Des Arc citizen., 1860-03-07
A THRILLING STORY.

A 1n14A4AN0 O1Oh4.
 The following story is from tha, inter- esting book, "Parley's Thousand and One Stories" It is founded upon an occur renee which actually took place in Yer mont, some forty years ago. The facts are almost literally related as follows:
 My brother Heman liked the business of carrying the mail better than l did ; and 1 went 10 work in a new clearing had commenced, about mile and halt from home. and not quite so far from the house of'a brother-in-law. l used to stay as often al one place as the other. IL was bad arrangement, as in case of ac- cident neither family would be alarmed or go to look for me, if l should not come home. 1 felt the force of this in the course of the winter, as you will see dl- rectly. -p
 There had fallen one of our old-fash- toned, Northern New York snows, cruS- ed over hard enough to bear man. was getting on famously with my clear ing, getting ready to build house in the spring. 1 was ambitious, and worked early and late, going without my dinner some days, when the bread and meat l had brought in my pocket was frozen so hard that I could not masiicate it without taking up too much of my time. One day il was intensely cold, with the pros pect of storm that might hinder my work the next day, and so worked on as long as could see, and after twilight l felled tree, which in it's descent lodged against another. I could not bear the idea of leaving the job half finished; l mounted the almost prostrate body to cut a limb to let it down.
 The whole of the tree forked, about forty fee, up, into two equal parts, with large projecting limbs from both. It was one of these I had to GU. away to bring il to the ground. In my haste perhaps l was not so careful as should have been; at any rate the first blows eased the lodg- ment, so that the tree began to settle, and was just going to jump off, when the fork split, and as it did so one foot drop- ped into the space so that l could not ex- tricate it for the moment but 1 felt no alarm, for knew that 1 could cut away the tree in a minute, or perhaps draw my foot out of the boot, as the pressure was not severe. At the first blow of the axe the tree took another start, rolled over, and the split closed with all the force of it's giant strength, crushing my feet until the very bones were Aattened, and there l hung suspended, just able to touch the tips of my fingers in the snow, with nothing to rest upon for moment the air at zero. and growing colder-no pros- pect of any one coming that way that night-the nearest house mile away no friends to feel alarmed al my absence, for one would suppose me safe with the other.
 My axe in its fall rested upon the snow. crust, about ten feet off. If could only get that, might yet save myself. did not think how 1 was 10 cut myself loose from the body of that great tree, suspend ed as was, head down, and suffering with the rushing current of disorderec blood; but thought in that keen blade my only hope of life was fixed. Jus forward of me grew a slim bush, which thought. if 1 could obtain, l could form into hook by twisting the limbs together and draw the axe within my reach.
 j. Although the bush was out of my reach at last succeeded in getting hold of it b. means of loop, by tying my suspender together. l drew 1t towards me and GU it off with my pocket-knife-one of tha sort so long known as Barlow knives,
 having single blade abou. two and half inches long and three-eights of al
 inch wide, with equal width all its length
 set in handle of peculiar form, half 1t Ilength iron and half horn or bone. l sue
 ceeded admirably in fashioning my hook and almost felt the handle of the ax with
 in my grasp, so certain was l of success
 From the tree that imprisoned me, tn
 ground descended rapidly for dozen rod
 or more to little creek. hly ax lay upo
 the brow of the hill. The first movemer made towards twisting the loop of m stick around the handle. so as to draw
 within my reach. loosened il from it's ic : rest, and away it went down the hil crushing through the little frosl-briit bushes, down upon the ice of the cFeel
 down to little fall few rods below
 and over that into the unfrozen pool, vii
 a surging sound, as it fellin the wate i. that seemed to send its icy chill throug every vein and artery in my whole bod . I still had my knife. True, it was Q Q rough surgical instrument. but hope ar 70 the love of life gave me strength to cliu