The Portland daily press., 1893-05-13

aloud for water to quench his bugning
thirst Declaiming himself the chief Of
his tribe and no longer laughing, he
drew an imaginary robe about his COM
handing form, and with naughty i'm
periousness asserted his authority and
demanded that water be brought. With
s1perb dignity he received an imaginary
vessel. drank unsubstantial water from
it and threw it aside. Then, grown elo-
quent, he harangued his tribe on its
achievements in battle and urged his
people TO foster the spirit which had led
them to SO many victories. At the close
he reeled, his sightless eyes rolled va
cantly, he clutched at the empty air,
lurched and then sank unconscious to
the ground
Thus he lay until the middle of the
following night. Consciousness returned
slowly and painfully, and with his face
still buried in his hands he compelled his
memory to apply the fortunes it had in
store for him. Pains racked his frame,
and groans forced their way out from
the depths of his despair. At last he
turned upon his back and opened his
eyelids.
His eyes were opened to the heavens,
and his stout heart quailed to discover
strange things, which warned him of his
madness. for there were numberless
burning points above him, such as never
before had come to the visions of his
blindness AS he would move his eyes
they would spring in an opposite direc-
ton, whereas all the visions that he had
had before remained fixed whatsoever
direction he might look.
He came to sitting posture, and in.
stantly the bright points disappeared,
but other things, dark, shadowy and
more terrifying, arose before him. These
apparently reached from the level Of his
eyes all the way up to the bright, fierce
points above. and they, too, would spring
in a direction opposite to that in which
he would move his eyes. This was mad
ness, he reflected strange and distress
ing form of it. He closed his eyelids
and then the visions disappeared. He
opened them again and they returned as
before. Then he closed his eyes in sim
pie fear, and thus gained courage and
relief, and not daring to reopen them he
staggered to his feet and began to grope
through the forest in search Of water,
for a bitter thirst was burning him.
Thus he proceeded, with closed eyelids
and hands outstretched, and his fine in
stinct led him straight toward a stream
mile away. But to keep his eyelids
closed was unnatural and irksome, SO
once he opened them, and instantly the
terrifying visions reappeared and with
Strange forms stood all around him,
grotesque and formidable, but wonder
fully fascinating. Almost convinced
they were real, he put out his hand to
touch them and was pleased to find that
they had no substance, for he could not
reach them But he felt safer with his
eyelids closed, for then he saw no alarm
ing visions.
Before long a sensational had been
growing for some time, and it happened
contemporaneously with the advent of
his knowledge. that day was breaking
came upon him, and he halted in dread.
It seemed more like warmth than any
thing else, and yet not warmth of the
kind that he had known. It was in his
head-no, it was in his eyes, which he
dared not open. He sank to the ground
in weak helplessness. Still keeping his
eyes closed, he felt the warmth in them
increase, and then it became so painful
that he opened them. Instantly ire
mendous heat burst forth within his
head, racking all his sensibilities with
excruciating pains. Trembling with fear
and awe, Chikkatabac fell to the ground
and buried his face in his hands. The
sun had risen.
Thus lay the helpless savage, filled
with terror and marvelings. His great
frame quivered, and agonized means is
sued from his burning throat. After a
time his courage returned. He clasped
his hands tightly over his eyes, the more
securely to exclude the burning, blazing,
terrifying vision that had appeared when
ever he opened them. Onward he went
toward water, and finally the presence
of messy sod under foot warned him
that a stream was near.
He now went forward cautiously, and
then dropped to his hands and knees and
crawled toward the stream till he
touched the cool water. Then he eagerly
stretched himself at full length upon the
bank and was about to drink, when un-
guardedly he opened his eyes. So strange
a vision at once appeared to him that he
started back in dismav.
A strange vision indeed and immeas-
urably unlike the others, for that which
he had seen as he bent over the still wa
ter was much like the spirit Of one dead,
as he had imagined it. Then great
comprehension came to his soul, and SO
swift and heavy was the shock it brought
that he was stunned, but after that a
gentle peace fell upon him and tears of
happiness rolled down his cheeks. Ris-
ing to his feet, and with calm courage
opening his eyes to the dazzling visions
which confronted him he raised both
arms to heaven and reverently said: