The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-01-02
WHILE rHs SENTINEL SLEPT.
Eo~ a Band Of Immigrants Was Swept
utterly Away.

utterly Away.
Atb o'clock of summers afternoon
the head wagon Of the Immigrant ira.
sklrting the foothills of Bald mountain
comes to a halt beside little rivulet break
ing out Of deep, dark gorge and losing
itself after quarter OF mile In the hills
to the west Here is q valley, or dip, a
mile long by half mile broad, with n
narrow entrance ON the north and the
south There are ten wagons In the train
ten wagons and 90 people. Tho Indian
problem has been solved, and they are
seeking new homes nearer sunset The
men are hardy and the women brave ana
all day long ms the train toiled over the
rough country the children have raced ait
er flowers or called to each other from I'M
der the white topped wagons. There are
no hostile Indians, no wild beasts to fear,
no herds to stampede and leave death and
destruction behind.
The site of the camp Is decided by water
and grass Rivulet as IL is, here Is nm
abundance of water, and though 1t has
not rained for many long days the hungry
animals will find plenty of forage. An
old hunter or veteran plainsman would
not have selected such site Had one
come riding up even after the wagons
were parked and the tired animals were
| hobbed out he would have insisted on i'm
mediate removal from that valley. The
| stream coming down out of the gorge was
| scarcely a foot wide, but the channel way
was ten. ON the rocky Sides higher than
the tallest man among them, were sticks
and branches and punches of weeds and
grass, left there when the last cloudburst
occurred. Under their feet and the wheels
of the wagons were signs not to be neglect
| ed, but which no one observed. Water and
grass and fuel and good nature made 1t a
| picnic ground The women gossipcd as
they cooked at the campfires, the men
whistled and jokod as they turned out
their horses and while waiting for supper
the children raced back and forth across
the mouth of the dark gorge and tried TO
frightcn each other with cries of wolf
and bear"
The sun went down on scene of peace,
and the first stars of evening never looked
through the soft mist upon camp which
had less fear of the night There were
rhymes 10 lull the young children to sleep,
songs and choruses in which the older
ones joined as the night came down and
the campfires cracked merrily. At 9
O'Clock all the children were tucked away
in the wagons; at 10 only a single sentinel
was left awake, There were wolves prowl'
ing about Some of the horses might get
loose Now and then the dry grass around
the fires blazed up and must be stamped
out. There was no danger, no danger
The men and women and children hat
said that to each other dozen times over
The sentinel would not even be lonely IL
camp like that. The man selected t.
take the watch from 10 to 12 was pas
middle age The sentinel who went OF
from 12 to was young man. During
the last Is minutes of his watch the oldc
man was silently watching the sky to thu
southwest He made out "a flash or two o
lightning and dark cloud stealing up
He could feel that there was rain down
there Some of the horses which wer
down got up and snuffed the air and point
ed their ears and noses at the cloud.
Watch that cloudr' was the old man
caution as the sentinels were changed
1T may pass off over the plains to TIN
south, but If it swings to the north yol
must give the alarm"
For ten minutes the young man KEEP
his face to the southwest. He caught fain
flashes of lightning, but there was NJ
thunder. The cloud certainly grew larger
hut also remained stationary. By and by
: he replenished one of the fires, went among
the horses, threw stick at coyote sneak
ing under one of the wagons and then sal
down to watch and smoke and think. TIL,
cloud was not forgotten, but 1t would bC
time to alarm the camp when the thunder
began to growl. At half past IL the sen
tinel sat down with his back to the whee
of wagon. At 1 o'clock he was wild
e awake. Fifteen minutes later he slept
There had been no thunder, no sharl
| flashes of lightning. The cloud was for
gotten.
At midnight one who could have had
fair view of the cloud would have wit
messed the formation of q thunderstorm
At half past IL 1t had an ugly, MANAGING
look and was inclined to float to tn
north. At O'Clock it had decided NOV
in that direction and was following mar
row valley which ended five or six mile
- away at the base of the mountain. One
the cloud was in motion it travelled rapid
ly. At quarter past l 1t reached the ia
end of the valley. There were flashes o
I. lightning and claps of thunder but no on
in camp was awake to see or hear. Whel
the end of the valley was reached, tn
cloud lifted like balloon. Half way t
!, the peak it struck and was shattered, ant
its hundreds of thousands of gallons o
water Iell ike great wave. Up tner
was the beginning Of the gorge and tn
: rivulet. Ten seconds after the cloudburs
the gorge was brim full and the water
sweeping along like wild locomotives
Down in the camp the horses paved ant
pulled at their lariats and strained at thei
= hobbies, but the sentinel slept-all slept
One wild cry awoke man, woman an,
child. 1t was shout of alarm and dealt
shrek combined. 1t was uttered as tn
waters dashed out of the gorge at tn
camp. Nothing could stand before them
Wagons, horses, human beings-every
thing except the hills was caught up an,
swept along and beaten about until 1t wa
a wreck or pulp. When day dawned ant
the sun rose, there was nothing to be seel
in the little valley but pool of mudd.
water, at which the wolves slaked thei
thirst. Nothing had lived; nothing ha,
escaped humiliation. NJ. QUAD.