St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1892-01-23
HOW THE MONSOON CONES.
The Face Of Nature Chhngsa BY q
Threatened Advance Of The Storm.

The Face OF Nature ChAnged By -
Threatened Advance Of the Storm.
Let me try to give pen picture oi
the end of an India summer and the be
ginning Of the period when the mon
soon rains descend Day after day the
sun pours down whitening heat. the all
is sick with it, the ground is hard as
iron. and gapes in great cracks. as
though open-mouthed, pleading to the
pitiless sky for a drop Of water; the
wide expanse Of country that q few
months past was green and flower.
besprinkled is brown, the grAss erisped
with fierce heat and falling to pow
der IL rubbed; the trees. mostly ever
greens, are parched and dusty; no
breath of air rustlcs through no, Leaf
stirs. They resemble great, tpy trees,
with leaves of painted wood. There is
NO sound Of life anywhere; the noisy.
green parrots are silent, and hide from
the sun in the heart Of the dcnsest and
leaiest top. - -i' -
You may, perhaps, see n crow or
mynah sit solitarily on . bosgh. with
dropping wing and gaping bsalx, help
less in this great purgatOry OF fre.
''The monsoon, the monsOQn-will it
never Gomez" you ask rs you toss half
naked on your bed, worried by priclsly
heat and insects which shall be name
less, not the worst Of which is the per-
sistent, blood-sucking mosquito. Heat
apoplexy has, perhaps, .prostrated one
or two of your friends, and . second in
the open air unhelmeted would be sud-
den death. '.Will the monsoon never
Gomez" .-r, -
Every evening the sun drops down in
the west like a great ball OF fire, but
leaves the heat behind him. 'OnS even
ing you notice with great Joy two or
three black clouds climb up the east to
take peep at his descending majesty.
They are the advance guard, you think,
of the monsoon and il will surely rain
before morning. Morning dawns. and
the sun sets to blowing his heat furnace
strong rs ever; the sky is once
more great dome of Furnished
brass. The monsoon ut last blows the
warning trumpet, s-.d the soughing of
his wind to the far-away horizon calls
you out from your bed to the verauda.
Nature holds her breath; great calm,
. strange hush-the hush of expectancy
fills earth and air. ~
Ha! here comes the monsoon. Away
on the western horizon . great, black
cloud wave surges up tow ard the zenith,
blotting out the FURNISHED sky in its
progress. just rs though you poured ink
slowly into q brass bowl. Behind this
black wave, and moving with Il, 10 .
great, dense ebon mass. cut every in
slant by forkcd lightning and bellow-
ing. dcafening thunder: The quick
darting adder tongues Of flame fash
everywhere. search the believing heav-
ems throughout from top to bottom,
throughout the whole cloud pscked
dome. 'F H.ir -
Now for q second. only for . second
the quick flashing lightning ceases. and
IN inky blackness, the blackness of
Erebus, succeeds; but the thunder bel
lows n an Englishman in his sea-gift
little isle never heard it below. Ii Is
nc distant rumble. gradually rolling
nearer and eliminating in q resouding
crack overhead. No; around, about
and Just overhead the internal din
never ceases.
The bellied clouds are pregnant with
thunder, and the fame forks flashing
hither and thither pierce their wombs
and loose the thunder from in prison.
Il reminds one of Michael and his celes- |
tial host warning with Lucifer and his
legionA 1t Is terrible. M 80
Inside your bungalow the, hrst cd
vancing wind that heralded the mon
soon carried with il clouds of, binding
dust. which is now piled up IN inch
high ON table and chair and
shelf and still the war Of
the elements goes on. You can not
hea. your neighbor's voice. though
- shouts HE utmost; The birds sfRriRht-
Cd ihriek iR the thickstA end ~ ~