The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-08-05

broke up. Well remember AoH e1i0 '0HoS
fell together as If by magic and In an IN
credibly short time, the "trauvax" be-
gan crossing the Arkansas on trot
lodge poles laShed either side OIL
horse, butts on the ground and small ends
projecting in front like shafts, buftalo-hl1e
baskets or hurdles being stretched behind
the horse and between the poles, into
which were tunbled helter-skelter all the
beIonsings Of a family-pots. puppies and
pappooses. The thunderous splashing OF
the thousands OF ponies, the Wild shouts
of the drivers who were lurrying on the
column. the shr7ll shTieks of the squaws,
the piercing outcries of the children and
the deafening yelps Of the dogs-al con-
spired to make a scene OF Understandable,
and to you 1 fear inconceivable, uproar
and confusion. In place of all this, to-day.
there roll luxurious palace cars ana tne
loaded trains Of trans-continental tra1hc,
the telegraph and the telephone !nStan-
taneous fash the Thoughts OF men, ana
.ror the heir Of all the ages" the electric
light well-nigh fultills the prophecy-'there
shall be no night there"
HOW HE WAS BENEFITED.
But, delightful as it all was, like every
thing else in this world it necessarily came
10 an end / was not quite all delightful.
True, the one great object in subJectns
me to such a rough experience was fully
accomplished. 1 returned in perfect health
and Astounding Hgor. and have ever since
been a man of rather unusual muscular
strength and capable OF doing rather
unusual amount of hard work.
And then, too, gained much in charac-
ter. Being man in size or at least IN
height. l took from the start mans
place, taking my turn regularly with the
other men in the dangerous duty of stand
ing guard over the horses at night, and
in the discharge of every other duty of
the camp and the march. Indeed, it was
almost equal to the war for the develop
ment of hardy courage, selt-rellant- VlSor
and general manhood: and yet, important
as they are no one Of these is exactly the
lesson ] designed TO impress by this long
story. Let us see what that lesson is:
l was the son of Christian minister
and had been reared in atmosphere
deeply religious. In the general, too,
had been kept out Of bad company ana
knew but little of the grosser depravity OF
the world. 1t burst upon me like an INFER
nal revelation. I have already alluded to
the public discussions on the steamboat
between the yieist and the atheist.
Such discussions were frequent At the
time in all public conveyances, especially
through what was then known as the
Vest and when we got out beyond the
border" 1 was shocked to lind almost
every man 1 met a blatant unbeliever, pro-
fame. dissolute, debauched- Many Of them
seemed to have left civilization with urgent
reason. / remember that the barkeeper in
the one so-called ''hofel'' in Kansas City
or Cawtown, as it was then commonly
called, a boy but a little above my
own age, who had committed a hideous
crime in ST Louis and fed from justice,
all of which he boastnsiy contded to US.
Thus. while the cowboy had not yet been
evolved. his predecessor-trapper, hunter.
guide. mule OF OK driver as his convenience
or necessities might dictate or demand
was generally. to say the least. an utter
disbelieVer in revealed religion and a man
totally devoid of what we regard as .mor-
ais One enforced change in my habits,
that troubled me no little. was that. for
months, l did not kneel in prayer Neither
in camp nor on the road was there any
such thing as privacy. and it would have
been too much even for The hypocrite'' to
pray openly" in the presence of such
company.
THE WILD RIlVEI4
I do not remember how it happened. but
when we reached the Missouri River
the return trip / became separated from
the rest of our party. and got on a differ
ent boat for St. Louis. II was simply a
floating hell. The passengers. men and
women. were mostly half-breeds and more
than half-drlnk, and the wild reVel eN-
ceeded anything 1 had ever imagined. At
the dinner table one day a youth who had
been insufferably buIlied by a great
drunken brute. seized a. large bottle of
pepper-sauce AID felled him to the floor
with a blow. The ground glass and fiery
vinegar and streams of blood covered his
face and blinded his eyes. Instantly. two
parties confronted each ether with drawn
pistols. but those who espoused to the part
of the boy overawed the others who sought
10 kill him on the. soot-the boat was
made to head for the river bank and the
boy was put ashore, money, food and
clothing being furnished him.
I had applied early and been fortunate
in securing & state room. but there We're
two berths in it and I did not know who
my room-nlate might be- At early bed
time, the first evening Of the voyage, 1
entered my state room and closed the door,
not daring to lock it. I threw off my
outer clothing ana was Immediately con-
fronted by the question whether or not to
kneel and say my prayers. Here for the
first time In many months was a. bed to
kneel down by, and I felt more intense
desire and need than ever before for
close approach to God.
ON HIS KNEES ONCE MORE.
But for months past had prayed stand
ing, lying, walking, driving, why not do SO
NON? There Would certainly be an awk-
ward scene il my unknown companion
should come 10 the door-his door as wei
as na:ne-and ind himself shut out because
contracted TO admit of his entering while
l hnelt. Yet ! longed 10 kneel as well as
TO pray. l felt sure l ought to do it, ana
l did, but with my heart III my throat.
Just as l was beginning my prayer,
heard the heavy tread OF moccasined
foot coming up the saloon toward the
state-rocm, and my heart stood still as
the door was rudely opened and a mans
person thrust into the apartment eX-
pected, the next moment, to be treated to
rough kicks and volleys of oaths; but to
my infinite surprise and relief, the man
drew back, the door was gently closed and
he softened football retired down the
saloon. l doubt whether in my whole life
i ever experienced 4 greater reyulsion of
feeling Oh, how intensely I prayed and
how intensely I enjoyed it. Happier per-
haps than l had ever before been, and
more deeply sensible of the actual presence
of God, climbed UP into the upper berth,
feeling confident my companion was older
than I and entitled to the lower one.
] was too happy to sleep and IN few
moments heard the same footsteps again
approaching. this time with evident DELHI
Grafton. They stopped at the door. which
was cautiously opened, and seeing the