Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-12-29
LOST ON THE PLAINS.

His Way and Goes Mad.
The wagon train has made about
three miles from it's camp of the night
before when Sergeant Jack, of Troop
E, misses his knife and remember that
he left it on the ground after using it to
cut strap. The captain gives him
permission to ride back after it. Why
not? 1t is but dash, and we are at
peace with the Indians. He will over
take us within. the hour.
Sergeant Jack is a brawny man and
veteran. The arrow and bullet
wounds received prove him fighter.
Men of his company will tell you of
seeing him peril his life a dozen times
over, and they can count up at least
seven redskins he has wiped out. A
grand-looking soldier is Sergeant Jack
every inch a man. Your eyes would
pick him out of regiment for his bear
| ing, and when you had looked into his
| bronzed face you would put him down
as game to the death.
Sergeant Jack rides back at an easy
| lope. In half an hour he is at the camp.
There are dozen gaunt wolves prowl-
ing about and munching at the bones,
and they grudgingly give way for him
as he rides up. Yes, the knife is there,
and he quickly secures it. A newspaper
! has been thrown out of one of the
wagons. He picks it up and sits down
| to scan it's columns. Some one has
thrown away letter, he picks that up
and becomes interested. Some careless
trooper has left a lariat here in the
! grass He secures it. Walks about for
few minutes, and then mounts to re-
join the column. 1t is travelling north
west 1t will now be about eight miles,
ahead of him. 1t must bear to the left
after crossing Comanche creek. He
will therefore take a short cut and save
time and trouble.
Now follow him, and you will witness
a curious thing. He rides away hum
ming the air of merry tune, and he;
has not enc anxious thought. He
| passes ridge after ridge, covers mile
after mile, and so sure is he of his way
that he scarcely looks up All of a sud-
den the horse Stacks down. He has
been taking the ridges at too fast a pace.
and is out of breath. A minute later
he is pulled up sharp, and Sergeant
Jack looks about him with anxious eyes.
What is it? Nothing. He has only to
keep on and he will intercept the COL
umn. He has only to ride back over his;
trail to strike the plain road left by the
wagons 1t is only 9 o'clock in the,
morning, and the sky is without cloud.
Curious, isn't it? The soldier stands.
up in his stirrups to look ahead; there
is more than anxiety in his eye as he.
turns and looks back. He glances to-
the right-to the left-up at the sun
All of a sudden, as he rode gaily on, the
terrible loneliness of the great plains
IL Ii o1,111 hot no
should lose his way! What if he has
lost it! That is enough. He has let d
doubt creep in, and five minutes later
that curious palsy of the plains begins
to creep over him. It has claimed it's
hundreds and all have been brave men.
He will ride on. He smiles at his
fears--he seeks to shake off that feeling
of terror which made his checks grow
pale. There is no cause for haste, but
he shuts his teeth together and gives
his horse the spur and pushes on as if
riding a race.
See! He bears to the left. Let man
become ratified in the forest or on the
plains and he invariably bears to the
left, and thus completes his disaster.
When the horse falls with exhaustion
Sergeant Jack is twenty-five miles from
|
that he will be searched for and that
his trail can be followed. He now feels
sure that he is lost, but he can not rea-
son. veteran of three Indian cam
paigns-a soldier known to be without
fear-a man in the prime of life. And
yet his face is as white as a dead mans,
and he trembles like woman-aye.
weeps like child.
One, two, three days go by. Sergeant
Jack is favorite with all. Every man
} is anxious that he be found We go
into camp and send out squads to
four points of the compass. One of
them strikes the trail and finds the dead
horse. Another, returning to the gloom
of evening, starts up strange animal,
; which runs away, uttering sounds like
human laughter. The morning of the
fourth day Sergeant Jack is discovered
as he sleeps. He is naked; he is bleed
ing and torn; there is something SO
wild and beast-like in his looks that we
shrink away from him. He is not glad
to see us. We call him by name, but he
does not remember it. We pity him,
but he laughs and iibbers.
Terror has made him an IDIOT says
the surgeon, as the poor man is brought
in, land he is never to come back
among us again"
There was no danger: no cause for
fear. 1t was simply that black mist
which rises up from the soil of the plains
to envelop and blind and unaerve the
] bravest 1t was the palsy of solitude;
] the terror of loneliness-N. Y. World.
\ Mothers Duty.
y The mother of a family must neces-
y sarily make many sacrifices for her
J. children's sake. Every body who tries tc
live rightly must also be in certain
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