The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1861-03-23

was nn amusement which had excelled
in when school boy, and facility in the
art was Of the last importance TO my
scheme of retributiOn. At last he came. 1t
WAS nm exquisite night the white expanse
around sparklcd in the sheen Of q young
Canadian moon, which sailed calmly
through n clondless sky. I could have
shot the villain az he skated by me within
fifty yards, but l would not risk the
chance, and besides, Inv vengeance cried
for stcrner fate than death by the pistol.
No sooner was he past my hiding place,
than with shout Of exultation, started
on his track. Olicr swcrved a moment,
to see who his pursuer was, then, quick
as lightning tried to double up the river
again. But I had anticipated this, and
with cooked pistol in either hand, | bar
red his passage. With a curse, he turned
and sped swiftly down the ice.
Aud now the race for life began. Mile
after mile we swept along in silence. An
awful, p0rtcntiouS silence it was, through
which nothing broke save the hollow boom
of the swift steel cutting its way over the
imprisoned Scugog. The moon lit me
nobly to my vengeance. lie could not
escape me, for found with savage glee
that I was a match for the swift footed
Indian. Olier soon became aware Of this,
too, for, now aud again, he would skate
close to the woods, looking in vain for an
aperture. But 10, there was brt one
outlet from this wallcd'in river, and that
was over the falls
Faster and faster yet We skatcd toward
the cataract. 1t could not be far off.
pictured to myself what Oilers thoughts
might be. Did he know whittier he was
hAstening, or had that awful light vet to
flash ON his guilty mind? The halr.brecd
made answer to my thoughts. saw him
tin the pale simmer start convulsivcly,
and throw his arms in the air, but he
dared not stop, and on he started again
with o yell Of despair, which echoed,
weird.like, up the frozen channel. An
other sound came to my car, and knew
what had caused that cry Of agony to
burst from Olicr-it was the dull thunder
Of the falls We we're nearing them faster.
| Still the walls Of snow shut in my victim,
and every moment J. sSened his frail hopes
of escape. One chance was left him-tC
distance me, and hide somewhere in the
snow from my scrutiny. Vain hope, the
wings Of the bird could scarce have saved
him
IIoarser and louder grew the noise oI
the waters. If thanked the Almighty
in frantic prayer that the murderer was
delivered into my hand, l humbly trust
that it is forgiven me now. From tht
time that | had first started on Oilers
track, we had maintained exactly thC
same distance between us, perhaps about
u hundred or q hundred and fifty yards
still graspcd my loaded pistols, ready fol
any stratagcm on the part Of the murderer
And now the crash of the falls cam'
loud and ominOus on the ear. AnOthc
five minutes would decide the hunt. Sud
denly, Olicr turned aud stood at buy
lie was not armed; felt certain of tina
all along, for otherwise he would hav'
measured strength with me before. With
ont abating my pace, l Skated down upoT
him, holding leveled pistol in each hand
Still, my purpose was as fixed as eve
only to shoot the villain as last resource
When was within twenty yards Of him
the coward filtered, and agnin turned
swiftly down the river. With a yelling
laugh | pursued him, pressing still NOR
hotIy on his track.
Deafening was the roar of the cataract
high into the pnlc sky assembled the mis-
of its spray, through which the splinteret
lines Of the moonlight darted in rainbow
tinted beauty. l could see directly II
front the jagged line of the ice, where /
was broken by the rapids Immediately
above the cataract, and beyond it coult
trace the dark volumes Of the Scugog, a
it emerged from its prison Of snow ant
ice. For an instant the half turned
his face towards inc, as | pressed will
concentrated hate on his footsteps; ncve
shall I forget the horrible despair tha
distorted the villains features. 1t was
mercy that the sulen roar Of the fall
drowned his curses-I knew he VA
shricking curses on me-for they woul
have haunted me in after years.
With the courage which is bcgotten Q
the darkest despair, he dashed on to tn
brink Of the rapids, and the next momen
] was alone on the ice! I gazcd wit
, stern Joy OH the dark food which ha
seized in its resistless hands the shedde
Of blood, and was hurrying him over tn
) falls. For moment thought / coul
see the murderer struggling in the cddies
but the illusion, if it was one, could liv
only for an instant. The cataract wa
, within pistol. and as ! turned up tn
drrarv wilderness Of ice and snow, kne'
that the doom of the guilty skater ha
, been fulfilled.