New-York tribune., 1896-01-12
ON THE DIVIDE.

Near Rattlesnake Creek. on the side of lit
tie draw. stood Canute's shanty. North east
south stretched the level Nebraska plain of
long. rust-red grass that unduated constantly
in the wind. To the west tho ground was
broken and rough and a narrow strip of tim
bcr wound along the turbid. muddy little
stream that had scarcely ambition enough to
crawl over It's black bottom. If it had not been
for the few s;unted cottonwoods and elms that
grew along It's banks. Canute would have shot
himself years ago. The Norwegians are tim
bcr-lovinc people. and if there is even turtle
pond with few plum bushes around it they
seem irrcsistihly drawn toward It,
As TO the shanty itself. Canute had built it
without aid Of any Kind. for when ne first
squattcd along the banks Of Rattlesnake Creek
there was not human being within twenty
miles It was built of logs split in halves. the
chnks stopped with mud and plaster. The roof
was covered with earth and was supported by
one gigantic beam curved In the shape Of n
round arch 1t was almost impossible that any
tree had ever grown in that shape The Nor
wegians used To- sav that Canute had taken
the log across his knee and bent II into the
shape he wished. There were two rooms. or
rather there was room with partition
made of ash saplngs interviewer and bound
together like big straw basket-work In ono
corner was cook stove. rus;cd and broken
In the other a bed made Of unpancd planks
and poles 1t fully eight feet long. and
upon il was a heap Of dark bed clothing There
was "A chair and a bepch of colossal proper
tions There was an ordinary kitchen cup
board with a few cracked dirty dishes in It.
and beside II on p tall box tin washbasn
Under the bed was a pile 81 pint TASKS, some
broken. some whole. all empty on the wood
box lay pair of shoes OF almost incredible
dimensions ON the wall hung saddle. gun
End some ragged clothing. conspicuous among
which was a suit Of dark cloth. apparently
new. with paper collar carefully wrapped IN
a red silk handkerchief and pinned to the sleeve
over the door hung wolf and badger SKIN
and on the door itself brace II thirty or forty
snake skins whose noisy tails iatued omlh'uSlE
every time It opened.
II was the first day Of winter on tho Divide
Canuto stumbled into his shanty carrying a
ba sket OF cobs and. after fllling the stove, sat
down on stool and crouched his seven-ioot
frame over th- fire staring drcarily out - the
window at the wide gray sky. lie knew hv
heart every individual clump of bunch grass
in the miles Of red shaggy prairie that stretched
before his cabin. He know II In all the de-
ccitful lovenoss Of It's carly summer IN All
the bitter harrcnness Of is autumn. He hai
.
had seen il rarchcd 10y drouth, and sogg"d by
rain beaten by hail. and swepi 10y if"' ana IN
the grasshOppcr years ne had seen u 'd''h ~
h,rn and clean as bones that the Nuliur nave
loft After the great fires hc had seen II strctch
for miles and miles. black and smoking as
the floor of he'll. "
cing ms big feet heavily. as though they were
burdens t. him lie looked ont Of the window
into The hog corral and saw the pigs hurIInR
themselves in the straw befor" the sh'd. u.
clio
themselves. and the snowfiakes wer" scttlhs
down over the white leprous patches OF ir"zru
Garth where the hogs had gnawed even the sod
AWAY He shuddcred and began to walk. tramp
ing heavily with his unRainly feet. lie was inc
wreck of ten winters on the Divide ana he
knew what they meant, Mrn ah 1sah ' nr W. men
i'm the North Seas fear the still dark cold OF
the polar twilight. .
His eyes fell upon his gun ana ne TOOK !,
down from the wall and looked 1t over lie
sat down on the edge OF his bed and held the
barrel toward his face letting his forehead rsst
upon it. and laid his finger on me trigger iie
was perfectly calm. there was neither passion
nor despair in his face, but the thousiitiui ui ppn
of a man who is considering Presently ne iaid
down the gun, and, reachihg mo ,he p'hi'
drew out IA pint bottle of raw white aicohol
Lifting il to his lips. he drank greedily I've
washed his face In the TIN basin anu coinp'u
his rough hair and shaggy bona pcnfu, pea, anrn inri
clothes that hung the wall. For the nitleth
time he took them In his hands and tried L"
the paper collar that was pinned to the sl'rve I'VE
OF the coat and cautiously slipped II undcr MS
rough beard. looking with tmd expectancy
into the cracked. splashed glass that huhe over
ihc bench with q short laugh he threw II
down on the bed and. pulling on MS old pl'i'k
hat he went out striking off across the level.
If MS a physical necessity Tor nlln 10 so' away
from his cabin orce In whhe. I've han nr~n
there for ten years, digging ana plousnlnR ana
sowing and rcaping what Ittle the nan n anu nDt
winds and the frosis left him t. reap. InSan'ty
and suicide are very common things on the
Divide They come on like an epidemic IN the
hot-wind season. Those scorchng dusty wlhds
that blow up over the bluffs from Kansas seem
10 dry up the blood in mems veins as they do the
sap in the corn leaves. whenever thr yoHDw
scorch crccps down over the tender lhslde l'aNeH
about the ear then the corohers prepare Ioi
active dutv: for the oil OF the country Is burned
out and 1t does not take long for the flame TO eat
up the wick. II causes no great sensation th'le
when "A Dane is found swinging To his own Wind
mill foWcr and most Of the Poles after they have
become too careless and discouraged to shave
themselves keep their razors to cut their throats
with.
II may be that the next generation on the
Divide viii be very happy but the present one
came too late in fe 1t Is useless for men VINO
have cut hcmlOcks among the mountains OF
Sweden for forty years to try 10 be happy In "A
country as fat and gray and as naked as the
sea. 1t Is not easy for men who have spent their
youths fishing In the Northern seas II be content
with following a plough. and men that have
served IN the Austrian ariny hate hard work ana
coarse clothing ana the loneliness OF the plains.
and long for marches and excitement and tavern
company and pretty barmaids. After n man has
passed his forticth birthday Ii Is not easy for him
10 change the habits and conditions Of his life.
Most bring with them TO the Divide only
the dregs Of the lives that they have sIuandered
in other lands and among other peoples.
Canutc Canuicson was as mad as any Of them.
but his madness did not take the form OF suicide
or religion. but Of alcohol. He had always taken
liauor when he wanted IL. as all NOrwcgiGns do.
but after his first year OF solitary life he settled
down TO il steadily lie exhausted whIskey after
n while and went to alcohol because its effects
were speedicr and surer. He was n big man,
with a terrible amount Of resistant force, and II
took great deal II alcohol even to move him.
After nine years Of drinking the quantities he
could take would seem fabulous TO an ordinary
drinking man. lie never let IL interfere with his
work; he generally drank AT night ana on sun
days. Every night as soon az the work was