St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1892-01-02

Yea ass,esV Ic...
1ss.a ehsuGss
They moegAt 01x71A ,t.,a
Them Ii -
steep. but tlbyS6SI ,... - Z,
oown so0sefS a1oo6 thor." -
Clearly the sah Aad determines 70 h.
IS wicked Is ever; and WHEN his scorch.
Ing blistering rays reached 4 I;ttIe
camp ON Calieute trail, the men -
sought the shelter of the rocks nav.
Aans MADE Buuster as comfortable n
va possible: but there was verv liltl.
comfort to be enjoyed. The sick ~
vailed Tor water. and his purple Ael
was IN ugly sight for his friend 10 -
upon. while he vigorously famed VIII
ms nat the dry. hot air above his brow.
hours passed. Twill they never
Gomez" thought Rawlins; .swhy 1id /
not 60 myself7 It was because !
thought he might die while I vas
gone. and ! wanted to stick by him Ia
the end. Still. l should have eouAl
should have gone"
Another hour dragged its reluctant
way along. II was nearly moon.
There they were at last--the water
bearers. But why walked they 50
slowly? No doubt they were tired.
Yes. they were tired and woru-pearly
exhausted, in fact; their clothes were
in ~tatters, and they were shamefaced
and cowed-for they brought back nc
water. They had started from the
walled-in stream with full canteens:
but the ascent of the canyon-side had
been 50 toilsome, the heat SO intense,
and their thirst so great, that they mad
drunk every drop.
Ugly glances shot from Zach Raw.
.ins' eyes at the recreant ones. his
blood was up. He would 60 down to,
the stream. though it were guarded by
fiery dragon. and he would bring heck
. canteen full of water and steep the
heartless ones in their shame. NesL
Big Bunster should have the sall.ueod-'|
full draught, il he had to 60 through
fire to get it. And he did go through
Are; 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 onc made st midday were sOvo
very different things to undertake. He
jerked the cantecn-s strap over his
shoulder and strobe quickly away over
the baked mesa, under the burning |
sun and soon began the descent. From
one great step of the rough, ~t2&fal
stairway to another he went, and at
last he gained q point where he could |
look OF and down into the canyons
dark depths. Like q sinuous piece Of
steel the river ran its way fer below !
him. . strip of it visible here, another
there, and still another beyond. 50 that |
it seemed - if the stream burrowed |
through high. rocky barrierA Rawlins
paused not to note the brilliant patches |
of color along the face of the great !
escarpment. and the sharply-sketched
chiar-oscuro that marked the naked |
grandeur Of tho scene made no Inn
presA He only saw, running swiftly |
ut the base of the great walls which
hemmed IL in from human hand, the
water for which the friend of his youth
lay dying. Tue way down was dina- }
cult. He was almost stifed by thei
heat. he was tortured by IN intoler-
able thirst: his clothing was torn by1
jagged rocks: hew as struck at by rattle-l
snakes. and, if all this were not1
enough, ono of the soles of his boots
had become 50 warped by the heat and
split by the rocks as to make his step
unsafe. |
In \ fever of excitement. he 6nallyl
reached the rivers edge. He threw1
himself down BY the brink and eagerly
the sparkling water. Then he
filled the canteen and darted up the
rocks. Fleet as had been his descent
to the base of the canyon wall. it had
taken him nearly two hours to make it
It had been hard enough coming down
but now came the real work So steep
was the rocky e~scarpment that its
ascent was q of great effort and
peril, even for a strong man at early1
dawn, but for q weak man, at two
In the afternoon, il was q fearful task.
How intensely hot it was there on
the canyon side! How scorchingly, nm
bearably hot! And yet he bore ii.
Though his whole body reeked with
p~erspirati0n and his muscles were
drawn under the great strain.
yet he paused only to pick his way
lmong the rocks. He could not go up
he way he had come down, for it was
90 steep.
Within an hour the demon thirst
lad seized upon him again, clutching
with fiery fingers at his throat until it
'eemed almost closed. So quickly h
we're the bodily juices licked up by the !
un. under such tremendous effort, /:
hat his very marrow seemed to have
ost its huid portion and his tongue to :
ave turned to = chip. Now he was in !
he shadow Of . great rock. How !.
was the shade: He paused j
here for . moment. He scolded him. !
elf for his loss Of time. but he felt .
hat moment was one spent in Heaven. .
In passing through . great split in |
he rock the canteen strap was cut, {
nd down fell the precious vessel, with !
still more precious contents The .
hopper Jew from its place and SEs
lash Of water steamed up from the b
rock OF which it fell. 4ad- .
he jerked up the canteen. Think
only = little water hsd heen $
'asted. and yet, he reflected. ant he o
the cork, he would s9ave !.
wen worlds to have slipped what had [
Illen. But he fastened on. The
arped and split boot sole finally :
,acked clean through, and he could !
el the gridiron heat Of the rocks a
pom his naked flesh, for his stockinaf1l
Is quickly worn away. L.
IL was now 50 hot that the rattle e
lAkes did not venture forth upon the n
cks, 50 there was NO longer any dam h
n from them. The real danger how, ii
he viewed il, was that he would be u
lie but q short time longer to keep q
neck Of the canteen from his lips. =
be water had become warm, and vet "A
was his one source of r~evivi6cnfion !,