A GOOD FRIEND.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1689, 17 October 1887, Page 2

A GOOD FRIEND.

One day laat autumn a miner, whole home Is In an adjoining county, and who lives alone m a ■mall cabin situated In the foot-hills, several miles from hli nearest neighbor, reached home about dusk from an extended prospecting tour, a'mDst worn oat and sick. He removed the aaidle and bridle frem his hone and tnrned him loose to graze, and, entering his oabln, thro* himself down opoo hli oot, and soon fell iuto a reitlen ilambtr, from which he awoke late la the night with a raging fever. Almost delirious, he knew not what to do, being alone and without medicines. . It might happen that some neighbor would pass by m the morning, bat there was no certainty that any person would call for days or possibly weeks. A realisation of his helpless condition aggravated hia disease, and the poor man grew worse. Morning came, and he wai unable to leave his bed. His horse, hia one faithful friend and oompanion oenld be heard near by, evidently waiting foe his oomlng. All day long the animal remained within bearing distance, and daring the long, tedious hours of the second night could be heard moving about with restless tread, as though consotons that some misfortune had befallen his master. Daylight appeared at last, and the ilok man made an effort to speak. The hone, hearing the welcome voloe, went to the dcor of the cabin, and pushing it open, thrust his head into the slok man'i presence, at the sama time giving a low whinny t as much no to say, " What is the matter 1" to wh'oh kindly enquiry there wa« no response save a moan of dii tress: For a moment or tiro the hone etared strangely about, seemingly bewildered, then quickly withdrew and m a few moments galloped rapidly away. As the sound of the horse's feet died away the sick man felt as though hia only friend and means of relief were now lost to him, and he shuddered at the thought that he might fall into that never-waking sleep before any person oould know that he was ill. The nearest neighbor of the sick man was a ranchman, whose home was located on the river about six miles distant. Once and a while this neighbor rode over to the miner's camp for a short visit ; but these trips were made at irregular inter* vals, and there was no certainty when he would be there again. The ranchman on the river had finished his breakfast, and waa just coming out of his house, when bis attention was attracted to a riderless horse comiog down the mountain road at a tremendous gallop. The horse did not slacken his speed until he reached the corral, or enclosure near the house. He was flecked with foam and short of breath, showing that he had come a distance and at unusual speed: The ranchman, knowing the hone, spoke to him gently, which the animal acknowledged by a loud whinny, at the same time running restlessly up and down the road by the corral. He approached the horse, which, however, would not anffar Itself to be captured, but galloped off towards its home, stopping at a short dlstanoe and looking back with evident anxlet/. The ranchman returned to the corral when the horse again galloped down the road and moved uneasily about as If determined to attraot attention, whinny* ing and occasionally giving a wild snort aa though frightened. Another attempt to capture the horse, which usually ytan a very gentle creature, succeeded no better than the first, the animal avoiding the man m a manner hitherto unknown. The horse ran np the road again and called to the man to follow — called to him by every dumb sign almost as plainly as though he were poßsesßed of the power of speech. These unusual proceedings bo impressed the ranchman that he felt that something was wrong. Could it be that Galena George — as tha miner 9 and owner of the horse was called— had met with a mishap! Maybe he bad been murdered In his lonely oabln by "rustlers," or had »c---oldently fallen into the shaft of his mine without the means of eioape. The strange oonduot of the horse indicated that something unusual had hap* pened, and that waß enough to promp the ranchman to speedy action* Galling one of his assistants, the men quickly saddled two of the b&Bt horees on the place, and securing their revolvers to guard against danger, and providing some medloine and stimulanto to use m case of emergency they rode rapidly away m the direction of Galena George's cabin. George'd horse, observing this movemeat, manifested great pleasure, and started on a gallop toward his home. The horsemen followed at a lively pace, but the free horse kept well to the front, now and then looking back, as if to be sure that the phase had not been abandoned. On they eped, and m about forty minutes from the time of starting the men reached the cabin of their friend, whioh appeared to be deserted. The men dismounted, and, entering tha cabin, found George upon hii coaoh, wasted m form and apparently dead, and at the door stood the faithful horse, whlcb, having tried to Bave his master, was patiently waiting for some lign that he yet lived. The sad sight was so touching as to force tears to the eyes of the men who had been guided by the noble brute to the rescue. A hasty examination disclosed the fabt that life was not extinct, and whilo one of the men set about preparations for the relief of the sick man, the other re« nounted his horaa and galloped away for a physician, the nearest of whom lived some twenty miles away. Before sundown of that day the dootor reached the miner's cabin and found the sick man conscious, through the skilful ministrations of his kind neighbor. Within a fortnight he was able to walk about. When told of the remarkable oonduot of his horse the man wept like a child. He laid he had always known that his horse waa unusually Intelligent and affectionate, but he oould 'scarcely boHave the story of Wb wonderful tugaolty, ' ' ' ' ' " George is In good health again, and the care and attention which he bestows upon hia horse are like the care of a devoted mother for a favored son. Not long slnoa » gentleman, having learned of the incident related above, expressed a desire to purchase the horse, bat George Informed him that no amount of money conld tempt him to part with the animal ; that it waa his intention to keep him as long as he lived, upon the very best that the laud oould produce, and when he died to bury him decently and erect over his grave a monument with the inscription, '■ To my best friend."— " Youth's Oompanion."