OCR Text |
Show BY PATH AND TEAIL. 81 ally across the sands, we found his canteen, three- quar ters full of clear, fresh water. When his mind was giv ing away he sat down to rest, and, rising, strayed away, he knew not whither, forgetting his food and water. ' ' " Why do men lose their reason in the desert ?" I asked Don Estaban. " Well," said he, " many of these men, by dissipation and evil habits in early manhood have weakened an$ im paired their brains. Others were born with a weak men tality, so that when the merciless heat beats down upon them, when fatigue, and often hunger and thirst, seize upon them, the weakest part of the human system is the first to surrender. Then the intense and sustained si lence of the desert, the immeasurable waste of sand around them, and the oppression on the mind of the in terminable desolation and solitude carry melancholy to the soul, and the weakened mind breaks down. " It is what happens, at times, to men who go out on the desert; they perish and are heard of no more. The drifting sand covers them, and when years after their burial, a hurricane of wind races over the desert, it scat ters the sand which hides them, opens thegrave as itwere, and carrying the bodies with it, separates the bones and drops them here and there on the bosom of the ocean of sand. A curious thing, " continued Don Estaban, " hap pens when the strong winds blow on the desert, a some thing occurs which always reminds me of the continu ous presence of God everywhere and of His providence. Does not the Bible somewhere speak of the birds which the Heavenly Father feedeth and the lilies of the field which He cares for? Well, the desert plants are a living proof of God's love for all created things. " When these sandstorms are due, and before they rush |