Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-02-12
A HUT IN THE PRAIRIE.

/ checked my horse, and after one
long, straining look around owned to
myself that was lost. had suspected
the fact some time since, but had stub
bornly fought down the suspicion, though
my horse evidently realized it. With pa
tient endurance he plodded along, resig-
nation plainly expressed in the droop of
his tail and ears. A Texas prairie is a
beautiful, soul inspiring sight on bright
day, when the sky is an inverted bowl of
turquois, and the wind comes sweeping
over the grassy wastes as fresh and sweet
as the bloom on baby's cheek, but
there can.be no greater sense of desola-
ton born of nature than that aroused by
this same prairie when it lies black and
bare to the chill October wind, which
has plucked the glory of Indian summer
from earth and sky.
Ifelt this as l gazed about me, discon-
certed and even trifle anxious, for the
sun had set some minutes before in
cloud heap, which, closing over it like
rebel horde deposing its king, overran
his monarchy with its blood red standard.
In place of the ranch, the hearty well
come, pleasant words, bed, supper and
fire / had expected to reach by sunset,
there was nothing to beseen before, be-
hind, on either hand, but the dead level
of the plain. There werepaths in plenty;
in fact, the trouble was there were too
many-all narrow and winding, for
whose meandering there seemed not the
slighte' Iexcuse, except the general tend
ency crookedness most things, ami
mate . inanimate alike, possess. But
it wou have taken the instinct of
bloodh hnd or trailing Indian to have
said hich paths had been made by
horses eet or those of cattle. 1t was
certainly beyond my powers to decide,
and in addition to their doubtful nature
they had most perplexing way of run
ming into each other, crossing and re-
crossing, going off at tangent and fire.
quently wandering off and getting lost
altogether. So soon dismissed the
problem as hopeless of solution.
Now that the sun was gone, found
my knowledge of the points of the COM
pass gone with it. As I sat perplexed
and worried the gloom of twilight gath
cred fast and the chill of coming rain
smote me through and through, while in
the distance there was the roll of thun-
der. Glancing up saw that the masses
Of cloud had closed together in curtain
of gray mist. My horse strobe on of
his own accord, and hoping that his in
GAanct would lead us to some house let
him have his will Presently it began
to rain, sort of heartbroken, passion
less weeping, but with a steady deter
mination to persevere all night, that
awoke graver apprehension in my bosom
than any amount of clustering, show
cry downpour could have done. This
fine still rain was accompanied by low
soughing wind that added its desolate
note to the general dreariness of the
hour. OF course did not mind a little
rain, but the prospect of spending the
entire night exposed to it was anything
but agreeable, and grew really violent
in denunciation of the folly which had
led me, an utter stranger in the coun-
try, to attempt to find anything less
than volcano in active eruption on a
bald prairie.
The Texans are a fine people, in some
in many respects the most admirable
of hosts, but individually and collect
lively they lack any appreciation of dis
tance. This is due of course to them
having so much space around them, but
to a stranger ignorant of the extent to
which the phrases ga little piece out"
and ''just outside o. town" can be
stretched this contemptuous regard of
miles is little misleading. But in the
face of that dreary, monotonous moan
ing of rain and wind even my anger at
my own folly could not burn long, and
though chilled to the bone and tired and
hungry ! plodded on duly, grateful
that no night, even the longest, could
last forever. It was now quite dark,
and very dark at that, though at short
intervals close to the horizon faint
gleam of lightning showed, too distant
to cast brightness on my path and only
sufficient to intensity the blackness
about me.
All at once saw man walking about
fifteen feet in front of me. Yes, know
said it was intensely dark, but all the
same, Irepeat it, saw man walking in
front of me, and furthermore could see
that he was large man, dressed in
rough but well fitting clothes; that he
wore heavy red beard, and that he
looked back at me from time to time
with an expression of keen anxiety on
his otherwise rather fixed features.
"Hallov I cried, but as he did net
halt concluded he did not hear me. As
.,asecond hail produced noresult Ispurred
my weary horse up to overtake the stran-
ger. But though the gray responded
with an alacrity most commendable un-
der the circumstances, soon found that
this strange pedestrian did not intend tc
let me catch up with him. Not that he
hurried himself. He seemed without
any exertion to keep good fifteen feet
between us. Then began to wonder
how, with intense darkness shutting me
in as four black walls, was yet able to
see my strange companion SO clearly, to
take in the details of his dress, and even
the expression Of his face, and that at
distance more than twice my horses
length when Icould hardly see his head
before me. I am not given to supersti-
tious fancies, and my only feeling was
Of curiosity. When after attempt after