The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1852-04-24

and screamed in insane mirth. and although
at every dozen steps he pitched hcaIlong on
the snow, declaring he knew what was good
for hlm,and he should always henccforth have
enough of it. No more of a woman'S preach
ing" he exclaimed III it hadn't been for the
real stuff, we shouldn't have seen our root:
h'S night. llurrah for the old Borcas, he
continued, as the roar of the swollen and lev
stream came 10 our ears on the night
wind. 'Thc old Borcas-it would stop us.
would it, 1t would keep my little Lizzie one
night longer, would it, Not while Nat .Tcrh-
son ran build bridges. Halo. here we are y
and he reclcd towards the hanks WHY
what's this Good God, Dick Mason. what
does this mean
81 started hack in horror. and if seemed an
age before my whirling brain became suili-
clcntly sober to comprehend the reality and
the magnitude Of the disaster that had bcf,ll,n
US The river had risen to an alarminr hcioIt
and had pushed pier and bridge boldly from
their foundations. The pier had been twist, /
ed and half engulphed: and partly separated
from the beams. it swavci to and fro some
twenty feet farther down than !, had ORIGINAL
Iy been planted. The end of the bridge near
est us still rested on the rocks. although one
"f the beams had been raised bv the upturn
ing Of the pier fully six feet in the air Tbc
other end had fallen from its position, and
caught on slant projection Of the oppo
site rock Just at the waters edge. Every mo-
ment some large wave loaded with blocks of
lee dashed against it with a violence that
caused the whole fabric TO culver 70 lis very
center. covering the bridge with Sprav.whirh
IN an instant was changed TO ice. So b;.b
was the stream, that that end of the bridue
winch l'iSt escaped suimer>ion seemed with
IN reach of the surface of the rocky hank al
though ordinarily the top of the pier was IF
''n OF twenty feet above high water mark.
The lower part of the bridge seemed likely.
each instant. to he di<lodrcd from itS nrcr,r;-
"n> position. for the heavy pier which felt the
fore" OF the strongest and deepest part Of the
current refused To part company Had it not
been for the extreme care with which nicr
and beams had been fastened together. the
former ml"ht have been carried away and the
latter left undi>turbed: hut as it was. saw
-
covered word>.l cxrlamr,l that bridge can't
b" crossed; and if il could hc vor, know. Nat
Icl'h>on. We are not the men to cross il r.
night. We must 90 hack"
Mo" ga>ncl mv companion; .but il
must he crossed. though Look. dive >cc.ihr
beams are safe. hut if they should he carried
oil before morning. wr shouldn't ret over ina
month. - IL, hr cried 'wr must 90 across:
let me- come y and suddenly Selling the M
permo~t beam. he hcwan to scramble along
the planks. gra>pcd him. and forcihv pull
81 him a@ain Ia the bank.
NAT .IrIh>on.' said slowly and with ef-
fort. for nv senses We're 50 hrwillercd that it
was hard for me 10 talk nationally. even in
the face of the imminent danger. Nat .Jeph-
son. if Won wN venture on that bridge vou 4;
shall throw down vour load and you shall let
me 90 first
e" will he replied lorge,lv. suit the
rest as Won like
Very well. then. Won won't listen to
reason. do As Won see me do exclaimed. as
BEGAN to work my way slowly alon. the up
per beam.
'our progress was comparatively easy. so
long as the beams and planks were dry, but
soon IA we came to that portion which was
iced over 10y the flood and spray. found that
it would be impossible for us to proceed as
we had set out. Looking beneath. Tobserved
that a smaller beam. which had been fastened
over the planks as a cleat. afforded a tolera-
bly, good ioothold. being raised several inches
above the surface of the bridge As nv
hands We're quite unable TO support me lon
ger on the icy ridge. to which | had been O.
bliged to cling. let mvself>li down. spread
ing ont my arms wide upon the planks, and
feeling cautiously with nv feet for the small
beam As soon As touched it. helped nv
companion down. and bidding him follow NV
example, gropcd slowly along with nv breast
flat To the plankS, and inserting nv fingers
firmly into whatever creyiceS had been left
10y the ice. Occasionally the ice upon the
beam at our feet. would break away, and sev-
eral times seemed in imminent peril of fol-
lowing it. We had, however. got safely two
thirds of the way across. when a large mass.
which nv own weight must have cracked. +
broke through beneath Jephson's feet. and he
slid heavily into the stream. Twas down in
an instant, and wcdginr my hand in crev-
ice. had Just time TO seize him bv the arm.
for the rest of him was under the bridge
How long time it was before his head cmcrg-
ed, cant Sav.-it seemed an eternity. for the
poor fellow was already too much exhausted
to help himself, and my whole strength wis
barely sufficient to keep him from being
swept away. At last his either hand graspel
the beam, and gradually his face rose 10 a
level with the water.-but oh what a clcc
to look upon The moon had just risen, and
its cold rays >anting across the current. lit :
up with terrible distinctucss. every feature :
of that fearful scene in which We were the ;