The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1896-01-24
WHILE TIE SENTINEL SLEPT.
Ro,v n Band of Immigrants Was swept
utterly Away.

Few n Band of Immigrants Was Swept
utterly Away.
At 8 o'clock of n summers afternoon
the head wagon of the immigrant train
skirtlng the foothills Of Bald mountain |
comes to halt beside little rivulet break. |
ing out Of n deep, dark gorge and losing |
itself nfter quarter Of n mile In the hills |
to tho west. Here is valley, or dip" a |
mile long by half n mile broad, with a |
narrow entrance on the north and the |
south. There are ten wagons In the train |
ten wagons and 80 people Tho Indian
problem has been solved, and they are
seeking new homes nearer sunset. The
men are hardy and the women brave, and
all day long ms the train toiled over the
rough country the children have raced aft
or flowers or called to oach other from un-
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 an
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 oven after the wagons
were parked and the tired animals were
hobbled out he would have insisted on i'm
mediate removal from that valley. The
stream coming down out of the gorge was
scarcely foot wide, but the channel way
was ten. On tho rocky sides, higher than
the tallcst man among them, were sticks
and branches and punches OF weeds and
Ioft hnr ho In
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
picnic ground. The women gossiped ms
they cooked at the camp0res, the men
whistled and joked 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
Brighten cach 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 to lull the young children to sleep,
songs and choruses in which the older
ones joined rs the night came down and
tho campfres cracked merrily. At .
in the wagons; at 10 only q 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 bazed up and must be stamped
out There was no danger, no danger.
The men and women and children had
said that to each other dozen times over.
| The sentinel would not even be lonely In
camp like that. The man selected to
take the watch from 10 to IL was past
middle age. The sentinel who went on
| from IL to was young man. During
the last 10 minutes of his watch the older
man was silently watching the sky to tho
| southwest. He made out flash or two Of
/ lightning and dark cloud stealing up
| He could feel that there was rain down
there. Some of the horses which were
down got up and snuffed the air and point
cd their ears and noses at the cloud.
''Watch that cloudl' was the old man s
caution as the sentinels were changed
ut may pass off over the plains to the
south, but If it swings to the north you
must give the alarm"
For ten minutes the young man kept
his face to the southwest. He caught faint
flashes of lightning, but there was no
thunder. The cloud certainly grew larger,
hut also remained stationary. By and by
he replenished one of the fires, went among
the horses, threw a stick at coyote sneak
ing under one of the wagons and then sat
down to watch and smoke and think. The
cloud was not forgotten, but 1t would be
time to alarm the camp when the thunder
began to growl. At half past l2 the SEN
tinel sat down with his back to tho wheel
Of wagon. At 1 O'Clock he was wide
awake. Fifteen minutes later he slept
There had been no thunder, no SHARP
flashes of lightning. Tho cloud was for
gotten.
At midnight one who could have had {
fair view of the cloud would have wit
messed the formation of thunderstorm
At half past 12 it had an ugly, MANAGING
look and was inclined to float to thu
north. At O'Clock it had decided NOV,
in that direction and was following mar
row valley which ended five or six milei
away at the base of the mountain. Once
the cloud was in motion it travelled rapid
". At a quarter past 1t reached the fa
end of the valley. There were flashes o
lightning and claps of thunder, but no ont
In camp was awake to see or hear. Whei
the end of the valley was reached, tn
cloud lifted like q balloon. Half way I,
tho peak it struck and was shattered, ant
its hundreds of thousands of gallons o
water fell like great wave Up Their
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 an,
pulled at their lariats and strained at thei
hobbies, but the sentinel slept-all slept
Ono wild cry awoke man, woman an
' child. 1t was shout of alarm and deaf
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 it wa
n wreck or pulp. When day dawned an
the sun rose, there was nothing to be see
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,