Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1893-10-14
PREssNesroF MIND.
A Yarn Told by an Expert Fabrioator
aud Prevarieator.

u lAfh AoAA ~ AtAfHNN @~0ANN
aud Prevarieator.
A number Of tho guests in an up
town hotel were gathered in the par
lor relating experiences, says the
New York Herald.
One. dark.eyed youth, who had a
countenance unusually frank and
open, had maintained an air Of re-
spectful silence and interest through
out the evening. He was the young
est member Of the group, and had not
yet been heard from. IL was known
that he was from Arizona. and on
the presumption that he had the pre-
vaillng Western habit OF exaggefa-
tlon he was urged TO contribute to
the entertainment
II started out early one morning
on horseback TO ride into Tucson,
thirty-tive miles away" no began.
seeing that no was obliged 70 tell a
story about noon | dismounted
near creek TO water nv pony and
give him a short rest | lay down
and put my hat over my eyes 70 take
a nap. When | woke, two hours
later, my horse was nowhere IN sight.
was twenty miles from . settlement
started out toward my destination
and had gone eight or nine miles
in the sand hills when | suddenly
perceived how calm everything was.
knew il presaged storm. The arr
was stiiiiing and the heat rose In
great palpitating waves above tho
ground There was no chance Of es-
cape. There was no possible shelter
nothing but few scraggy clumps
Of sage brush few inches high,
TO be oyertaken BY one Of these
sandstorms would. knew, mean
most certain death For the first
time / think In my liic | knew what
solitude was. / experienced the aw-
ful sense OF Loneliness such as tray
elers describe who have been lost in
the desert The silence was some
thing awful il was suppressed, In
tense and almost artlculate. Tho
sky grew suddenly black aud shut
down over the plain like an Inverted
Opaque bowl. The impenctrablo
darkness was almost material n
fairly smothcrcd inc, The rambling
overhead seemed indefinitely pro-
longcd. Until you have visited the
sand hills you can never know what
an electric storm ID.
"But what about tho phenomenon ?"
asked ono who feared that the MARIA
tor had digrcsscd from the original
story
We'll. as | was about 10 say con-
tinued the truthful-eye1 exaggsrator.
1.-THE storm burst down Ia al It's fury
in less timo than Ii takes mo 70 tell
II. Tho thunder shook the very
/ foundations Of the earth. Tho light
ming was binding. ! thought my
time had certainly come. In the
agony Of despair threw myself down
on the sand. hoping that by some
miracle should be spared. a cold
I perspiration simply cnyeloped me
I My courage fOrso0k me suddenly /
/ looked up and saw streak Of light
ming which to my ovcrwrought Inn
agination looked ike an awful hui
man monster making straight for
me
Heavens exclaimed a sympa-
thctic listener. what ala sou dO9f
DOB answered the soll-suiiicicnt
eSaggorator, why. 4c easiest thing
the world Ny presence 81 mind.
4 which had been OH on vacation.
suddenly returned TO my rescue. In
that awful moment which seemed
prolonged for ms special benefit. I
cannot toll you all the means 81 cs-
cape from that electrical demon that
were presented TO my mind. de-
termined to offer myself 70 doom 20
defy tho lightning There was but
one chance IN million for me.
elutched ut H. | told lie. crawlcd
under IL and was saved.