The herald., 1897-05-02
The Deserts Own

"Phur the trails straight es shot to the
gap" Mac sed.
"An wather's list over the grade.
Which same will be wilcome at two bits
head,
An a Dutchman's the man to be paid"
$50. move on, mo burd." Mac tickled his
brute.
AN come on me byeA true blue"
But whistw says he. "weN pull at the
boot.
Phur the craythur s trifie too new"
An we swigged once around OF the blear-
eyed stuff.
Then stiffened our stirrups again.
An the 1innies plugged on with will good
enough
Good enough for an alkali plain
The sun didn't wait fur chance to fire up
No lazy clouds barried' the way
To the swales. an the lakes, an the sugar.
loaf jut
Es miraged strange pictures the day.
But We stuck to the prints in the white
scummed' scale,
Nur tempted our visions to gloat
Over castles, an cities, and ships full Of
sail
ES maNaSeQ DeLOT0 US 10 uo0t.
The Mohave held nothing but blistering
hell,
An the pack fur the barrel did neigh.
Es II of the barrel the same wus we'll
Whereas. it jist held fur the day.
But as fur as McCoogan. Bill Ryer an me.
We swabbed, out the borax an thirst
With frequent long pulls on the hard fru-
mentee,
In which there wus turns who'd be first.
It was noon at the gap when we camped
on q rise
Bout a hundred ur two feet above.
Where we loosened the barrel. preparin' to
size
Up the water fur all Of the drove.
An Mac pulled the bung on the edge Of the
cliff
With the beasts sniffen wild fur drink.
When suddintly Mac lost his toe hold, an
biff!
The barrel plunked over the brink.
Smash down the pit. with its nose in the
sand.
There 1t spilled out It's virtuous remains;
An damned IL the whole Of that dry burro
band
Didn't beiler out mournful refrains.
"There's luck phur ye darlints." McCoo-
gan declared;
"Arrah, Musha, its no use to beg"
But his jimmy cavorted, an sniffled, an
rared,
TILL PUNK! went that varuble keg.
Now. Bill might ur stopped 1t before It
rolled of,
"a 1T
But 1t went-an' We felt from the husky
like cough
There wus sprinting ahead fur our jints.
ruther low,
AN its miles to the down O. the grade.
The Lawrd an his mercy! give US stringth
fur the go"'
Bill Ryer an me likewise prayed.
Who knows Of the swelterin' wrath Of the
sun?
Who counts all the bones on the sand?
The whitened lime-garments of fond hopes
undone
Es sprinkles that waterless land?
Who knows of the dryness es hits the
windpipe
When eyeballs from sockets do burst?
OF the pains in the head, when delerium's 8
ripe.
An the rest-when yur dyin' of thirst?
Poor Mac wus the first one to git off his
Es queer as bedbug In hook
Mother of Jesus! Hail, Mary! full o.
grace;
Give US wather. pure wather-one drop!"
Bill Ryer took next with the mutterin'
spells.
Jist before got hold of the swoons,
An my last seven sense heerd chimin' of
bells
Stretched out on the dirt. in the glare of the
sun,
Not blade Of mesquite fur a shade.
We wriggled an writhed, while the burros
pushed on
Poor brutes-they wus weak up the grade.
No more could tell save the sweet subse-
quence
Es wus told by the Dutchman next day
Who heerd of the trailers bell off'n the
Tinglin' out what the beast couldn't say.
With flash Of the truth an a water kit
full,
He traced up the sound Of the bell;
An he found the dry beast on her last leg
pull
If he hadn't got there as she fell
Strung out fur rod-not a quarter be-
yond-
Lay the balance, PAWN the air.
With weakness which couldn't much
longer respond,
An he hadn't much moments to spare.
Fur he knew further on there wus work tn
be done,
To be done right away-if at all;
An the flask of his we'll hit my parched,
clingin' tongue
Ere the Maker did trumpet my call.
But es fur the forms lyn on but step,
Ask the Dutchman himself, when he's
Then you'll hear Of story es stories be-
get
McCoogan, Bill Ryer an me.
JOHN HUMPHREY BURKE.
The New Eden
Where the gum trees are waving in soft
warm wind,
And the passing of time is unreckoned,
1t was here in the garden that Adam first
slnned
And Eve was very close second.
But the garden relapsed when the gard
ener was fired
Twas prey to the thief and marauder--
When Adam, who found that his lease had
expired,