The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-10-22
THE COMING FLOOD.
9uonching Their Thirst Only to Moot q
Sudden Death.

puonching Their Thirst Only to Moot n
Sudden Death.
IA milo furtherl Only mile further to
waterl" the guide had called out over and
over again that afternoon as we rode over
the plains on which the August sun beat
down till every breath seemed to burn the
lungs
VI the ~ troopers, five were dashed to
their saddles and little better than dead.
or the 80 horses, seven had dropped in their
tracks since 10 o'clock and been left behind.
Of the seven dismOunted troopers only two
were with the column. The others had lin
gered along until left far behind. No wa
ter for man or beast for 80 hours, and we
were pushing ahead for Lost river There
was selfish spirit i'll tho looks and actions
of every man. When the last horse dropped
down, every man hurried on for fear he
would be asked to add some burden Now
and then man stood up in his stirrups to
look ahead. You could read his thoughts
in his crafty looks. If he discovered signs
of water, he was going to put spurs to his
jaded horse and be the first to taste the
precious fluid. Some looked back over our
trail to see if the dismounted men were
coming up, not because they were anxious
for their safety, but because we might find
only little water, and it would have to be
doled out
The sergeant on my right had extracted
bullet from its shell and was holding it
in his mouth and mumbling about lakes
and rivers and springs. The man on my
left was sucking at his dry and fevered
fingers and cursing himself because he did
not drink more before we left the fort.
Had one man in that detachment come
upon spring flowing Il barrel of water to
waste for every second of time he would
have defended it with his life against the
thirst of his comrades. AS the column
toiled along, lurching and stumbling like
an animal seeking u covert in which to die
men cursed each other without the slight
est provocation and refused their sympa-
thy for those still moro distressed Cor
poral Johnson whispered to me that if his
horse gave out he would stay beside him
and drink his blood, but before had an
swercd il word he struck ut ME and hoarsc-
ly shouted:
mo! MOI tell You no! You shall not
have one single drop! If you try to steal
any, l will Kill! YOU"
The riverl The ri D., 1t is right ahead,
and we are sivcdr'
y thin fringe of grass and bushes which
seemed dead for years extended east and
west across our course and ran back TO the
mountains, 20 miles away. There was the
bed of Lost river Men screamed out in
stead of cheering rs they urged their horses
was to qucnch their thirst. We looked
down from the bank on Il winding channel
of yellow dirt, so dry that the puffs of wind
raised little clouds of dirt here and there.
Not Il drop of water had run down that
channel for weeks. Despair fell upon the
men-silent, hopeless despair-,nd its effect
was curious. No one cursed or muttered
On the far bank were n few stuntcd cotton
woods struggling for life and furnishing
scarcely any shade. One by one we followed
the officer across and pulled the saddles
from our horses and turned them loose
We had meat and bread. but no fires were
kindled. When mans throat aches and
throbs, and his tongue fills his mouth, and
his lips are like paper, he cannot eat. The
officer issued no orders, the men had no
word for each other. Each one threw him
self down with the feeling that the end had
come. There were oceans of water 40 miles
to the south, but neither horse nor man
could travel another mile
1t wasn't sleep. but that dim conscious
ness one has just before chloroform be-
numbs his senses. We knew when one of the
dismounted troopers dragged himself into
camp and fell among us with groan. We
knew when the sun went down. We felt
the cool night wind off the mountains, but
If any one moved it was only to turn over
Night fell, and the canopy of heaven was
studded with stars. Nine o'clock, 10, IL,
midnight. found us still lying there Then
came n curious sound-a sound like gale
advancing upon Il ship over calm sea- 1t
grew louder and louder, and with it was
mingled the neighing and Galloping of our
horses. Men who had fallen down to die
sprang to their feet to behold II wonderful
spectacle. From bank to bank Lost river
was full of rushing, foaming water, sent
down by n cloudburst in the mountains
miles away.
''Water Water!'' shouted n dozen husky
voices in chorus, and next moment there
was mad rush. Men and horses mingled
together. Men and horses rushed into the
food, to be swept down and drowned to-
gether A quarter of an hour after that
rush there were only II of us to answer to
our names, and only half dozen horses
were nibbling at the parched grass around
us. Back on the trail were three or four
corpses in uniform. The rest of the troop
were victims of the flood which Eoled past
US. N. QUAD.