Ypsilanti sentinel. [volume] (Ypsilanti, Washtenaw Co., Mich.) 1843-1900, 1845-07-16

ed faP'oiJ OH hitn, clehchiDH MS Jaws tOgetier
with eaSerness aud longing.
AT length, however, long reach of the ravino
stretched upward in The obscui;y before him.
He looked. and saw nothing of his prey. Furi.
Gus with anger and disappointment at The renewed
activity of the savage he passed on faster than
before. smooth rock, yearly perpendicular,
soon arrested his progress. He did not dream,
of pauslng bu, began to work his way up the
dangerous precipice, with his mind occupied by
the sole thought Of overaking aud Staying the In-
dian. With every faculty at its utmost tention, a.
vailng himself of every lille point and crevice.he
did what no man else could have done he climb
ed half way up the steep wet face of the rock !;
hut here he obliged 10 pause and for The first
! time, his blood cooled, and he was conscious of
the peril of his situation. He moved his hand to
he right aud to The left over The rock, cismmy
with The spreading water Of the liuIe streamle,
and found scarcely crevice large enough TO
thrust finger into, or projection tina; a foot
could res. against. He looked up, the edge Of
The precipice twenty feet above his head. -
He looked down and there was the sharp orojec
ting angles of The rocky sides Of the ravines; and
below, all lay in deep bIackness, like bottom-.
less gulf. He tried to descend but his foot ov-
ed vauy from side TO side, searching for The place
where il had last rested when ne was climbing up.
To ascend was perI!ous enough; TO descend was
impossible. HIS hair began 10 brisie. He list
eued, and heard from below The faint bay;ng ofihe
hounds. Hitherto he has cung TO his gun by
sort Ot instinct, but now he let it drop. The oak.
en- stock struck at The foot of the cliff with dull
shock, and spiniered to pieces there was d
pause for an instant, and then came the clancAng
rattle of the BARREL as it bounded from side to side
| of the raviue down the mountain. The old man
thought he must soon follow it, and The thought
gave him despera ton. His alternative was to be
dashed TO pieces. or to gain the top of the rock
and TO This fearful task he applied himself lie
did reach The top but all his limbs were aching
with the strong aud continued strain of every mus
Gle: the ends of the fingers were worn 10 The
hone The flesh was rubbed from his knees, and
his heart ihrobbed with violence that, though
unlelt " hen he was climbing, almost choked him
when he laid himself down at the top. Paor
wretch! |. would have been better for him had
he fallen. The level he had attained was not
eight feet acruss Beyond IL. rose up another
preclpce. full sixty feet high. perpendicular,
slnonh, and wei while on each si,e The !ofiIer
walls of the ravine destroyed every chance of es'
cape. The old scalP-hun,er was caught in his
own trap. There was Lot civilized man within
more than ninety miles,
The Indian has escaped from the ravine at
point where its sides were less PERCEPTIONS than
ELSEWHERE, aud The long tough root Of spruce,
hanging several yards from the top, help him in
The most dangerous part. He was now safe in
the woods. on the surface of the mountain. The
eager hunter had passed on. without dreaming that
the game had given him the slip.
Ii is useless 10 dwell on his fate In the NOR
ming he looked down the frighlful gore in font,
and on the cliffs that imprisoned him, 10 see it no
possibility of escape offered for I'LL then his har.
dy spirit had not quite despaired. The daylight
dlspeIed every shadow of hope. Atihe edge of
the raviue hundred feet over him, his startled
eve encountered human face, peering down up
on him from behind stunned pine that projected
over the gulf. Ii was The Indian who had seated
himself there TO exuIt IN the fate of his enemy.
The old man spen, two days in his prison.
The afternoon Oft second day was peculiarly
beautiful The atmosphere had a sollness not COM
mon in New England aud while the western
mountains seemed enveIoped in blue, transpa-
rem; haze, the warm sunlight poured full OIL the
rugged slopes Of the east, The desolate valley
wore the miIdes: aspect its savage features could
put on like n Sleeping warrior dreaming of his
home. The evening brought change. A thun-
der gust came up, and in few moments filled eve-
ry gully aud ravine with flaming waters. and
drifi-Ioes driving down the valley. The old man
was swept from his place IN an instant, but
the wachful Indian fouad him next morning :
wedged under a rock and a week after, his gray
hairs were .nuieriug in the wind from The top OF
cabin in the Indian village of ST. Francis. by The
side of the ST. Lawrence.
The Indians, it is well known. believed these /
mountains The abode Of malignant spirit and
this, they say, was The greeting he gave 10 the
first white man who ever found his way inio the
Notch. The wri'er must not be understood 10
give his authority in support of so loose and inv
olous tradition. thereby putting in jeopardy his
reputation as antiquarian, and--what IS OF Tar
more consequence than mere personal consIda'
tious misleading. perchance, The unsuspect'ng
reader, who has confided himself 10 his guidance.
1t is his duty 10 remind him that the white noun
taius were visited long before,bv one Nca,and his
party, who found that country 'daunng TERRIBLY,
and made all haste 10 escape from the dismal neigh
borhood II is mol, however, recorded Of this par
ly nor Of any other. prior to 1924, that they VS.
tied The defIe called the Notch so that this To-
dian story may. after all. be entitled to a strict
credence as any portion of the narrative wha'ev-
er.
Emu laton looks out for merits that she may