The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-11-15

He turned toward me gravely.
Eyes, sir-certainly, sir! Shake like a
blanket when yer dipped it up. OF co'se,
we billed it and re-biled 1t and skinned
it like yer would suet and thickened it
with coffee-but we had to drink it at
last. Hit were skunk at the beginnin',
and skunk at the end.
well, sir, we got one day, as 1 cal
c'late it, about fifteen miles from the
Cheyenne wells, an I said so to the COL
onel on the quiet-'cause I wasn't just
so plum shore of it as l wanted to be.
didn't want to get the men excited. Their
tongues lolled out so they couldn't Gus,
but they could sure shoot, an it wouldn't
do to monkey with their feelings. No, in
deed, ma am. You know how those things
go, lieutenant. There is a line where dis
cipline stops. +"
The lieutenant said he understood, and
the young wife looked at him with big
blue eyes, This soldiers life!
Well, now, John said the colonel,
you ride on and pull in a good hour ahead
of us, and tell the commanding officer to
have every damn thing that will hold wa
ter hlled up, for these boys are sure gon'
to stampede when they smell water, and
ride like he'll a-swarmin' and 1 can't con-
troll en- They'll climb over each other
like drove of buffalo,
understand, colonel says and
then pulled out across the sand. MY
nke 1t is right here lady, only worse.
l could hear the red-hot iron hiss and
sputter off my horses Shoes but 1 rolled
the rowell into him cruel and we ken
moyin'. Seems like held him up with
my heels and the reins.
FINALLY We sighted green trees-I hone
Canaan will look as good to me when 7
die. as them green trees did. The horse
broke for it an l let him go. NV tongue
was Dig as your arm an scalin off like
SICK pickerel. When 1 rolled off NV
morse he was up to his eyes in water an
the sergeant splashed me with a bucket
tull. Elijah's God! but that water was
sweet. l couldn't get near enough to it..
l wanted it all inside of me-
well. after I could shet nv teeth on
the outside o my tongue, I delivered the
colonePs orders. They hustled together
all the old cans tubs and barrels, and
hlled EN- to the brim and every man
stood ready to help. I laid there soakin'
water and my horse walked like a car
penter's bench.
Pretty soon we see a line of alkau
a-fyin' on the swell, an then they come
a-hyin'-but no yells. They couldn't veil
and their eyes. Lady, I Hope you'll new
er see troop of soldiers look that way.
The horses had nostrils on 'em like the
brass-horn in brass band a reekin with
sweat an dust, an a-squealin' like thew
was plum crazy. The men were leanin,
forward and poundin' for life-seemed
like their necks was a foot long.
They tumbled into one hideous mass
at the wells. Such a struggle 1 never
want to see again. There was bout TWEEN
ty round every bar'l fightin' the horses
back and tearin' at each other like wild
cats. One feller who couldn't get up.
and didn't have a cup, leaned over. and
bein' tall Teller, took off his shoe and
dipped and drank out o. that. Hit was
powerful funny to see, but nobody else
noticed it but me. They were shore busy
They got filled up finally and let the
horses have chance, and that night the
old colonel says to me, John, no use irwin
to put out pickets. You and the sergeant
Just keep an eye out, an Wen let the bows
camp round the water bar'ls an trust to
luck
The boys was just plum drunk on wa
ter-Water drunk. They yelled and srl1nt-
ed and. cussed in their delight. Cheyennes
couldn't ha' got 'em to leave camp. All
night long you'd see a clump o. men round
bar'l a-drinkin' an a gruntin'-fO. that's
good! and such like things. They were
shore 'nough cotton dry, an it did seem
like they never would get soaked UP agin
but they was all right in a couple of
days.
so jest get all the comfort We can out
O. the water We have back in the states.
Prize 1t. It's the sweetest thing in the
world when We need it-especially in ORR
gong"
And the burning sand, the whitening
wind and the sere foliage around us. lent
powerful emphasis to his tale. The little
wife laid her hand on her husbands arm,
and her eyes grew very thoughtful.