The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1912-08-09

@ &sI NDIINyMeCs N.Y. n.y.
erring accuracy, ascending higher and
higher until at last he reached the
mountain aerie, the lonely hermitage
where he made his home. There he
reveled in his isolation. What had
been punishment, expiation, had at
last become pleasure.
Civilization was bursting through
the hills in every direction, railways
were being pushed hither and thlther'
the precious metals were being dis
covered at various places and after
them came boards of men and with
them-God save the mark-women;
but his section of the country had
hitherto been unvisited even by hunt
ers, explorers, miners or pleasure
seekers. He was glad, as he had
grown to love the spot where he had
made his home, and he had no wish to
be forced, like little Joe, to move on.
Once a man who loved the strife,
noble or ignoble, of the madding
crowd. he had grown accustomed to
silence, habituated to solitude. Winter
and summer alike he roamed the
mountains, delving into every forest,
exploring every hidden canyon, sur
mounting every inaccessible peak; no
storm, no snow, no condition OF wind
or weather daunted him or stopped
him. He had no human companion.
ship by which to try bis mettle. but
nevertheless over the world of the
material which lay about him he was
master as he was man.
He found some occupation, too, IN
the following of old Adams inherit
ance; during the pleasant months OF
summer he made such garden as he
could. His profession of mining en-
gineer gave him other employment.
Round about him lay treasures Ines.
timable, precious metals abounded In
the hills. He had located them, tested.
analysed, estimated the wealth that
was his for the taking-it was as val.
ueless to him as the doubloons and
golden guineas were to Selkirk on his
island. Yet the knowledge that it was
there gave him an energizing sense OF
potential power, unconsciously enorm.
ously flattering to his self-esteem.
Sometimes he wandered to the ex-
IRENE verge of the range and on clear
days saw far beneath him the smoke
of great cities of y the plains. He
could be master among men as he was
master among mountains, if he
chose. On such occasions he laughed
cynically, scornfully, yet rarely did
he ever give way to such emotions.
A great and terrible sorrow was
upon him; cherishing great passion
he had withdrawn himself from the
common lot to dwell upon it. From
a perverted sense Of expiation, in a
madness of grief, horror and despair.
he had made himself prisoner to his
ideas In the desert of the mountains.
Back to his cabin he would hasten.
and there surrounded by his living
Observation-Disclosures, yet of the dead!
he would recreate the past urtil de-
lection droye him abroad on the hills
to meet God If not manor woman.
Night-day, sunshine-shadow. heat-cold,
storm.calm; these were his life.
: Having disburdened his faithful ami
mails of their packs and having seen
them safely bestowed for the winter
in The corral he had built near the
base of the cliff upon which his rude
home was situated, he took his rifle
one morning for one of those lonely
walks across the mountains from
which he drew such comfort because
he ''ancied the absence of man con-
duced to the nearness of God. 1t was
a delusion as old nearly as the Chris
tan religion. Many had made them
selves hermits in the past in remorse
for sin and for love toward God; this
man had buried himself in the wilder
ness in part for the first Of these
causes, in other part for the love of
woman. In the days of swift and sud-
den change he had been constant to a
remembrance, and abiding in his de-
termination for five swift moving
years. The world for him had stopped
its progress in one brief moment five
years back-the rest was silence.
What had happened since then out
yonder where people were mated he
did not know and he did not greatly
care.
In his visits to the settlements he
asked no questions. he bought no pa
pers. he manifested no interest in
the world; some things in him had
died in one fell moment, and there
had been. as yet. no resurrection. Yet
life, hope, and ambition do not die,
they are indeed eternal. Resurgam!
Life with its tremendous activities,
its awful anxieties, its wearing strains,
its rare triumphs. its opportunities
for achievement, for service: hope
with It's Nominations, its encourage
ments, It's expectations, ambition
with its stimulus, its force, its power;
and greatest of all, love, itself alone
all three were latent In him. In touch
with a woman these had gone. Some
thing as powerful and as human must
bring them back.