The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1900-06-14
" into the life Of hi. fellow. Among

pathy. no overt act of kindness, but
in their very sunenness was that grim
NEST of all sacrifices, each man en-
during in stole silence in order that he
might not intrude his own sutferings
upon his already overcrowded neigh
Dor. The clinching of the lips to sup
press groan when one Ia thirst-mad-
dened may require more heroism than
facing n cannon with flags flying and
drums beating, inasmuch as "he that
ruleth his own spirit is greater than
he that taketh city,
At last one day the Mtssourian gave
out utterly. He was not of the cow
boy build in the first place, but his
splendid horsemanship and enthusiasm
had induced Wilson, the boss, or
yankee Bill" as he was called, to take
him on. In his delirium he lay and
cried for water, day and night. He
blubbered and begged for water, and
called upon the names OF those he had
known in his childhood. Every man
went about his own business, which
WAS largely the formulating OF fervent
and eloquent oaths anent the heat,
the drought and the delay: and aP-
parently no one heard his cries. Water
was the one thing he wanted, and the
one thing he could not get, so, after
they had put his boots under his head
TO make him comfortable, they let him
alone. Under ordinary circumstances
| n Mssourian more or less was OF no
great consequence TO "Yankce Bill"
but this break in the ranks shattered
the last vestige of hope. Whatever
mny have been done after that in the
effort to keep up their spirits was mere
bravado, for ench man foresnw the
end.
The Missourian had been . quiet
eor. in the camp. and no one had ever
heard him talk much, but now he
talksd necessarily in the soft, thick
drawl OF the south. And always or
home scenes, the memories Of boyhood
that whetted the edge Of their tor
ture till IL was beyond all enduring.
Vow ne was fishing along some stream
and swearing in round terms at some
~fat-headed nigger" for soaring the
Ash; now he was In school struggling
With some problem he could never
solve beyond "carry seven" Always
cohercnt enough to call up memories
IN their own minds of . youth, mis-.
spent 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
of beyond ear-shot, but while every
ono would have been glad TO have II
done, no man could do 1t himself. Their
horny hands had grown gentle In their
ministering touches.
Escape wns long since out Of the
question. for the horses were worse of
than tho men, not one Of them could
carry q saddle, much less rider. Each
man had saved q last charge IN his
revolver, moving that thas perhaps
would b their only dsliveranoe from
. death too horrible TO mama All but
sEsst- Side" who, when q decision had
d b made between himself and his
Aorse, had led her ont behind a little
occiivity and put his last chsrge
through her game little heart Nov
no must make his exit IN some othes
way, n ne would let his disembodied
spirit pass on unincumbered by q sun
parched frame. Tho knife he carried
In HIS boot was . miserable hack m
a thing, At only for shaving tobacco
or chunking bacon. He felt q momen
tsry regret as ne ran his fingers along
it's Jagged edges that man with hi,
record should be obliged 20 make hf'
!. end with so mean weapon. The biz
Swede In moment Of madness hnt
raised his pistol as II II had been ,
Jug, saying: "Wal. boys, here's TO
wetter country!" But he had not shot
The cold iron seemed to cool the rash
ness Of his brain, and the mirage o
hope lured them on day farther.
, Aftsr the second dny the Missouri
! ans talk began 70 grow less, his raw
ing subsidized into weak, tncoheren
babbltng; at last IL ceased altogether
and he lay staring wide-eyed into th'
relentless sky. As they had dom
! everything elise, they did this silently
stnically. A shallow bed was scoopet
out and the canvas taken off th
wagon for q winding sheet Whe,
= the broken circle closed In troun1
the open grave, the boss cleared hi
y throat and said: "Boys, before we &
any farther, some one must make
prayer, sabe?"
They sabed, but although ever:
mans soul might be consumed with
' voiccless cry to some power abov
himself for the repose Of the departe'
soul, and release from a Nike fate
!. they were all dumb when confronte'
), by the thought Of taking the name @
God reverently. 1nstinctively the,
' turned 70 "East-Side."
'Tts your lead, 'East-Sids,'" the
said. And "East-Side,7 cropping blind
. ly backward toward the memories @
!. his youth, tried to recall something
. Of religious import Slowly throug
his desiccated brain percolated lin
from a church hymn: Greenland