The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-02-14

thousand times ne passed through the
tickle rocks TO the free, heaving deep
for salmon and cod, thereto compelled
by the inland waste, which contributes
nothing to the sustenance OF the men
of that coast. Hunger, lurking In the
shadows Of days 10 come, inexOrably
drove him into the chances Of the con-
fiict. PerfoTce he matched himself
10000 times against the restless might
Of the sea, immeasurabte and unre-
strained, surviving the gamut Of its
moods because he was great in
strength, feariessnsss and cunning. He
weathered 400 gales, from the gray
gusts which come down between Quid
NuUc and the Man-o'- War, Ieapinz
upon the fleet, to the summer tempests.
swift and black, and the first billiards
Of winter He was wrecked off the
Nun, of the Three Poor Sisters, on the
Pancake Rock, ana again on the Null.
Seven times he was swept to sea BIZ the
OfT-shOre wind. Eighteen times he was
frozen to the seat of his punt: and OF
these. eight times his feet were frozen,
and thrice his feseered right hand. All
this he suffered, and m~re, Of which I
may set down SIX separate periods Of
starvation, in which thirty-eight men,
women and children died-alI this with
all the toll, cold, despair, loneliness,
--@--t1~As pm 1---eA As-@~
in contained.
And so he came down to old age
with a bent back, shrunken arms and
hlmy eyes-0ld Solomon's Stride, now
prey for the young sea But, OF an
evening in spring. ne sat with Priscilla
on the sUnken bench at the door, and
talked hopefully of the fish he would
catch from this punt.
Priscilla, dear" said he, rubbing his
hand over his weazened thigh. Il be
thinkin US punt fishermemll have "a
Priscilla was not attending; she was
looking into the shadows above the
barbor water. dreaming deeply Of a
mystery Of the Book, which had long
puzzled her; SO. in silence. Solomon,
too. watched the shadows rise and sui
lenIy hang between the great rocks.
Solomon, by" size whispered, 4
wonder what the seven thunders ut
tered"
IT'S quare, that-what the seven
thunders uttered" said solomon. "fy,
woman but 'tisY'
An he set his right foot upon the
sea- she repeated, staring over the
grazing water To the clouds which
famed glOriOusly at he edge Of the
world. an his left foot on the
cath"
=" An cried with a loud voice, said
he, whispering in awe, 8 as when a lion
TOaTeth; an when he had cried, seven
thunders uttered their voices
Seven thunders uttered their
voices said she; an when the sew
en- thunders had uttered their voices, I
was about to write, an I heard a voice
from heaven sayin' unto me, Seal up
those things which the seven thunders
uttered, an write them not 3"
The wind from the wilderness, cold
and black, covered the hills with mist:
the dusk fell. and the glory faded from
the heights.
"Oh, Solomon she said, clasping her
hands. Il wonder what the seven thun-
ders uttered! Think you. by, twas the
kind o. sins that can't be forgiven
''Sh-h-h. dear" he said. patting her
gray head; ''thinkin' on they things Il
capsize an you don't look out"
An seven thunders uttered their
voices" she said dreamily.
"Sh-h-h, dear!" said he. Leave US
goa in"
Twenty-one years longer old solomon
Stride fished out Of Ragged Harbor- He
put to sea FIVE thousand times more,
weathered two hundred more gales,
survived FIVE more famines-alI in the
toll for salmon and cod. He was a punt
fisherman again, was old Solomon; for
the nets Of the trap had rOtted. and had
been renewed six times, strand 0y
strand, and had rotted at last beyond
repair What with the weather ne
dared not pit his failing strength
against. the return Of fish TO Luke Dart
fell off from year to year; but, as Solo
mon said to Luke, ''livin' expenses KEEP
up wonderful" Notwithstanding
Il be so used t luxuries, he went on,
running his hand through his long gray
hair. that 'twould be hard L come
down t common Twin Sure, tits sugar
I wants Z me tea-nOt blacksstrap. Ills
what / Earned" he added proudly,
when / were a trap fisherman"
'"Tis all right, solomon" said Luke
MANY the quintal o fish you traded
with me-"
sure" Solomon chuckled; 'twould
take q year { count un.''
In course of time It came to the end Of
SolOmon's last season-thOse days of
il when. as the folk Of the coast say,
the sea is hungry for hves-and the
man was 81 years old and the debt
10 Luke Dart had crept up TO S230.S so.
The 0ffshore wind rising suddenly,
with q blizzard in its train, caught him
alone on the Graphing Hook grounds.
He was old, very old-Old and feeble
and dull; the cold numbed him; the
snow blinded him; the wind made sport
Of the strength of his arms He was
carried out to sea, rowing doggediy,
thinking ali the time that he was draw
ing near the harboF tickle; for il did
not occur 10 him tnen that the last Of
eight hundred gales could be too great
for him. He was carried out from the
sea. where the strength of his youth
40 20 49,
been a mystery 10 him all his days.
That night he passed on a pan OF ice,
where ne burned his boat, splinter by
splinter. to keep warm. At dawn ne
lay down TO die.
The snow ceased. the wind changed;
the ice was carried 10 Ragged HarDor.
EleazaT Manual spied the body of SOLO
mon from the lookout and put out and
brought him in-revived him and took
him homie 10 Priscilla. Through the
winter the old man doddered about the
harb0F. dying of consumption. When
the tempered days came-the days Of
balmy sunshine and cold evening
winds-he came quickly to the pass CT
glittering visions, which, for such as
die Of the lung trouble. come at the
end Of life.
In the spring when the Lucky Star,
three days out from Root Bay. nut
into Ragged HarbOr to trade fer the
first catch. old Skipper Luke Dart was
abroad, making his last voyage TO the
Shore; for he was very Old. and Ionged
once more TO see the rocks OF all that
coast before he made ready to die
When he came ashore, Eleazar Manuel
told him that Solomon Stride lay dying
a home; so the skipper went to the
cottage under the Man-o'- War To say
goodby 20 his old customer and friend
and there found him propped up in
bed. staring at the sea.
skipper Luke" solomon quavered,
in deep excitement. "be you just come
In h'ygw