Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-10-23
The COMING FLOOD.
ouenching Their Thirst Only to Meet q
sud- en- Death.

sud- en- Death.
"A mile further! 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.
OF the so troopers, five were dashed to
their saddles and little better than dead.
OF the 80 horses, seven had dropped in their
tracks since 10 O'Clock and been left behind.
OF the seven dismo Inted 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 so hours, and we
were pushing ahead for Lost river There
was a selfish spirit n the 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 a 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 n little water, and it would have to be
doled out.
The sergeant on my right had extracted
bullet from its she'll and was holding it
in his mouth and mumbling about lakes
and rivers and sprr gs. 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 n spring flowing a barrel of water TO
waste for every second of time, he would
have defended it wi n his life against the
thirst of his comrades. As the column
toiled along. lUrching and stumbling like
an animal seeking covert in which to die,
men cursed each other without the slight
est provocatiOn and refused their sympa-
thy for those still more 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
swered a word he struck at me and hoarse-
ly shouted:
NO No. tell you no, You shall not
have one single drop. If you try to steal
any, will Kill your
THE river, The river! II Is right ahead,
and we are saved''
A thin fringe of grass and bushes which
seemed dead for years extended east and
west across our course and ran back to the
mountains, - miles away There was the
bed of Lost river. Men screamed out in
stead of cheering as they urged their horses
forward toward the blessed water which
was to quench their thirst. We looked
down from the bank on a winding channel
of yellow dirt, so dry that the puffs of wind
raised little clouds OF dirt here and there.
Not n drop of water had run down that
channel for weeks. Despair fell upon the
men-sileut, hopeless iespair-and its effect
was curious. No one cursed or muttered.
On the far bank were few stunted 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 anC turned them loose
We had meat and bread, but no fires We're
kindled. When a 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 hat 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 ne
numbs his senses. We knew when one o he
| dismOunted troopers dragged himself nto
camp and fell among Is with groan. .Ne
knew when the sun went down. We felt
the cool night wind of 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, TO- II,
midnight, found us st II lying there. Then
came a curious sound-a sound like gale
advancing upon n ship over a calm sea. 1t
grew louder and louder, and with it was
mingled the neighing and galloping of our
| horses. Men who haC fallen down to die
| sprang to their feet to behold n wonderful
! spectacle. From bank to bank Lost river
was full of rushing, foaming water, sent
| down by cloudburst in the mountains
miles away.
Water! Water!'' shouted dozen husky
| voices in chorus, and next moment there
| was a mad rush. Men and horses mingled
| together. Men and horses rushed into the
| flood, to be swept down and drowned to-
| gether. A quarter of an hour after that
rush there We're only II of us to answer to
our names and only half dozen horses
! We're 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 food which rolled past
| us. NJ. QUAD.