The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-02-27

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scufling kind of spring and scratching
at the tailboard, and looking round we
caught the glimpse of the nose Of a jack
al as it disappeared from sight. The rea-
son was obvious. Lashed against the
back Of the wagon outside was a sack of
dried salt fish, the odor Of which had at
tracted the sharp scented thieves. and
which the brutes were ~endeavoring to
steal, and finally succeeded in doing so
by biting off the lashings.
Moritz would not stop the horSes, but
whipped them up afresh, saying: "Let
them have it, George and I, however,
used our ~revolyers, leaving many of them
dead in the road behind; but, having Sc
cured the fish, they seemed satisfied, as
we could see them in the distance fighting
and tearing at each other over the booty.
Night came and all was quiet when we
outspanned at the close of the day, our
bed against the hot sands and our cover
ing the dim vault above, studded with
stars that looked like points Of FURNISHED
silver stretching far away.
Our third and last days journey was a
most trying one, during which we fully
realized what desert travelling may be-
come. We had exhausted our last drop
of water the night before, and we awoke
with a thirst that seemed then unbear-
able; but before the day was over we
learned that our morning thirst was but
a trifling affair. Everything was inten-
sified on thatday; the sun seemed fercer,
+l.o l~.k a.,a{a, <ln Ioa1~& l-s~- - 4 Il
sky more defiant; in fact, we seemed to
be jo~urneying deeper and deeper into a
furnace whpse fires forbade a further
approach, and when we halted for the
MONDAY rest both man and beast were
utterly exhausted.
No one who has not crossed a desert
a possibly imagine the fearful condi-
ton to which a want of water reduces
him; the food ia swallowed with diff
Guilty, and the system is faint with fever,
while the knowledge of its absence does
but heighten the craving of the body for
its cool refreshment. After our rest we
set out again, and the time slipped by in
silence. Later, looking up. / saw some
thing, and turned and said to Meadows:
"Thank Godi there is water ahead.
See, there is a lake q few miles off,"
"a lake!' exclaimed Moritz. Don't
you know what that Isl,
What is it, If not a lake," demanded
Meadows.
ga mirage-and nothing else,' said
the elder Moritz,
"a miragew / cried. "Why, l can see
the water; there are the reflections of
the trees and deer drinking"
you'll see what'll become of your
lake, mynheer, and your trees and your
deer, as we go" he replied with a short
laugh. "No! you'll see no water till
we're out of the Karroo and at Verbeek's
farm"
Far away overhead in the brazen sky
was a single yulture that made one dizzy
to look at, An hour later the stumbling
horses suddenly pricked up their ears,
and the leaders Weighed.
''There is water" said Moritz, in m
undertone of surprise. "You may de-
ceive a man, but you can't deceive a
horse"
True enough, in a short time We came
up to a nearly dried pool of filthy water,
little more than mud, as thick as por-
ridge and as brown as chocolate, towards
which the horses rushed with new en-
ergy. It was a cruel act, but we pulled
up suddenly, and Adoiph and his brother
leaped 10 the ground and held them back
while Meadows and / ran forward and
scooped up the liquid and strained it
through a handkerchief until we had col
lected a large kettleful. Then we out
spanned and let the horses go, and stood
and watched them as they eagerly licked
up the muddy compound. One may ask
how it was this little pool should be in
the road tracks of the desert, where.
as far as we knew, no rain had
fallen. l cannot tell; ! only know
that it was there and that it saved
our lives. A fire was made, and the
kettle set on it; we knew we had the
water and could wait. 1t was boiled,
to free it from impurities and germs it
might contain, and then. when properly
heated, we again strained it through q
handkerchief, afterward pouring it all
into a porous pitcher we had with us,
and. incasipg that again with q strip of
wet flannel, we placed the pitcher In the
sun, where the evaporation of the steam
ing flannel cooled the water inside to a
delicious freshness, though it could not
improve the flavor.
We drank a large cupful each--it was
the color of polished mahogany-and put
the rest into the wagon, shaking our thirst
as we drove on. just before the sun set,
a globe of crimson fire in an empty,
quivering sky, we saw before us, touched
with his last beams, a distant fringe of
trees, and we knew we were nearing our
journeys end, for Verbeck's farm lay be-
hind that distant foliage. Our last meal
was eaten on the desert, our last rest
taken till the moon was up, and then on
again we ''trekked' through a silent
world.
At midnight of that same day we
walked our weary horses up to the farm
gate, and were met by the hospital farmer
Ferbeck and his family, heralded by the
troop of dogs that are invariably to be
found hanging about the Dutch farm
houses, Our journey across the Karroo
was accomplished and we had reached
the farm of ~mooifontein beautiful wa
teri. Behind the white walled house
and shaded trees ran a small river to
which we led the horses before taking
them to the barn; and later, over an im-