The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1891-11-13
Clearly the sun had determined to

De as wicked as ever; and when his
scorching blistering rays reached the
little camp on Caliente Trail, the men
soon sought the shelter of the rocks.
Rawlins made Bunster as comfort
| able as possible; but there was very
little comfort to be enjoyed. The
sick man walled for water, and his
purple face was an ugly sight for his
friend to gaze upon, while he vigorous
ly famed with his hat the dry, hot air
above his brow.
Hours passed. "Will they never
Gomez" thought Rawlins; "why did !
not 90 myself" 1t was because
thought he might die while Twas gone,
and WANTED to stick by him to the
end. Still should have gone-I should
have gone"
Another hour dragged its reluctant
way along. 1t was nearly noon.
There they We're at last-the water
bearers. But why walked they SO slow
ly? No doubt they were tired. Yes,
they were tired and worn-nearly ex-
hausted, in fact; their clothes were in
tatters, and they were shamefaced and
cowed-for they brought back no wat
er. They had started from the walled
in stream with full canteens; but the
| ascent OF the cannOn-side had been so
tOilsome, the heat SO intense, and their
thirst So great, that they had drunk
every drop.
Ugly glances shot from Zach Raw
lins's eyes at the recreant ones. HIS
blood was up. He would go down to
the stream, though it were guarded by
| Iro l, L L IL
a canteen full OF water and steep the
heartless ones in their shame. Yes
Big Bunster should have the all-need-
full draught, if he had to 60 through
fire; for it proved useless for Yost to
tell him that a journey down to the
waters edge in the cool of the morn
ing and one made at midday were two
very different things to undertake.
He jerked the canteen-strap over his
shoulder and strobe quickly away
over the baked mesa, under the burn
ing sun, and soon began the descent.
From one great step OF the rough,
natural stairway to another he went,
and at last he gained a point where be
could look off and down into the
lannon's dark depths. Like a sinu-
| OUO DlCCO vi SCCCl, Ul1O 1lNC l 1Cll1 lUS Wcby
far below him, a strip of it visible
here, and another there, and still an
other beyond, SO that it seemed
as if the stream burrowed through
high, rocky barriers. Rawlins
paused not to note the brilliant
patches of color along the face of the
great escarpment, and the sharply
sketched chair-osturo that marked
the naked grandeur of the scene made
no impress. He only saw, running
swiftly at the base OF the great walls
which hemmed it in from human
hand, the water for which the friend
of his youth lay dying. The way
down was difficult. He was almost
stif1ed by the heat; he was tortured
by an intolerable thirst; his clothing
was torn by jagged rocks; he was
struck at by rattlesnakes, and, as if
ali this were not enough, one Of the
soles OF his boots had become so
warped by the heat and so split by
the rocks as to make his step unsafe.
In a fever OF excitement, he finally
reached the rivers edge. He threw
himself down by the brink and eagerly
gulped the sparkling water. Then he
filled the canteen and darted up the
rocks. Fleet as had been his descent
to the base OF the canon wall, it had
taken him nearly two hours to make
it. 1t had been hard enough coming
down, but now came the real work.
So steep was the rocky escarpment
that it's ascent was one of great effort
and peril, even for strong man at
| y,lyy II own h11f f0r y mon, OF
2 in the afternoon, it was fearful
risk.
How intensely hot it was there on
the canon-side. How scorchingly, un-
bearably hot! And yet he bore it.
Though his whole body reeked with
perspiration and his muscles were
tightly drawn under the great strain,
yet he paused only to pick his way
among the rocks. He could not go up
the way he had come down, for it was
too steep.
Within an hour the demon Thirst
had seized upon him again, clutchine
with fiery fingers at his throat until it
seemed almost closed. So quickly
were the bodily juices licked up by the
sun, under such tremendous effort,
| InaC MS very marrow seemed 20 nave
lost it's fluid portion and his tongue
to have turned to a chip. Now he was
in the shadow of a great rock. How
grateful was its shade! Hepaused for
a moment. He scolded himself for his
loss of time, but he felt that moment
was one spent in heaven.
In passing through a great split in a
rock, the canteen strap was cut, and
down fell the precious vessel, with it's
still more precious contents. The
stopper flew from it's place and a
splash of water steamed up from the
burning rock on which it fell. Madly
he jerked up the canteen. Thank God.
only aelittle water had been wasted,
and yet, he reflected, as he replaced
the cork, he would have given worlds
to have slipped what had fallen. But
he FASTENED on. The warped and split
boot-sole finally cracked clean
through, and he could feel the gridiron
heat OF the rocks upon his naked flesh,
for his stockings were quickly worn
away.
1t was now so hot that the rattle