Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-12-14
ON THE WIDE PRAIRIE.
A Lonely Life That Finally Brought
 Domestic Happiness.

Oh, the dreariness of the prairie! How vast it was; never ending it seemed to Clare, as she stood in the doorway of their adobe cottage and gazed sadly off toward the northwest where herd of sheep could be seen.
 "How can they live on the dry grass, and how can Charlie even pretend to like it. the horrible, lonely life in such desolation and isolation! Hush! baby dear. am coming; how the mosquitoes and flies do tease and torment him, poor little whitening blossom-for even he has felt the blight"
 The sun rose higher, the wind blew harder and it seemed to have a touch ot fire.
 'I wonder why baby's cheeks are so red; can he be seriously ill2 Papa won't be in until evening, darling; mamma will do the best she can."
 Charlie Dean wondered why no wife was visible as he approached home; wondered why no smoke issued from the chimney as was usual at supper time. Had anything happened, he wondered, hastening his naturally slow steps
 The scene that met his gaze as he en. tered his home was one never to be
  forgotten.
 His wife, his pretty, little, girlish wife he had brought from her city home, lay back in the wooden rocker white and still, while the baby, the little siX.months-old Walter, was mo- tionless within her arms, and the sweet face wore look the mortified father understood.
 "Clare! Clarsr' he cried, brollenly. 'Baby-oh, m yA1oved ones!"
 Then Clare opened her arms and per mitted him to place the child in it's cradlc-a cradle he had made out of a wooden box.
 In voice he scarcely recognized she said:
 You knew the life I was to share out here, why did you not tell me?"
 But he seemed well this morning well as he has been lately, mean. Oh, never expected this! The ranch is no lonelier than hundreds of others. l never thought"
 "No, but you have had to think now. He died an hour ago. I could not leave him to seek you-it did not matter after that. I'll never forgive you for bringing me out to this"
 Clara! You knew owned the ranch. You knew l was poor"
 "l never guessed what it.would be, especially in a case like this," pointing to her child. "I little realized what it was to be woman"
 After that Charlie Dean was a changed man. He felt cross and mean, and found the cold creature he called wife anything but a cheerful com panion.
 Let her sulll, he said; "she enjoys it Anyway, I'll find other friends"
 And he did. He SC cured the services of a boy in whose care he left the sheep, and went off almost daily to a little town, pleasant ride for him of only about fifteen miles. When there, his place of lounging can easily be guessed.
 Its Clare's doings," he unused; ''women like to send men to the dogs"
 If Clare saw anything more than usual she remained silent. metimes, when he came home almost too stupid to talk, he caught glimpse of con- tempt in the cold eye of his wife. Her silence was fairly maddeninT.
 "Why don't she howl and storm like other women?" he muttered "She never even wept over the baby. I'd give a good deal to sec her cry just once"
 The summer had gone and winter had come; as usual on Saturday morn- ing, Charlie had ridden away in the di- rection of the town, without a word of fare well.
 Two years ago." said Clare, bitter ly, "he sought me in that cozy home of my aunt's, with it's soft carpets, it's loving friends, and he persuaded me to marry him and come out to this dreary place, where he has even forgotten to be humane"
 Then glancing toward the northwest she saw mass of black clouds lying; threatening aspect growing over all the sky.
 "There's a storm coming and I'm glad; one of the freaks in my make up is that 1 like storms, particularly now. Had been q timid lass l would long since have died of fright have felt sometimes even a bear coming in at the door would be a change" and Clare smiled sadly, as the masses of black clouds increased and the wind tore around the little mud ranch with frightful violence.
 Don't detain me, boys, must go home!"
 impossible in such storm as this. You'd be dead in less than an hour. Take things coolly, Charlie. Why, it's the first time ever saw you anxious. Your wife's all right; being showed in a few days don't surprise folks in these parts"
 "But-she's he's--out-of-hour;s she made biscuits this morning, and there were only enough-and she"
 'Oh, ho, she's got other things, trust q woman for that; there's canned fruit, dried corn, there's beans and no danger of her suffering Anyway you can't help her; an army could not force it's way over those miles,"
 ''God forgive mel" thought Charlie Dean, his face in his hands, "and God help her, for I know how precious lit tie the small house contains. I've seen her hunting among the weeds for something green to help out the salt md