Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1890-01-09
of the matter for awhile, the scene be-


shaped like giant and ringed with the
glory of the sinking sun made an ex'
cellent Jove, and / am sure that the
bolts which leapt from IL could not
have bean surpassed even in mytho-
logical times. oddly enough, as yet the
flashes we're not followed by thunder
A deadly stiffness lay upon the place
tho cattle stood silently on the hill
side; even the natives were awed t.
silence. Dark shadows crept along the
bosom of the hills, the river to the
right and left was hidden in wreaths o.
cloud, but before MS and beyond the
combatants 1t shone like line of silver
beneath the narrow space of open sky
Now the Western tempest was scrawled
all over with the lines of intolerablC
light, while the inky head of tho cloud
giant to the east was continually suf
fused with a white and deadly glow
that came and went in pulses, as
though blood OF flame was being
pumped into it from the heart of the
storm.
The silence deepened and deepened
the shadows grew blacker and blacker
then suddenly all nature began to moan
beneath the breath of an icy wind. On
came the wind; the smooth surface oil
the river was rufiied by it into little
waves, the tall grass bowed low before
1t, and in its wake came the kissing
sound of furious rain.
Ali the storms had met. From eacl
there burst an awful dazzling blaze
Of light, and now tho hill on which We
sat rocked in tho noise Of the following
thunder. The light went out of the sky
darkness fell suddenly on the land, but
not for long. Presently the whole land
scape grew vivid in the flashes; it ap
peared and disappeared, now every thing
was visible for miles, now even the meI
at my side vanished in the blackness.
The thunder rolled and cracked and
pealed1ike the trump ofdoom, whirlwinds
tore round, lifting dust and even stones
high into the air, and in low, continu
GUS undertone came the hiss of the rush
ing rain.
put my hand before my eyes to shield
them from the terrible glare, and looked
beneath it towards the lists of iron
stones. AS fash followed flash I from
time to time caught sight of the two
wizards. They were slowly advancing
towards one another, each pointing al
his foe with the assegai in his hand.
could see their every movement, and II
seemed to me that the chained light.
ming was striking the iron-stone all
round them.
Suddenly the thunder and lightning
ceased for a minute, and every thing
grew black and, except for the rain
silent.
'Itis over, one way or the other, chief, u
/ called out in the darkness.
"Wait, white man, wait" answered
the chief, in voice thick with anxiety
and fear.
Hardly we're the words out of his
mouth when the heavens were lit ur
again till they literally seemed to fame
There were the men, not four PAGES
apart. A great fash fell between them.
saw them stagger beneath the shock
Indaba-zimbi recovered himself first-at
any rate, when the next flash came he
was standing bolt upright, pointing with
his assegai towards his enemy. The
chiefs son was still on his legs, but he
was staggering like drunken man and
the assegai had fallen from his hand.
Darkness, then again flash, more
fearful, If possible, than any that had
gone before. To me it seemed to come
from the east, right over the head OF
Indaba-zimbi. Next instant l saw the
chiefs son wrapped, as it were, in the
heart of it. Then the thunder pealed,
the rain burst over us like torrent, and
/ saw no more.
The worst of the storm was done, but
for awhile the darkness was so dense
that we could not move, nor, indeed,
was inclined to leave the safety of the
hillside where the lightning was never
known to strike and venture down To
the iron-stone. Occasionally there still
came flashes, but search as we would, we
could see no trace of either of the wiz
ards For my part, believed they were
both dead. Now the clouds slowly rolled
away down the course of the river, and
with it went the rain; and now the stars
sSone out in their wake.
Leu uS BO anu SSci Sdiu VIC oAu ChAcii
rising and shaking the water from his
hair 1.-The freight has ended, let US
go and see who has conquered.
rose and followed him, dripping as
though / had swan a hundred yards
with my clothes on, and after me camo
all the people OF the kraal.
We reached the spot; even in that
light could see where the iron-stone
had been split and fused by the thun-
derbolts. While / was looking about me
suddenly heard the chief, who was oh
my right, give low moan, and saw the
people cluster round him. went up
and looked.
There on the ground lay the body of
his son. lie was dreadful sight. His
hair was burnt off his head, the copper