Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-07-26

for the most Of their length i'm Texas
ran between wide. low, flat lands o V
cred by a dense growth of willow.
Cottonwood, mesquite. prickly pear,
and other growths mingled with the
willow, and altogether they made a
matted, tangled copse, a thicket that an
inexperienced man would have consid-
cred "impenetrable. From above. these
wild brakes looked green and red;
from the inside they We're gray and yell
, Iowa striped wall. Trails and glades
were scarce. There were a few deer
runways and sometimes little paths
made by peccaries-the jabali, or void
pigs. of Mexico. The ground WAS clay
and unusually dry. sometimes baked so
hard hat it left no imprint of a track.
Where Il growth of cottonwood had
held back the e~ncroachment of the
willows there usually was thick grass
short. slender poles with stems so
close together that they almost touched,
and with the leafy foliage forming Il
thick covering.
The depths of this brake Duane had
penetrated was Il silent, dreamy,
the light was wierd and dim. When IL
breeze fiuttered The foliage, then slend-
er shafts and spears of sunshine
pierced the green mantle and danced
like gold on the ground.
Duane had always felt the strange
ness of this kind of place, and likewise
he had lelt Il protecting harboring
something which always seemed to him
to be the sympathy of the brake for
Il hunted creature. Any unwounded
creature, strong and resourceful, was
safe when he had elided under the
covert 1t was not hard to conceal
tracks: the springy soil gave forth no
sound; and men could hunt each other
for weeks, pass within a few yards
of each other and never know it. The
problem of sustaining life was diff
cult; but, then, hunted men and
animals survived on very little.
Duane wanted to cross the river if
That was possible. and, keeping in the
brake, worked his way upstream till
he had reached country more hospit-
able. Remembering what the mar nae
his doubts about crossing. But he
would take any chance to put the river
between him and his hunters. He
pushed on. His left arm had to be
favored. as he could scarcely move it.
Using his right to spread the willows.
made fast time. There were narrow
alsles and washes and holes low down
and paths brushed by animals, all of
which he took advantage OF, running,
walking. crawling, STOPPING n way
to get along. To keep in a straight line
was not easy-he did it by marking
some bright sunlit stem OF tree ahead,
when he reached it looked straight
on to mark another. His progress
necessarily grew slower, for as he adj
vanced the brake became wilder,
denser. darker. Mosquitoes began to
whine about his head. He kept on
without pause. Deeping shadows under
the willows told him that the afternoon
was far advanced. He began to fear
he had wandered in a wrong direction.
Finally a strip OF light ahead relieved
his anxiety. and after a toilsome pene-
tratlon OF still denser brush he broke
through to the bank of the river.
He faced a wide. shallow, muddy
stream with brakes on the Opposite
bank extending like a green and yellow
wall. Duane perceived at a glance the
futility Of his trying to cross at this
point. EVERYWHERE the sluggish water
laved quickstand bars. In fact. the bed
of the river was all quickstand, and
very likely there was not a foot of
water anywhere. He could not swim;
he could not crawl; he could not push
a log across. Any solid thing touching
that smooth yellow sand would be
grasped n sucked down. To prove
this he seized a long pole and. reaching
down from the high bank. thrust it into
the stream. Right there near shore
there apparently vas no bottom to the
~treacherous q%uicksand. He abandoned
any hope of crossing the river. Prob
ably for miles up and down it would
be just the same as here. Before leav-
ing the bank he tied his hat upon the
pole and lifted enough water to quench
his thirst. Then he worked his way
back to where thinner growth made adj
vancement easier. and kept on up
stream till the shadows We're so deep
ne could not see. Feeling around for a
place hig enough to stretch out on, he
down. Fo the time being he was
as safe there as he would have been
beyond in the Rim Rock. He was tired.
though not exhausted land in spite of
the throbbing pain in his arm he
dropped at nee into sleep.