Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1893-01-12

TOR most VINO know me truc:
For the Heaven that smiles above me,
And awaits my spirit too;
For the cause that lacks assistance
thr wrong that needs resistance,
For til" future in tn" distance
And the good tina, can do
Charles Mackay,
The Sod House On The Plains.
i'N LOUIS DE LESTEY.
| tCopyrichtl
Hank was queer character. He
mad come to the camp one night in
August, while a terrific storm was
raging over the prairies. 1t WAS one
OF those nights that make men seek
| gladly the shelter of the most hum
bic habitation. The wind was driv-
| ing sheets Of rain. against which
there was absolutely no protection
And the heavens were atlamc with an
awe inspiring display Of lightning.
Those Of the boys who had seen the
storm approach. rapidly secured the
restless herds Of cattle and made their
way to the little sod house. that did
duty Of home for us. on this western
cattle ranch.
1t had but two rooms. one in which
we slept and one in which we cooked
and partook of our frugal meals.
LuXurics were unknown quantities
then, where we were. Leisure we
had plenty and room the more.
There we sat by the light of several
talow candles looking from one to
the other.
The fury Of the elements made
speaking diilicnlt. Through the one
little window Of the room. the ire
mcndous. electric flames would throw.
at times. a brilliant blaze after which
our group would look almost spectral
by the dim. t.is'kering candle light.
There wnS nothing for us to do but
wait for the abating OF the storm and
then to look after the cattle.
Just after an awful peal of thunder
came a knocking 1T the door. Who
could i, be? We were in an isolated
section Of country. Near us the old
Missouri rolled Ny and across its chan
mel the Red man had undisputcd
sway. Visitors were out of the uucs-
ton. But il was not Il night to keep
anyone in waitingand one of the boys
quickly opened the door.
There stood the figure OF a man.
drcnchcd from head to foot. holding
a horse by the bride. a sudden flash
OF lightning revealed him. appearing
almost ghoSl-ikc and everybody in
the room sprang toiheir feet! keep
cool said he in Il deep voice. Can
ret shelter here Could I've? Did
ever Il Wc>tcrncl refuse shelter to
any human being. rain orShine: One
OF the boys looked after the strangers
horse, others led him in.
Dry clothing was furnished at once
and the visitor made rs comfortable
as the place permitted.
Awful night" lie said: then
lap>cd into silence fora while. Quite
a snug place this, tell you there is
nothing like dry roof in one of these
howlcrS. TO which remark we readily
asscn,cd and rs the raincontinucd. all
sought such sleep Us the storm king
was willing To grant.
The morning dawned beautiful.
Tie rain drops fairly gIislcncd on the
grass blades in the rising sun ocans.
Not u trace OF last nights storm re-
manned.
We were up betimcS and breakfast
over, went out on the round up We
left the stranger in the cabin but
when we returned at noon >till found
him there. contrary ~ expectations.
He was in no hurry ogu, but was
sitting on Il rock. looking cUnIentcdly
about him.
Hello friend. said our foreman.
still here" Yes. came The
answer And if YOU don't mind. Id
| like To stay here. providing you are
>horthandcd. And he looked in4uir-
ihgly from one to the other of the
boys. Well we needed Il man and the
foreman hired him. whats your
name" Harry sir. but you can call
me Hank. for short" And SO lie was
called. While he remained at the YN
ranch.
Life on a cattle ranch is not full Of
great adventures. just before the
annual round up and shipping season
it is all routine work.
The new man needed but little in
stru.ting. He wasa good horscman.
knew good deal about cattle and as
tic foreman said. was a useful hand
all round. "llank" was Il rather
quiet sort Of a fellow. He could talk
well and knew much that was new to
the boys, but it always took more or
less OF an effort to get him to say
something. He had Travelled much
and his stories were interesting But
of himself or other people lie had
nothing to say.
So time went on right merrily.
None Of us were sorry that Hank
had come. Everyone was his friend
and he in turn befricnded all.
The roundup was over and we set
tied down again to our usual easy
ways. One evening, when it was
Hanks turn to get supper, we came to
tile cabin and found him in a raging
fever. Here was a dilemma. twas
impossible to geta doctor and in the
condition he was in, Hank could not
be transported to some town. So We