Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-05-09

F*1W
Whatever may have been done after
that in the effort to keep up their spir.
its was mere bravado, for each man
foresaw the end. * ysSTsSS
eMissourian hadabeens q quiet
sort in the camp, aid no one had ever
heard him talk much, but now lie
talked necessarily in the soft, thick
drawl of the south. And always Of
home scenes, of the memories of boy
hood that whetted the edge of their
torture till it was beyond all endur-
ance. Now he was fishing along some
stream; now he was in school strug
Cling with some problem he could
never solve beyond carry seven.
Always coherent enough to call up
memories in their own minds of a
youth, misspent for the most part.
They could not move farther away
because they were camped under the
only shade in sight. They thought of
dragging him off beyond ear shot, but
while every one would have been glad
to have done it, no man could do it
himself. Their horny hands had grown
gentle in their ministering touches.
Escape was long since out of the
question, for the horses were worse
off than the men; not one of them
could carry saddle, muo :. ,ss rider.
Each man had saved last charge in
his revolver, knowing that that per-
haps would be their only deliverance
from death too horrib 70 to name.
ALI but EAST Side" who, when de-
cision had to be made between himself
and his horse, had led her out behind
alittle ACTIVITY and put his last charge.
through hsr game little heart. Now
lie must make his exit in some other
way, if he would let his disembodied.
spirit pass on unincumbsred by a sun,
parched frame. The knife he carried
in his boot was q miserable hack of
thing, fit only for sharing tobacco or
chnnking bacon. He felt momentary
regret as'he ran his fingers along its
Jagged edges that man with hisrecord
should be obliged to make his end
with so mean weapon. The big
Swede in moment of madness had
raised his pistol rs if it had been
Jug, saying: "Wal,, boys, here's to
wetter countryw But he had not
shot. The cold iron seemed to cool
the rashness Of his brain, and the mir
age of hope lured them on day far
ther.
After the second day the Missouri
ans talk began to grow less, his raving
subsided in weak, incoherent bab-
bling; ct last it ceased altogether, and
helay staring wide-eyed into the re-
ientless sky. AS they had done every
thing else, they did this silently, stole
ally. a shallow bed was scooped out
and the canvas taken off the wagon
for. winding sheet. When the
broken circle closed in around the
open grave, the boss cleared his throat
and said: '.Boys, before we go any
farther, some one must make prayer,
sabe?"1 -
- They sabed, but although every
mans soul might be consumed with, q
voiceless cry to some power above
himself for the repose of the departed
soul and release from. a. like fate, they
were all dumb when confronted by the
thought of taking the name. of God
Instinctiyely they turned
tos. 'East-Side. ses -
lifts your lend, 'East-Side," they
said. And "East-S-de, cropping
blindly backward toward the memo
ries OF his youth, tried to recall some-
thing Of, religious import. Slowly
through his desiccated brain percolated
q line from a church hymn, "Fron
Greenland's 10y Mountains" but al
though the thought was pleasant in
this burning DESERT the words were
not to the point-besides, that was all
he knew of ii. He shook his head
sorrowfully. SIN the beginning
he thought he had struck the right
lead there-"In the beginning, God
created But again he was stuck
and could 60 no further.
q: .'Lead up, Fast.Side!'" they urged.
Then the light broke. The backward
cropping had brought him down to the
days Of his childhood, to the words
his grandfather had been wont to say,
as with bowed heads, the family, to
the third and fourth generation, was
gathered around his table on Thanks
giving day. So, under the burning
sun, whose only shadow was cast by
the focks OF carrion birds that circled
above the remnant of the outfit, they
stood over the grave,ofy their dead
companion waiting for "a like fate, or
death by their OWN hands, to be torn
by coyotes perhaps before the breath
was out of2their bodies, the six gaunt
men with bowed, uncovered heads,
while ss'East-Side" pronounced in SOL
emn tones:
"Ob, Lord, for what, we are about
to receive make us. deyoutly thankful.
Amen. %.,.,
,Aprayer was prayer to east
Side Anything that began with
'tLord'' in reyerent terms and ended
with t'amenn was a prayer. His
grandfather had been godly man, and
he had said it, therefore it was appro-
pirate on this occasion. The effect
was the same upon The others, for the
words srnacked Of the ephraseology Of
the wandering exhorters they had
heard. S5s5 &
After the passing of The Missourian
there was even less to do; the men
were more taciturn with each other.
but there was noticeably less profanity