Mohave County miner. [volume] (Mineral Park, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1882-1918, 1890-06-21
THREE DREAMS N A DESERT.

lHRtt URtAMS IN 4 UtSERl.
As I travelled across an African plain
the sun shone down holly. Then /
drew my horse up under a mimosa-
tree. and ] took the saddle from him
and left him to feed among the parchei
bushes. And all to right and left
stretched the brown earth. And sat
down under the tree because the heat
beat 1ercely. and all along the horizon
the air thrcbbed. And after while =
heavy drowsiness came over me, and
/ laid my head down against my sad
die, and I fell asleep there. And in
my sleep I had curious dream.
thought stood on the border Of .
great desert. and the sand blew about
everywhere. And / thought l saw
two great figures like beasts Of burden
of the desert, and one lay upon the
sand with It's neck stretched out, and
one stood BY il. And 1 looked curl
ously ut the one that lay upon the
ground, for It had q great burden on
It's back, ard the sand was thick about
u, 80 that 1t seemed to have piled over
1t for centuries.
And i looked very curiously at II.
Aud there stood one beside me watch
ing. And said to him. What is this
huge creature who lies on the saudr'
And be said. This is woman; she
that bears men in her body"
And said, why does she lie here
motionless with the sand piled around
herr"
And he answered. Listen, / will tell
you'll Ages and ages long she has lain
here, ard the wind has blown over her.
The Oldest, Oldest man living has never
seen her move; the oldest, oldest book
records that she lay here then. as she
lies here now, with the sand about her.
But listen! Older than the oldest
book. older than the oldest recorded
memory OF man, on the rocks Of Lam
guage. on the hard baked clay OF
Ancient Custom, now crumblin9 to
decay. are found the marks of her foot
stepsi Side by side with his who stands
beside her you may trace them; and
you know that she who now lies there
once wondered free over the rocks with
him"
And ! said, why does she lie there
sowg"
And he said. Il take il, ages ago the
Age Of dominion Of muscular-force
fcund her, and when she stopped low
10 give suck TO her young. and her
back was broad, he put his burden Of
yubjection on to II. and tied II on with
the broad hand OF Inevitable Necessity.
Then she looked at the earth and the
sky, and knew there was no hope for
her; and she lay down on the sand
with the burden she could not loosen.
Ever since she has lain here. And the
ages have come aud the ages have
gone, but the band OF Inevitable Neces-
sity mas not been cut
And ! looked and saw In her eyes
The terrible patience of the centuries;
the ground was wet with her tears, and
her nostrils blew up the sand.
And l said, Has she ever tried TO
mover -
Aud be s,id. Sometimes limb has
quivered. But she Is wise; she knows
she cannot rise with the burden on
herr
And said, why does not he who
vtands by her leave her and 90 onr'
And be said, He cannot. Look
-
And I saw . broad band passing
along the ground from one to the 9TH
or. and 1t bound them together.
He said, while she lies there he
must stand and look across the desert. I"
And I said. Does he know why he
saunot mover
And he said, NO"
And ! heard q sound OF something
cracking. and / looked and ! saw the
band that bound tho. burden on to her
back broken asundef, and the burden
rolled on the ground.
And ] said What IL this?-
And he said, "The Age-of-muscular-
force Is dead. The Age-of-neryous-
force has killed him with the knife he
held In his hand; and silently and in
visibly be has crept up to the woman,
and with that knife Of Mechanical In
vension he has cut the band that bound
The burden 10 her back The Inevita-
bic Necessity Is broken. She might
rise now
And ! saw that she still lay notion
less on the sand, with her eyes open
and her neck stretched out. And she
seemed to look for something on the
far-oh border Of the desert that never
came. And I wondered II she were
awake or asleep. And - looked her
body quivered. and light came into
her eyes. like when q sunbeam breaks
into dark room.
I said, What is it?'
He whispered, Hush, the thought
has come TO her. Might not riser"
And / locked. And she raised her
head from the sand, and ! saw the dent
where her neck had lain so long.
And she looked at the earth, and she
looked at tho sky. and she looked at
him who stood by her; but he looked
ont across the desert,
And I saw the body culver; and she
pressed her front knees to the earth,
and her veins stood out; and ] cried,
'.Shs 10 going TO riser
But only her sides heayed. and she
lay stu where she was.
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