Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1897-02-25
THE TRAGEDY OF q
@ COYOTE HOLE.
eGeeeeesessesses essessesse $685. sesesseseseesse

| ralllpart Oh tne SIDE r4tt the wind, and
! the sand had drifted over them. When
Grimes lifted an AK, to place it among
their other possessions, a spark of elec-
tricity passed to his arm, with report
like the crack of pistol and the arm
was still benumhed from the shock.
| The high electrical tension in the at
mcsDher2 WIS. in itself, a tremendous
strain upon the nerves. Moreover, it
| burned all vitality out of the air and
added to its heat. TO expose Il hand
from the partial shelter of the canvas
meant blister on the skin; and the
two men lay upon the ground, strug-
Cling for breath. moiStening their lips,
every few moments, from the contents
of their canteenS, and swearing n con-
stant succession of miners oaths at the
luck" which had brought them to the
| confines of Death Valley on this dire
full day.
Il wonder if the critters is alive?'
| said Anderson. in a lull of the tempest
which permitted the raising of his
voice above the whistling of the wind.
IF they be-" he added, "'twOuld be n
mercy to wet their noses with little
water"
Grimes struggled to his feet, throw
ing Off the weight of the canvas. which
| had been pressed down upon them by
the drifting sand. Five minutes later
the burrOs had been resurrected, the
Sunny-sacks had been removed from
their heads, and their mouths had been
thoroughly sponged. When these things
had been done, and everything had
been adjusted for Il probable recur-
renee of the tempest, the men found
that they had just one cantecn of water
left. one which had been filed at Coy
Otc Hole as they had come past n few
hours before. 1t had been kept until
the last as being the freshest. They
each took Il pull at this.
It's pretty bitter and brackish. isn't
itF Grimes remarked. Some way |
never liked that water. 1t tastes to
me like arsenic and asphalt. But-by
--, it's good! Give me some more.
It's gocd, it's good, it's good. Ha! this
Is life. No man knows what joy he can
get out of little thing until he's been
almost dead with hunger CT with thirst.
Don't you think so, pard:'
Don't be an idlotic fool" Anderson
replied. 'Thc winds a-comin' up again.
ECtiCr Cu d,wn Lore behind the outfit.
and see that you make that water go
/ jest as fur as it will. If we can stand
it till night, and the moon comes I'D,
aEd the wind gees down, and the bur
! ros is alive, and we can git to Indian
| Toms. where there's water, we're MI
! right But If we can't-why. then v;e'ra
jest dead ana buried, ana tEafs all
/ there is OF it," was Ardprson's grimly
/ philosophical reply.
SO, as the long afternoon wore drenr-
! lily on, the two men lay under their i'm.
provised shelter and suffered in 81.
lencc. their lips too parched ana swol.
len TO talk, their eyes bloodshot, thcit
checks pulfed and blackencd as the
blood thickencd and grew sluggish IN
tGetr veins. They turned their faces
apart, as though each dreaded to wit
ness the sulferirgs of the other, ant
pressed their swollen lips against theil
teeth to keep back tell-tale groans.
When the sun went down, blood-rat
in the west, the wind sank to rest. like
the spent wrath of an angry giant. rht
heat, which had bcen pressing dowl
upon the earth, seemed lifted all n
once and flung abroad into space. Fo,
n brief interval the darkness of nigh
swept over the mountains. pierced II
the illimitablc vault overhead by thou
sands of brilliant points of fire. Thei
the moon came up. swimming in Il Sc,
of silvery radiance. Anderson ant
Grimes by n supreme effort. arouse,
themselves from the lethargy whicl
had ovcrtaken them in the closin,
hours of the day. and prepared Il
leave the spot where so much sutrerln
had been compressed into so brief
time.
They had adjusted the pack upon Nc
blcs. the smaller of the two burros, an
. We're preparing to "cinch" the load o
Jerusalem. big and brawny specime
, Of her patient race, and their prlncipa
$ dependence as pack animal. Andel
5 son stood with his foot against he
v side. pulling on the rope that held til