leaving Tota still asleep,
crept cautiously in the direction i'll which
the horse had vanished. When we had
gone fifty yards or SO, we made out its
remains lying on the veldt, and caught
sight of two great cat like forms Sinking
away in the gray light.
To go any further WIS useless; we
knew all about it know, and we turned
to look for the other horse. But our cup
Of misfortune was not vet full: it was
upon its spoor, and then we saw what
had happened. Terrified by the sight
and smell of the lions, it had with deS-
perate effort also burst the rein with
which it had been knee battered, and
gallOped far away. For now we were
left alone in these vast solitudeS without
a horse to carry lis. and with child who
was not old enough to walk for more
than little way at a time.
Well, il was no use giving in. SO with
few words we went back to our camp,
where found Tota crying because she
had woke to find herself alone, and ate a
little food. Then we prepared to start
First we divided such articles as we must
take with us into two equal parts, reject
lHS every llllIlS JtlClI We IOulN iOooIOlN w
without. Then, by an afterthought, we
filled our water bottles, though at the time
| was rather against doing So because
of the extra weight. But Indabazimbi
overrued me in the matter, fortunately
for all three of us. | settled to look
after Tuta for the first march, and gave
the elephant gun to Indaba-Zimbi. At
length all was ready, and we set out on
foot Be- tie help Of occasional lifts over
rough places. Tota managed to walk up
the slope Oh the hillside where | had shot
the Petite buck. At length we reached
it, and, looking at the country beyond,
| gave an exclamation OF diSmay. To
say that it was desert would be saying
too much; it was more like the BarrOO
in the Cape-a vast sandy waste, stud
ded here and there with low shrubs and
scattered rocks. But it was great ex-
panse of desOlate land, stretching as far
as the eye could reach. and bordered far
away by a line of purple hills, in the
center of which great solitary peak
scared high into the air.
''Indaba-zimbi," said, we can never
cross this if we take six days"
"AS you will, Macumazahn," he an
swered; "but tell you that there'-and
he pointed to the peak there the white
man lives. Turn which way YOU like,
but if you turn you will perish.
reflected for moment. Our case
was, humanity speaking, almost hopeless.
1t mattered little which way we went.
We were alone, almost without food,
with no means of transport and a child
to carry. AS we'll perish in the sandy
waste as on the rolling veldt or among
the trees of the hillside. Providence
alone could save us, and we must trust
to providence.
Come on, | said, lifting Tota on to
my back, for she was already tired
"All roads lead to rest"
How am | to describe the misery of
the next four days? How am to tell
how we stumbled on through that awful
desert, almost without food, and quite
without water, for there were no streams,
and we saw no springs? We soon found
how the case was, and saved almost all
the water i'll our bottles for the child
To look back on it is like a nightmare
| can scarcely bear to dwell on it. Day
after day, by turns carrying the child
through the heavy sand; night after
night lying down in the scrub, chewing
the leaves, and licking such dew as there
was from the scanty grass! Not spring,
not pool, not head of game 1t was
the third night; we were nearly mad