The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1898-05-15

M1Qlanlte Snelk ana priest was 81 ASA
tunate as to 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 ana
then pull them up. the water plashlng
On the stones and chilling their feet,
and the troughs are filled. VINO is
that man out there sitting unconcerned
and looking on? 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 to cool a little
in the brimming trough Of the well
than some rough Bedouin shepherds
break in upon the scene. and with CLUBS
and shouts drive back the animals tnat
were drinking, and alright these girls
until they fly in retreat, and the hocks
of these ill-mannered shepherds are
driven to the troughs. taking the places
of the other fiocks. Now that man
sitting by the well begins to color up,
and his eye flashes with Indignation,
and all the gallantry Of his nature is
aroused. II is Moses, who naturally
had quick temper anyhow, as he DEM
onstrated on one occasion when he
saw an Egyptian expressing an Israel
ite and gave the Egyptian sudden
clip and buried him in the sand. and
as he showed afterward when he broke
all the Ten Commandments at once by
shattering the two granite slabs on
which the law was written. But the
injustice Of this treatment of the seven
| girls sets him on fire with wrath. and
he takes this shepherd by the throat.
and pushes back another shepherd till
he falls over the trough. and aims
i stunning blow between the eyes OF an
other, as he cries. "Begone, you vii
lains!" and he boots and roars at 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 sheik to gather their fiocks
together and bring them again to the
watering.
o, you ought to see a fight between
the shepherds at a well in the Orient
as I saw it in December, 1890. There
were here a group of rough men who
mad driven the cattle many miles. and
here another group who had driven
their cattle as many miles. Who
should have precedence? Such clash
ing of buckets! Such hooking of horns!
Such kicking of hoofsl Such vehe-
mence in a language l fortunately could
not understand Now the sheep with a
peculiar mark across their woolly backs
were at the trough. and now the sheep
, | Of Of tho
most exciting scenes l ever witnessed.
An old book describes one of these
conteHtions at an eastern we'll when II
says: "One day the poor men, the
widows and the orphans met together
and were driving their camels and their
fiocks to drink, and were all standing
by the water-side. Dali came up and
stopped them all, and took possession
of the water for his masters cattle
Just then an old woman belonging &c
the tribe of Abs came up and accosteC
3 him in a suppliant manner saying, BE
! so good, Master Dali, as to let my cattle
r drink They are all the property
' possess and l live by their milk. PITT
e my flock, have compassion on me
!, Grant my request and let them drink.
j Then came another old woman and ad
p dressed him: oh, Master Dali am
poor, weak old woman as you see
: Time has dealt hardly with me- II ha
e aimed its arrows at me. and its dali.
: and nightly calamities have destroys
e all my men. l have lost my childrel
v and my husband, and since then hav
been in great distress. These shee
are all that possess Let them drink
Ia for live on the milk that they pre-
l. duce. Pity my forlorn state. l hav
le no one to tend them. Therefore ESan
Is my supplication and of thy kindnes
IN let them drink But in this case tn
n brutal slace. so far from granting thi
Il humble request. smote the woman [
n the ground"
a A like scrimmage has taken place
e. the well in the triangle OF Arabia b,
u tween the Bedouin shepherds an
in Moses championing the cause of n
as seven daughters who had driven the
It. fathers locks to the watering. Or
ne Of these girls. Zipporah. her nan
ts meaning little bird" was fascinate
as by this heroic behavior OF Moses; Il
5e however timid woman herself may b
va she always admires courage in a ma
.ic Zipporah became the bride Of Nose
q one Of the mightiest men OF all n
"a centuries. Zipporah little thought TIL
,n- that morning as she helped drive h,
- fathers f1ocks to the well, she ",
"a. splendidly deciding her own destin
q Had she stayed in the tent or hou
81 while the other six daughters Of Il
sheik tended to their herds. her II
would nrohahIv have haeu tar,. -.
'se uneventful life in the solitudes. b
rk her industry, her fidelity to her father
sh interest, her spirit OF helpfulne
IN brought her into league with one
he the grandest characters OF all histor