The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1892-06-23

FRANK SWUNG HIS LANTERN.
Cana were so entirely submerged that
he had no difficulty in rowing to the
door of his own home. The door was
open; there was no light burning. No
one answered to his loud shouts.
The water was too high to permit
him to draw his boat through the door
into the house. He bravely assured
himself that their hired man, Chero-
kee half breed, had taken his mother
and brothers 20 the hills or some other
place of safety just then he saw
lights moving about in the upper story
of their nearest neighbor's house, nearly
half mile distant.
1t wasa story-and-a-half house and
the most substantial one on the bot
toms. Probably the surrounding neigh
bors had taken refuge there, believing
that it would Withstand the action of
the floods and keep it's upper story
above water.
As he rowed towards it, he saw the
red CLEAN of bonfres that had been
kindled along the uplands, as beacon
lights to the fugitives and rescuers.
His heart beat high with suspense as
he pulled his boat in front of the house
and called:
"Hellol Hello!'
He was answered by the owner of
the house, from an upper window.
Mother here?" he anxiously in
quired.
yes" =
"And the boys?"
Eyes; but don't reckon none of us
kin stay here long, said the neighbor.
''Of course not" replied Frank. "Tell
them to hustle on their things and I'll
take them to the hills first and then
came back for the Others"
| As the house was situated on a rise
Of ground the water had only risen to
the middle hinge of the door, and
Frank carefully pulled the Peerless in
side the room and up to the stairway,
from which his mothers and brothers
stepped into the boat.
She gave Frank a silent kiss, placed
hand on the head of each of her
younger lads and scarcely stirred or
/ spoke during the whole wild.ride to the
bluffs 1t was a terrible night. The
filed with believing cattle, floating
cabins, despairing men, women and
children. From every part Of the flood
could be heard the booming of guns,
signaling for help; and occasionally a
despairing human cry could be heard
above the roar of the waters and the
confused noises of the drowning and
terrified animals.
Frank anticipated that his mother
would entreat him, because of his re-
cent illness, to stay with her and let
others take the boat and continue the
rescue, so he no sooner saw her safely
landed, than he pushed the boat away
and darted out into the darkness with a
lantern in her bow.
Before reaching the neighbours house
| again, he met boats bearing all it's
former inmates. This left him free to
drift down stream, as he could make
more rapid progress with less expendi-
ture of strength. But some strong and
unaccountable impulse seemed to draw
him in the opposite direction. He obeyed
the impulse and pushed up stream,
keeping out of the swiftest current
and occasionally pausing to listen for
cries of human distress. But he could
hear none-only the strange, wild, un-
natural cries of mules, horses and cat
tie, laundering aimlessly about in the
mighty food, staring in wild-eyed con-
fusion at his glimmering lantern as he
pushed hurriedly past them. A white
object became dimly visible and he
rowed up to it. =, 1t was straw-stack.
lodged against the top of tall Usage
hedge. Its only inhabitant was set
ting hen, who scolded with hearty
domesticity, as he flashed his lantern
before her. Curiously enough, he after
wards learned that the stack became
dislodged and was carried far down the
stream, where it landed ''right-side-up'
and the faithful old Dominique Matched
her eggs and reared her brood in tpi-
umph.
Again Frank nearly determined to
turn down stream. but the blind inn
pulse which had dictated his course at
first held him to its continuance.
He rowed steadily up stream for an
hour, as nearly as he could judge, and
almost despaired of rescuing any one,
when faint sobbing sound caused him
to stop instantly and listen. There
could be no doubt about it; some one
was crying out in despair.
Frank hallooed as loudly as he could
and swung his lantern.
He was answered from a clump of
treetops, near the original banks OF
Big Cana. He FASTENED there and found
woman and two little boys clinging
IN the branches. Frank recognized
them at once as Rufe Miller's mother
and little brothers. No sooner were
they safely in the boat than Mrs. Miller
tainted and narrowly escaped falling
overheard and overturning the boat.
But Frank dashed her face with cold
water and finally succeeded in reviving
her. She then began to cry hysteric ally
and pleaded with him to search for her
husband, whom she fancied she had
heard call He had become separated
from them some time before, she brief.
ly explained.
They would call and then pause to
listen, from time to time, until nearly
ready to give up the search as hopeless,
when at last feeble reply rewarded
their persistence. 1t came from across
! the bed of the stream. and although the
current was very strong and his boat
well loaded, Frank realized that there
was no retreating and that he must pull
through in Soma xuau