Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1856-10-17

lPeradyenture, be might discover IA place
Eof tconcealment or descent. He saw be-
meath him only the interviewer branches
of elm and buckeye trees, and grapeyines,
from ten to otwelye feet below the leyel 6l
bis station. They formed SO dense q
screen. that he could not perceive how
deep this, long, natural wall might be
but he knew Instantly that it must be OF
great DEPTH, and must terminate in a
mass of loose, shelving rock. To climb
down was evidently impossible, To leap
into that leafy abyssiwas horrible to think
of.
But he had no time to deliberate.
Savage murderers we're just behind.
though now for a moment at fault. He
bind him, at the base of the, tower rock.
appeared nook or crevic, which he ran
to examine, It might conceal him for a
few moments, but il the savages searched
the place, as they surely would. he could
not escape. He must run along the top
of the ridge. But which way ? The one
would lead him towards the foot. the 9th.
er from it, along an open backbone of
rocks and an ascending way for some dis
tance, where he must be seen, and then
have a circuitous route to the fort. The
former would lead him by the place where
he first mounted to the top. and where he
might be intercepted /; but past this dan>
gerous point, he would have dodging
places by the way, and ere long the de-
scending point OF the ridge, on the direct
way to the fort. He. would have taken
this way on first arriving at the top, if he
had not justly believed that the Indians
could be best put at fault by his taking
the other. But now looking out
aud seeing the way clear towards
the fort, he started to run in that direc-
ton. But before he had run thirty yards
he saw the Indian, who had come up on
that side. emerge from the pile of rocks
twenty yards distant, where he had been
searching for the lost fugitive. Instantly
the exulting savage raised the war whoop,
and brandishing his tomahawk started to
meet Newlan. who turned and fed the
other way. But no sooner had hepassed
the tower rock, than to his horror he saw
the second savage about twenty yards be-
fore him with tomahawk in hand, coming
to meet him.
Now was he completely hemmed in
On the South was the tower rock-on the
North the awful precipice-Eastand West
were yelling savages closing in upon him.
He could avoid their tomahawks only by
taking the dreadful leap. He had but
two seconds to deliberate which of the
two he would choose. He turned as
qickly as possible, and with a run of thir-
ty feet, sprang from the projecting rock,
and vanished from the eyes Of his pursu-
ers.
The Indians, when they reached the
summit saw the awful precipice, and con-
sidered it impossible for any mortal to
venture to leap over it. Now they went
somewhat fearfully to the jumping off
place, and looking down. saw no sign Of
Newlan but commotion among the leafy
flexible branches through which he had
sunk. Drawing back, they uttered loud
ugh Of astonishment, and partly so Of
satisfaction; for although they would
have preferred to tomahawk him, they
were pleased to have made him dash
himself to pieces on the rocks below.
To get his scalp, and to view his man-
gled body, they went down by circuit
Gus route, and searched for him among
rough rocks mingled with soil, and dense-
ly shaded by trees and grape vines. But
they searched in vain everywhere about
the place where he must have fallen
Not trace of him could they discover on
the ground or in the trees overhead
They were amazed. They concluded at
last, that either the good or evil spirit
had caugh him in his descent. So with
two emphatic ughs, one of establishment
and with some dread of this mysterious
precipice, begloomed with interviewer
trees. they went away downhearted.
About an hour afterwards slight stir
might have been heard in the. dense mat
ting of interviewer vines and branches
about thirty feet below the jumping of
place, and thirty Eve or forty feet above
the ground. After the stir, the pause
was repeated and continued longer. This
thick intertexture OF branches was so agi-
tated as TO prove that living body OF
considerable size, was trying to crawl out
Of the feafy ENHANCEMENT. Soon after
wards. human face peered through an
opening in the branches, as il to see whe-
\ ther the coast was clear. The reader
knows who this was. and from the cir
cumstances viii readily conceive how
! Newlan's life was saved.
I. ne 1911 among crossing ue4IOIe OIau-
ches, W hich broke, his fall and rolled on
a natural hurdle of slender boughs, wo-
ven with grape vines, which bent down,
but did not break down under him.
When. by good Providence, he was
safely lodged aud concealed here, he was
insensible. When on taking his leap, he
felt himself plunging into that abyss whose
rocky terrors below were shrouded in
leafy darkness, his previous exhaustion
and his present fright made him swoon
Eaway. When he awoke to consciousness
1 1 = n -