The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1912-07-13

mountain aer1e, the lonely LII ~
where he made his home. Inere ne
reveled in his isolation. what hau
been punishment, explatlon, nao d.
last become pleasure.
Civilization was bursting through
the hills in every direction, railways
were being pushed hither ana Enltnei'
the precious metals were DelhS uie
covered at various places and altsi
them came boards OF men ana VIII
them-God save the mark-Wo1hen,
but his section Of the country hau
hitherto been unvisited even by huhe-
ers, explorers, miners or pleasure
seekers. He was glad, as ne hau
grown to love the spot Where ne Hau
made his home, and he had no WISH "
be forced like little Joe, 10 move oi
Once a man who loved the str1te'
noble or ignoble, of the maoulns
crowd, he had grown accustomed "
silence, habituated to solitude WINTER
and summer alike he roamed tne
mountains, delving into every FOREST
exploring every hidden canyon, sur
mounting every inaccessible peak; no
storm, no snow, no condition OF vino
or weather daunted him or stopped
him He had no human companion
shin by which to try his mettle, but
nevertheless over the world OF the
material which lay about him ne was
| master as he was man.
He found some occupation, too, ID
the following of old Adams inherit
ance: during the pleasant months OF
summer he made such garden as ne
could. His profession OF mining en-
gineer gave him other employment.
Round about him lay treasures ines
timable, precious metals abounoed III
| the hills. He had located them, tested,
analyzed, estimated the wealth tna1
was his for the taHng-it was as val
ueless to him as the doubloons and
golden guineas were to Selkirk on his
island Yet the knowledge that 1t was
there gave him an energizing sense OF
potential power, uncons ciously enorm-
ously fattering to his self-esteem.
/ Sometimes he wandered to the ex-
IRENE verge Of the range and On Gear
4 DAYS saw far beneath him the smoke
/ Of great cities Of the plains. lie
could be master among men as he was
a master among mountains, II ne
chose. On such occasions he laughed
cynically, scornfully, yet rarely ola
he ever give way to such emotions
A great and terrible sorrow was
upon him; cherishing a great passion
he had withdrawn himself from the
common lot to dwell upon it. From
a perverted sense Of expiration, in
madness Of grief, horror and despair
he had made himself a prisoner to MS
ideas in the desert of the mountains
Back to his cabin he would hasten
and there surrounded by his living
: emories-deathless yet OF the dead
he would recreate the past UNTIL de
, lection drove him abroad on the h1il
to meet God if not manor woman
, Night-day, sunshine-shadow, heat-colo
! storm-calm; these were his life.
t Having disburdened his faithful an
+ mails of their packs and having seel
r them safely bestowed for the Wlnte
/ in The corral he had built near tn
: base of the cliff upon which his ruo
j. home was situated, he took MS TIN
n one morning for one of those lionel
walks across the mountains Irol
which he drew such comfort becaus
he cancied the absence of man col
duced to the nearness Of God. 1t wa
a delusion as old nearly as the Chris
e tian religion. Many had made tnen
J. selves hermits in the past in remors
# for sin and for love toward God; I'M
(. man had buried himself in the wilde
d ness In part for the first of thes
IS causes, in other part for the love
70 woman. In the days OF swift ana SUI
IS den change he had been constant to
a. remembrance, and abiding in his d
u termination for five swift mov1n
s years. The world for him had stoppe
it its progress in one brief moment fls
b. years back-the rest was silenc
it What had happened since then OF
ID yonder where people were mated 1
se did not know and he did not great
care.
Is In his visits to the settlements I
It. asked no questions, he bought no
le pers, he manifested no interest
lie the world; some things in him NJ
sy died in one fell moment, and the
In had been, as yet, no resurrection. 7
1t life, hope, and ambition do not d
Us they are indeed eternal. Resurgan
IN Life with It's tremendous aetiyltle
er it's awful anxieties, Its wearing strair
Il it's rare triumphs, its opportunltl
IN for achievement, for service; no
ne with its illuminations, its eneourat
re ments, its expectations, ambiti
/ with it's stimulus, its force, its poWe
IN and greatest of all, love, itself alone
IN all three We're latent in him. In tou
ne with woman these had gone, Son
1t thing as powerful and as human MI
~ bring them back.
be It was against nature that m
lowered as he should SC live to nj
ed self alone. Some voice should CRY
he his soul in IFS cerements Of futile
It's morse, vain expfations and benumbi
IT ,, -t ~,