The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-03-18

In the morning light, vast, silent,
mysterious; vast, with the vastness
Of the sky; silent, with the silence Of
the grave mysterious. with q myst-
cry no man has ever iathomcd. He
stretched out his arms and brcathed
great draughis Of the fresh, cool air,
II filled his body with d new life and
vigor. like strong wine. He was not
appalled, by the yastness, nor the NJ.
lcncc, nor the mystery. lie reveled
In Il, lived In Il, and was glad to be
alive in it--and yet he did not know
how glad he was.
But the sun had arisen, and the
morning eoolness was giving way to
the awful heat Of the day. and he
must make the mountains by night at
any cost, for there and nj no place
between was there water 10 be had.
So he turned back TO his camp by the
spring. whose waters tricklcd from
between two huge boulders.
~ he prepared his simple meal oi
.bacon and coffee. he talked 10 bis
two travelling companions, one sol
emn-eyed burro, the other still
more solemn.cyed black cat The
former he had purchased for the
small sum Of SIS, the latter he had
found wandering about the desert.
hali-s,arved and II had followed him
abou, on his wsndcrings ever since.
These three were great friends.
more friendly than man can ever be.
come 70 his beast In civilization; for
the three travelled together day after
day without seeing another living
thing except the wild animals OF the
desert and mountain, They knew
hardship and suffering together. and
each bore II in his own way; the
burro always silent, plodding. imper.
turbablei the cat with many a protest;
and the man with cool seli-relianee
and judgement.
The little mouse .colorcd burro and
the big black cat knew more OF the
thoughts and life aud dreams OF this
stalwart, sunburnt master OF theirs
than ever did wife know OF her hus-
band or girl oi her sweetheart.
Day in and day out they listened to
his talk Of his past life, Of his present,
and what he hoped OF the future. Al.
ways they listened In silence, like
Indian braves around council fire,
making no comments, yet always
with attention.
The eats name was Satan the
burro's Patience" and the mans
Rober, Page, and the big, eight-inch
Colts revolver Mt his side he called
Prudence"
Robert Page had come from the
East two years before, broken in
health. and with little money He
had regained his health. aud was now
looking for his fortune. Two years
Of prospecting in the deserts Of Cali
fornia had Strengthened out his six
feet OF manhood, until now one could
hardly realize him 10 be the same
frail piece OF humanity who had ar
rived there two years before.
Breakfast over, he fed the scraps
so Satan, and packing his outfit on
tM back OF Patience, he filled his two
canteens at the spring and the jour
ney began.
On they plodded: the man with his
eyes ever alert for mineral signs; the
burro, solemn and imperturbable; the
cat with the swinging trot Of It's kind.
But Satan was not made Of the same
tough fiber as the other two, and soon
he began TO lag behind. At this,
Page paused and helped the big cat
to a seat on his own shoulders, where
Satan sat in perfect ease, occasionally
tapping Pages ear with playful
paw. But after awhile Page began
to weary of the burden on his shoul-
der, and Satan was transferred to the
back OF Patience, who acknowledged
the added weight by a shake Of the
head that made her long ears crack
like a pistol shot,
Thus they travelled all day, suffer-
ing from the great heat exhaustion,
and thirst, for the water gave out at
4 o'clock; but always the lure Of gold
kept up their courage.
II was dark when they reached the
spring at the foot OF Sager's Peak.
Page thew himself on the ground and
drank with long, gurgling draughts. +
Patience buried her muzzle to the
eyes in the cool liquid and seemed to
breathe in the water, while Satan
sought the far end OF the spring and
Tapped up the water in a more gentle
manly manner keenino distrue etful |