As I Unrolled My
Blankets, I Called To The Men To Be Sure To Put Out The Camp Fire And Place
The Sugar Sack, Etc., In The Grub Box And Close The Lid.
I was no sooner
stretched out than I was sound asleep.
A Storm at Night. One of my companions insisted upon unrolling his blankets
close to me, in spite of the fact that a terrible storm might break over us
at any time. Poor fellow! He had scarcely gotten to sleep when a frightful
gust of wind swept down upon us. Awakened with the noise, my eye caught a
glimpse of the flaming brands from the fire being tossed into the wagon,
and I rushed to the rescue. In a fierce wind, with a wagon and its contents
dried out by the fierce Arizona sun, I knew there was not a moment to lose.
Fortunately, I had left a pail, of water close by, and with this I doused
out not only the flames in the wagon, but the remnant of the camp fire. It
was pitch dark by now. All at once, with a light that was blinding in its
intensity, and with a terrible clap of thunder, the storm burst upon us. It
was, without any question, one of the fiercest short storms, accompanied
with the most vivid lightning, I have ever seen. The darkness was so black,
that, like that of Egypt during the plague, it seemed almost as if it might
be felt. With a suddenness that was awe-inspiring, it became light as
noonday. The lightning was of a brilliant, violet tint, and shone with
fervent intensity. And it was not merely a few flashes. It came down in
millions of jagged streaks, completely filling the heavens to the horizon
in every direction.
A Frightened Traveler. In one of these blinding flashes, I caught sight of
my neighbor. His face wore an expression of anguish. In his dread he had
arisen, and had tried to pick up his clothes and blankets, in the hope of
reaching shelter. In one of the sudden lulls of the tempest, I heard him
talking to himself: "Shall I ever live through this awful night? Can I
get to those cliffs? Why doesn't some one come to help me? I'm going to
die. There's no help for it!" Taking advantage of the next flash, I picked
up my blankets and carried them to the cliffs; then returned to him,
gathered up his belongings, and urged him to follow me. As soon as he was
secure, I spread out my sopping wet blankets in the first space I could
find. Wet through as I was, I rolled myself up in my wetter blankets, and
soon should have been asleep, had it not been for the moanings of the man I
had rescued. He wished he hadn't come; he was sure the exposure would kill
him, and he wondered why people were such fools as to take unnecessary
trips.
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