Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1840-05-07
Miscellany.
From the New Orleans Picayune.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SKETCHES.

The Fire Jump. When crossing the noun
tains from Toas into Santa Fe, we passed a
long the brink of a frightful precipice, called
the Fire Jump about which our guide told
us the following story-Col. Tom was half
breed, well known few years ago through
all the villages in Toas-living at times with
the Indians shrewd, cunning fellow, not
brave but exceedingly wicked. lie was the
son of an American trapper, who persisted In
the snow one winter night In the mountains,
while Tom was yet an infant. Tom obtained
the title of Colonel from the Americans, on
account of martial and commanding manner
which he was fond of assuming. He spoke
Spanish, and knew enough of English to min
gle with the traders, and be useful to them as
an interpreter, being also conversant with the
language of his Indian mother. Though
known to be great rascal, he was tolerated
by the Americans and Spaniards on account
partly for his usefulness when he chose to
make himself serviceable, and partly for his
reckless and humorous disposition, but the
Indians hated him with deadly hostility.
His superior intelligence made him feared a
mong them, and they were jealous of the
white blood that ran in his veins. Living
under the Spanish rule they could not kill
him without being punished for it, and this
made their hatred the more bitter. He knew
well the hostile feelings of the Indians with
whom he mingled, and the delight of his ex-
istence seemed to consist in planning schemes
of deviltry and rascality to aggravate them.
He would steal from the whites whiskey e.
nough to make whole Indian town drunk
and in the midst of the carousal he would
drive off the horses and sell them to the Span
iards. He would interpret for the Indians
when selling their skins to the traders, and
always contrive to make to himself one half
the advantages of the trade.
At length his depredations became SO noto-
rious and of so villainous nature, that the
Spaniards would no longer protect him, and
the Indians commenced hunting him for his
life. He had been chased whole day
through the valley and up the mountain side,
by band of the Apachus Indians, when his
horse gave out just at this spot, now known
as the Fire Jump.'-The animal fell near the
edge OF the precipice, and to prevent the In
dams discovering him by the fallen steed, he
exerted his strength and actually pushed the
poor dying horse over the rock into the gulf
below. A hollow log lay near the spot he
heard the approach OF his pursuers, and Jump
ing into the log, he turned it over and lay con-
cealed, as he thought, beneath it.
But the Indians had seen the action, and
fiendish revenge entered their heads. They
came to the spot, pretending to believe that
their prey had escaped them, and rnanifesting
great vexation and disappointment. They
,dlsmounted, and seating themselves upon the
log rehearsed to each other what they had in
tended to do to Colonel Tom had they caught
him. Thus the cunning savages sat till night
was dark around them, when they gathered
dry branches and leaves, and commenced
building their fire against the hollow log
where their enemy was hidden. The wretch
ed victim then knew but too well that he was
discovered, and a horrid death was designed