The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1906-09-22

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Silently the people gathered their
grief-stricken countenance of their
leader. and no man burst ask him
why, for they knew instinctively that
1t was the bestial conduct OF the
slumbering Israelites that troubled
him.
Joshua had stood at his side when
he had tried to arouse one of the fell
lows without success. The only re-
sponse he could get was for the fell
low to sweep his arms about as
though In the act OF catching more
quail, and then lifting to his mouth
the half-eaten bird which he still
grasped in his hand and taking an.
other bite OF the flesh and munching
1t slowly, as he dropped off into anoth-
er deep slumber. And Joshua had noted
the look of deep aversion and dis.
gust with which Moses had turned
away from the scene, and as they
reached the borders of the camp and
began to gather the mama, lying
round and white all about upon the
grass and bushes, he ventured the re-
mark:
Shall we destroy them even as we
did those who turned from God at
Mount Sinai, and would not obey
when the golden calf was destroyed?'
| Moses shook his head sadly, and
for some minutes did not speak. Then,
turning and sweeping his hand to-
wards the place in the camp where
tho an,idct n hama
of birds, he said, slowly:
God has abandoned them to their
lust, and should we act as judges in
his behalf? Nay, rather must we
abide the time when their lust shall
have come to the full. Verify, the
people will bring upon themselves
some dreadful thing by their inor-
dinate indulgence"
That day and for many days there
with the flesh of the quail. No longer
did the people go forth as on former
days for the mama which God so
faithfully provided each morning; all
save those who had not utterly aban-
doned themselves to the lust of the
flesh and had not forgotten that God
would have them eat of his mama
from heaven.
"Ho, no." they said, why should
the slumbers of the morning be
broken by this ,distasteful task Of
gathering the mama. We have tired
of that sickening food, and now we
have flesh to eat, and that in abund-
ance, we will not gather mama,
neither will we eat of 1t any more"
And so it was that there soon came
to be marked division among the
people. Those who following the
lead of Moses went daily to the out
the mama, but that invigorating fell
lowship which comes from reliance
upon God and doing his will, and
those who gave themselves up to the
appetites and lusts and fed to the full
upon the flesh which they had gath
cred.
Thus matters stood In the camp of
Israel when one day 1t was rumored
that sickness had broken out among
the people Moses went out to inves-
tigate and he found that there were
indeed those who were Ill, but when
he admonished them to give up their
evil ways and turn to the Lord, they
/ spurned him, saying:
What would you have us do? Re-
turn to the diet OF mama? Rather
would we die with the quail between
our teeth than starve to death because
we have nothing but mama"
So 1t Is ever with the soul that has
given itself utterly to the gratiffca-
ton Of the fleshly desires. 1t does
not seem that anything else can ever
satisfy but that which feeds the gross
er desires, and so there is the cling
ing to that which means certain dis
ease and death, and the turning from
that which would give life and health
and satisfaction.
AS the days went by the sickness
like scourge swept through the
camp, and the stricken ones, no long
err able to eat of the flesh which now
they loathed, begged succor of those
who daily gathered the mama, but as
each household had only for Its own
needs, they were powerless to help.
Again Moses pleaded with them
that they rise and gather the mama
for themselves, but the people would
not, for as soon as they began to
get better, having refrained from par
taking of the flesh. they again chose
the quail, saying that they could not
eat the mama aud live.
Discouraged and saddened, Moses
withdrew, realizing that 1t was use
less for him to further appeal to the
people to turn to the Lord, but that
he must let the sin of the people run
its course. Soon death was stalking
through the camp of Israel, and with
grim hand was claiming the people by
the scores and the hundreds. Whole
families were wiped out and the por-
ton OF Israel that had refrained from
eating the flesh to the full, and had
gathered the daily portion of mama
were forced to bear the dead to their
graves and bury them.
i But among those dying hosts of II
rael there were some who turned to
the Lord in their extremity, and who,
although sick, and wan and weak.