Kootenai County Republican. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1899-1903, 1899-08-25


his and the voices ceased. There was q
awful darkness.
Some one stammered ont:
''Great heavens. he must boz
The squatter put his arm round my
waist az il to steady me and spoke in
voice that shook: .'Have courage, my
boy. God never deserted q man yet
when he was in trouble =
felt warm glow steal all over me-
I heard the '.crick. crick. 'crick' Of
grasshopper that fanatical sub worship
er, and knew that the sun shone high
In the heavens again-aye. high and
bright in the blue heavens. but not for
Me-not for me.
80 God, have mercy upon mei'' l
cried in my agony. falling upon my
knees
For knew now that he had laid his
hand upon ne-that had been struck
stcne blind.
could hear the "crick. crick. crick"
Of the grasshopper as 1t gloricd in its
existence, basking in the suns hot rays
could hear million living things
that had been for months parched and
dead. like the grains Of wheat In an
Egyptian tomb. spring into full and
joyous resurrection under the influence
OF that reviving rain. Some light heart
ed bird broke into glorious rhapsody
Of song. There was whir and muir
muir in the balmy air ~ nature awoke
refreshed from her long winter sleep
l could hear the splash and tho ripple
of hundreds Of little waterfalls and
miniature rivulets as they fell from the
cliffs and coursed down the sides Of the
valley to make freshet In the sadly
exhausted creek. l knew that In obedi-
ence to Gods immutable laws thou
sands Of fairylike and beautiful tokens
of his presence w-r. sprinsinx into life
70 play their parts In the grand scheme
Of creation. There were a freshness and
an earthly pleasant smell In the air
There was general rejoicing and
thanksgiving OF all living things In
God own wondrous world. But there
were only the blackness and horror Of an
eternal night resting over me.
"Blind Blind Blindi"
My OH tlc SIOuu0 WucEc uHl buuk
down when the consciousness Of my lost
sight had flashed upon me and for
awhile remained buried in my own
thoughts | was conscious that some
one had placed b 4 on my uncovered
head and held ons Of my hands. This
person. whoever he was. extended to
me what then was the sincerest form of
sympafhy-an uninterrupted period Of
silence. Then somehow. as II some good
spirit had come to my aid. l seemed to
hear the notes and words Of one OF Han
dels sublimest songs. II know that my
Redeemer liveth. 1T is the will Of
God." l told myself II will be- true to
my better self nowi'
The sun shone fercely down again.
and felt the rigor Of his rays
Take me into the shade, II you
please. It's rather hot here. don't you
lhink7" said. feebly stretching out
ny hands like child cropping in the
dark
Some one seized me by the arm and
remarked.
That's right. old man. know it's
all very well for me to talk. but M
glad to see You take it like that-it's
the sure sign Of a brave man" And he
led me to the shade
While l swallowed morsel Of food
and drank some tea that Clements in
sisted on my taking learned that II
was the survey party which accompa
MED the squatter. They had run out Of
rations when defining the 1873 degrees
Of east longitude. and had taken the
opportunity Of the squatter pilotage to
take their pack horses into tbs Mac
arthur fer fresh supplies. 1t was for
tuitons circumstance. AZ. perhaps. 1t
may be as well to show at this stage Of
the story.