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The Golden Grain.
The grain ! the grain ! the beautiful grain!
llow it laughs to the breeze with a glad refrain,
Blessing the famishing earth in her pain.
The grain ! the grain ! the beautiful sheaves!
A song of joy their rustling weaves,
For the gracious gift that the earth receives.
From every hill side, every plain,
Comes the farmer’s song as he reaps the grain,
And the summer breeze wafts on the strain.
And so for the grain 1 the beautiful grain!
The golden, the laughing, with glad refrain,
Blessing the famishing earth in her pain.
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
JACK DOBELL; *
Or, A Boy’s Adventures in Texas.
A STORY FOR BOYS.
CHAPTER X.
SUFFERINGS FROM HUNGER AND THIRST —
WILD ANIMALS —MEXICANS AND INDIANS
—TURK’S HEADS —WATER AT LAST THE
COW AND CALF A SUPPER OF PIG’S MEAT
—SWIMMING THE GUADALUPE NARROW
ESCAPE FROM DROWNING.
f»'ECROSSIXG the Mana
huila creek, and night
coming on shortly after,
we encamped by the side
of a pool of water, in an
“ island ”of thick timber. By this
time we were suffering terribly
with hunger, nevertheless we man
u aged to sleep through the greater
portion of the night*
In the morning we again struck out
across the prairies, but owing to the rank
grass with which they were covered, and
our increasing weakness, our progress
was slow and painful.
To-day II found about a dozen wild
onions, which he divided with B and
myself, but the quantity was so small
that it appeared only to aggravate the
pangs of hunger. We also saw several
parties of marauding Mexicans or Indians,
but as they were on horseback, and we
were on foot, we always discovered them
before they came near enough to observe
us, and eluded them by secreting ourselves
in the high grass until they had passed.
At night we again encamped in a thick
piece of woods, bordering a small creek,
but we slept but little on account of our
sufferings from hunger, which had now
become excruciating. The next morning
B was so weak he could scarcely
walk three hundred yards without rest
ing, nevertheless, we pushed on as fast as
be could travel. A portion of the way
was over high rolling prairie, on which
there was no water to be found, and the
pangs of thirst were added to those of
hunger, until alleviated by the juice of
a half dozen “Turks’ heads,” which we
BTTKKE’S WEEKLY.
fortunately found growing upon the top
of a barren, pebbly knoll. These “Turks
heads,” as they are termed by the people
of the country, are, I believe, a species of
the cactus, about the size of a turnip,
growing upon the top of the ground, and
protected upon the outside by a number
of tough, horny prickles. The inside is
filled with a spongy substance, which,
when taken out and squeezed, affords a
quantity of a sort of tasteless juice that
answers as a tolerable substitute for
water.
Towards evening we discovered a long
line of timber ahead of us, and in an hour
or so we came to a considerable stream of
water, which from my knowledge of the
geography of the country, I was satisfied
could be no other than the Guadalupe
river. At the point where we struck it,
the prairie extended up to the banks,
which were high and very steep. A few
hundred yards above us, we saw a cow
with a young calf grazing very near the
bank, and, approaching them cautiously,
we attempted to drive them over the
bluff, hoping that one or both of them
would be killed or disabled by the fall;
but after several ineffectual attempts to
force them over, they finally broke by us
and made their escape.
Completely exhausted by our exertions,
and suffering terribly from hunger, we
looked around for a suitable place to en
camp at, as it was now near night, and
coming to a deep pit or sink, which afford
ed a good shelter from the chilling wind
that was blowing at the time, we built up
a small fire at the bottom, laid down upon
the leaves to rest our wearied limbs, and
in a little while we all fell asleep.
llow long I had slept I know not, but
I was at length aroused from my slum
bers by a rattling among the dry sticks
and leaves, and looking up I discovered a
wild sow, with seven or eight young pigs,
coming down towards the bottom ot the
sink where we were lying. I cautiously
seized a piece of wood that fortunately
lay within my reach, and silently await
ed their approach. On they came, total
ly unsuspicious of our proximity, (for by
this time our fire had pretty well burnt
down,) until they were nearly upon us,
when I sprang up suddenly, stick in hand,
and commenced a furious assault upon the
pigs. The noise aroused B and H—
from their slumbers, and, comprehending
at a glance the condition of affairs, they
hurried to my assistance, and before the
pigs could make good their retreat up the
steep sides of the sink, we had killed five
of them. We then assaulted the old sow,
but, weakened as we were by starvation,
she resisted successfully our combined at
tacks, and eventually got off with the re
mainder of her pigs. Xo doubt it was
well for us she did so, for had we killed
her too, unable as we would have been to
I est 1 am our voracious appetites, it is more
than probable that we would have injured
ourselves seriously by indulging them to
excess. However, we had five of her
pigs, which,—without other preparation
than a slight roasting on the coals, suffi
cient to singe off most of the hair,—were
most expeditiously disposed of. I have
been partial to pig meat ever since. Great
ly refreshed by the food we had taken,
we laid down again upon the leaves at
the bottom of our “pit” and slept soundly
until morning.
In the morning we made a reconnois
ance of the river, preparatory to crossing
it, and discovered we had a difficult under
taking before us. Though not very wide,
it was greatly swollen by the rains that
had fallen, and its turbid waters were
rushing at an exceedingly rapid rate.
II and myself were both good swim
mers, and I felt sure we could make the
opposite bank, but I had my doubts about
B . He was an indifferent swimmer,
and very timid in water. However, there
was no alternative but to make the at
tempt, so we stripped off our clothes, tied
them in bundles upon our heads, to keep
them as dry as possible, and boldly plung
ed in. II and myself soon reached
the opposite bank in safety, but hardly
had we done so, when we heard a cry of
distress from B , and, looking back,
discovered that he was still some distance
from the shore, and evidently just on the
eve of sinking. At the very point where
I landed, there happened to be a slab of
dry timber lying on the edge of the wa
ter, which I instantly seized, and swim
ming with it towards the place where
B had sunk, he fortunately got hold
of it as he rose to the surface for the third
time. He held on with the usual tenacity
of a drowning man, and by swimming and
pushing behind, I at last got him to shore,
and with the assistance of II , dragged
him out of the water. In a little while,
he recovered from the effects of his duck
ing, and we proceeded on our way.
All’s Well.
The day is ended. Ere I sink to sleep,
My weary spirit seeks repose in Thine;
Father! forgive my trespasses, and keep
This little life of mine.
With loving kindness curtain Thou my bed:
And cool in rest my burning pilgrim feet;
Thy pardon be the pillow for my head,
So shall my sleep be sweet.
Wicked men ply their prayers as
the sailors their pump, —only in a tem
pest, and for fear of sinking.
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