The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1898-05-25

that a well Is OF great value. and iocks
and herds are driven vast distances
10 have their thirst siaked. Jethro. a
Mldianite sheik and priest. was 20 for
tunate rs 10 have seven daughters. and
they are practical girls. and yonder
they come driving the sheep and cattle
and camels Of their father TO the wat.
ering. They lower the buckets and
then pull them up. the water FLASHING
on the stones and chilling their feet.
and the troughs are filled. Who Is
that man out there sitting unconcerned
and looking ont Why does he not
come to help the women In this hard
work OF drawing water' But no soon
er have the dry lips and painting nos
trils OF the fiocks begun 10 cool little
In the brimmlng trough OF the we'll.
than come rough Bedouin shepherds
break In upon the scene. and with clubs
and shouts drive back the animals that
were drinking. and alright these girls
until they ny In retreat. and the fiocks
OF these ill-mannered shepherds are
driven TO the troughs. taking the places
OF the other nocks Now that man
sitting by the well begins TO color up.
and his eye flashes with indignation.
and all the gallantry Of his nature ls
aroused. II Ia Moses. who naturally
had quick temper anyhow. az he dem
onstrated ON one occasion when h.
saw an Egyptian depressing an Israeli
tie and gave the Egyptian a sudden
clip and buried him In the sand. and
as he showed afterward when he broke
all the Ten Commandments AZ once by
SCATTERING the two granite slabs on
which the Law was written. But the
Injustice OF this treatment Of the seven
girls sets him on ere with wrath. and
he takes this shepherd by the throat.
and pushes back another shepherd till
be falls over the trough. and aims a
stunning blow between the eyes OF an
other. as he cries. "Begone. you vii
lainsl" and he boots and roars AZ the
sheep and cattle and camels Of these
Invaders and drives them back; and
having cleared the place Of the despera-
does. he told the seven girls Of this
Midianite shelk 10 gather their nocks
together and bring them again to the
watering.
o. you ought 20 see a hght between
the shepherds al well In the Orient
as ] saw II In December. 1890. There
+ we're here a group Of rough men who
had driven the cattle many miles. and
here another group who had driven
their cattle az many miles. Who
should have precedence7 Such clash.
Ing Of buckets Such hooking OF hornsl
such kicking Of hoofsi Such vehe-
menoe In language fortunately could
not understand Now the sheep with a
peculiar mark across their wo0lly backs
we're al the trough. and now the sheep
OF another mark II was one OF the
most exciting scenes ever witnessed.
An old book describes one Of these
contentious a. an eastern well when Il
says "One day the poor men. the
widows eHa<he orphans met together
and wee driving their camels and their
hoels 20 drink. and were all standing
" the wator-alio Dali came up and
stopped them all. and took possession
Of the water Tor his masters cattle.
Just then an old woman belonging 10
the tribe % Abs came up and accosted
him In a suppliant manner saying. BE
20 good. Master Dali az 10 LEI my cattle
) drink. They are an the property I
possess and live by their milk. Pity
my flock. have compassion on me.
Grant my request and let them drink.
Then came another old woman and ad-
dressed him Oh Master Dali. am a
poor. weak old woman az you see
Time has dealt hardly with me. I, has
f'~ed lts arrows al me. and It's daily
90 ! nightly calamities have DESTROYED
all my men. have lost my children
and my husband. and since then have
been In great distress. These sheer
- are all that possess. let them drink
fof live on the milk that they pro.
duce. Pity my forlorn state. have
no one 10 tend them. Therefore grant
my duplication and Of thy klndnes,
let them drink But In this case the
brutal slace. 20 far from granting this
humble request. smote the woman e
the ground"
A like scrimmage has taken place a
the well In the triangle Of Arabia be.
tween the Bedoun shepherds and
Moses championing the cause OF IN,
seven daughters who had driven theli
fathers nocks to the watering On,
Of these girls. zIpporah. her nam,
meaning little bird" was fascinated
BY this heroic behavior Of Moses: foi
however timid woman herself may be
she always admires courage In a man
ZIpporah became the bride Of Moses
one Of the mightlest men Of all IN,
centuries. Zlpporah little thought tina
that morning as she helped drive he
fathers hocks 10 the we'll. she wa
aplendldly deciding her own destiny
Had she stayed In the tent or hous,
while the other six daughters OF IN,
shelk tended 10 their herds. her IN
would probably have been a tame an,
"A uneyentful lie In the solliudes Bu
= her industry. her fidelity 10 her father
interest. her spirit Of helpfulnes
brought her into league with one o
the grandest characters Of an history
They met at that famous well anu
while she admired the courage OF Nose
he admired the hlial behavior Of ZIP
porah
The fact that Il took the sevel
daughters 10 drive the iocks to IN
well implies that they were lmmens
foeks and that her father was maj
of wealth. What was the use Of ZIP
porah's bemeanlng henaelf with worI
when she might have recllned on IN
hillside near her fathers tent, an
plpckcd buttercups, and dreamed on