The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1895-08-02

of shame and humiliation.
I was quite crushed by this blow. For
fine first time [ felt tempted to commit
snicide and end it all. TO be sure I
ought to have foreseen this, and all the
other dreadful things. Directly my
master. my owner, got able to swal-
low. though he could not eat, he could
drink, and ordered the most fiery liq-
nor he could procure, with a view to
kill me off, and begin with another vic
tim.
But Providence had ruled otherwise.
Then began q week Of cruel suffer
ing. NY master sent me word by
Boule-de-neige that he intended to fin
ish me off. My appetite, he said. had
been long failing, and was now per-
fectly contemplate. He complained
that I had neglected my part of the
contract, that I. must have been .prac-
ticing intemperance-the horrible hypo-
crite-to have reduced so fine an appe-
tite to nothing in a short four months.i
Therefore he felt obliged to tell me
that in a week or two I should proba-
bly, find the agreement ended. That
was his ferocious way Of putting it. He
meant that in a week l should be dead.
His words were prophetic, but not in
the sense in which he meant them.
He drank brandy now. He drank it
morning, noon and night. He drank it
not because he liked it, but in hopes
Of dispatching me. 1 was no 0
partially recovered from one drunken
bout than I plunged into another.
I lost all power Of walking. I could
not move about. I lay the whole day
sick and feverish on my bed, or, if l
got up at all, it was only to change it
for an easy chair. / could eat moth
ing.
Then I began to have visions and
scenes Of my early life-my poor de-
serted mother; the tramp who took
charge Of me; the sleep in which I
nearly, ;perished; the strolIing actors
with whom [ wandered; the girl with
whom I fell in love. Only among
them all there lowered p%erpetually
the ugly face Of B~oule-deneige, spoil
ing the pleasant memories, and cor
rupting the current of my thoughts
with his "Cluck-cluck" and the demon
lac grin.
How you do, Massa Lucraft? How
you feel your stomjack this morning?
Ole massa him berry fierce. Him
gWine to make noyeau punch to-mor-
row. Dat finish him Off. Dat work UNI
up. You wait till tomorrow, Massa
Lucraft."
could only groan.
you nice young gentleman" he went
on, with a grin. "sYou berry grateful
young gentleman. Massa him glib you
thirty pounds a month, and you spend
It all in temperate courses. BAD, berry
pad; dam bad. What you say when
you die, eh? Ho! ho!"
q creature seemed always with me
during this time. If l opened my eyes
I mad the feeling that he was hover
tns ABOUT my bed. II it was, dark /.
thought / saw his eyes glaring at me
from some corner. If I was asleep he
would Waken me with his "Cluck!'
what he did in my cottage l never
knew. The room was filled with the
VISIONS which passed through my
Drain, succeeding each other again n
again like the acts of q play repeated
i~hcessantly. [ saw the Octagonal room
with the old gentleman eating and
drinking. I saw myself at Richmond.
| saw myself before the magistrate,
ana looked on as q spectator Of a
tragedy which would end in death and
horror.
1t was two days before the period
allotted to me by my master, at eight
O'Clock | II the evening, as I was sitting
IN my lonely cottage, %expectant Of the
usual drunken bout, when felt a GU
r1ous agitation within me, an internal
struggle, as if through allSmy veins a
tempestuous wave was surging and
rushing. I lay down.
This is some deviltry Of the old
man." I said to myself. "I4et him do
his worst; at least, I must try to bear
It with resignation" I began to specu-
late on my Inevitable and approach
ing end, and to wonder curiously what
proportion of the sin Of all this drunk
enness would be laid to my charge.
10 my astonishment nothing more
Followed. The tumult of my system
gradually subsidized, and / fell asleep.
In the morning I awoke late and
missed the usual headache. / had,
therefore, I was surprised to find, act.
ually not been drunk the night before.
| rose with my customary depression,
and was astonished to discover that
my nerves were steadier and spirits
higher than I had known for u long
time.
mechanically went to the cupboard
AHu Duileu out NY cOlu mutton dHu
potatoes. Who can picture my joy
when II found that ! could taste the
meat again and that Sitswas nasty?
hardly believed my senses; in fact,
had lost them for so long that it was
difficult to understand that they had
come back to me. I tried the potatoes
Il Heavens, what q horrible thing to q
Wellregulated palate Is O cold boiled
potato!
At first, as I said. I could not believe