The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1861-11-02

WnIp anu spur. Ilc gave u lew DOutluS
forward, stagger or two, and then fell
upon his side. was nearly under him !;
however, did save my distance, although
that was all. now began to feel sorry
for him his wonderful speed had won my
respect: and as | was far from being ma.
turally cruel, whip or spur | never used
except in cases of necessity; so thought
| would allow him to lie for few minutes
if he did not incline to get up Of himself
However, as had no faith in the creature,
ESat down ef-ltiat- watched -lit4.-it-
! tcntly. lie lay motionlcss, with his eyes
shut; and had it not been for the firm aud
fast beat Of his heart, should have con-
sidercd him dying from the effects Of the
blow; but the strong pulsation told me
that there was plenty Of life in him
suspected that he was lying quiet, ncdita-
ting mischief was right. Every mus
cle began presently to quiver with con-
centrated rage. He opened his eyes, and
gave the n look, in which fear and fnry
were strangely blended. | am not.with-
out superstition, and for an instant quail
ed under that look, as the thought strnck
me that the black, un>hapcly brute b'for'
| ilIC iHlHUL uGluuilJ OC Nut SItilN
by his name. With n muttrrcd growl at
my folly, | threw the idea from nc-leap-
ed up-sciZed the rcins with lash and
cry made him spring TO his f.ct--inount
ed him as he rose, and struck the spurs
into his sides. He reared and wheeled 4;
but finding that he could not get rid of
inc, and being unable to stand the torture
Of the spurs, which used freely tthrrc
was no time for mercy y he gave two or
three plungeS, and then bounded away nj
that dreadful lcaping galiop--that pace
which seemed peculiarly his own. tried
| to moderate his speed with the bridic. but
found, to my surprise, that had no COM
mand over him. | knew Mt once that
som thing was wrong, as with the bit N
his mouth, ! ought to have had the power
to have broken his jaw. stopped for
ward to ascertain the cauSc; the loose curb
dangling ut the side Of his head gave II
satisfactory explanation.
lie had it all his own waY now; he was
fairly off with me; and all could do was
to bear his head as well up as possible, to
prevent him from Stumbling. pwcvcr,
rs it would have been bad policy to let
gave him an occasional touch with the
spur, aS if wishing him t" accelerate his
speed; aud when he made an extra bound,
| pattcd him on the neck, as il very MUCH
pleased with his performance.
\ watrry cloud was passing over the
! face of the moon, which rendered every
| thing dim and indi>tinct, aS we tore away
down grassy slope, the view terminating
in grove Of tall trees, situated uPun II
Using ground. Beyond the dark outline
Of the trees, | saw nothing.
As We nearcd the grove Satan slackrned
| his speed ihiS'I thought hc did with Il
view To crush Inc against the trunks "i the
tres To prevent him from having tim.
to do this, | struck him with the spurs
and away again he went like fury. A.
! he burst through the trees flung my Head
forward upon his neck, I" prevent mySr,i
from being swept off by the low branches
Ia doing this, the spurs accidentally came
in contact with his sides lie. gave ON
tremendous leap forward the srounc
Snnk under his et-thc horse was thr0wI
over his own head. was ,jerksd into III,
air-and amid an avalanche OF earth anc
! Sl'llC>, We WHY tlhl hbhN u ~ l'S'''N
uar bank itO the brown, swollen waters
Of the Clyde.
Owing to bead in the river. the fore,
of the current was directed against thi'
particular spot, and had undermined it
and although strong enough to bear mat
or "A horse, under ordinary circumstances
vet down ut once it Numbered under thu
desperate leap of Satan. However, it die
not signify, as nothing could have pre-
vented us from surging into the water IL
the next bound.
a large quantity Of rain had fallen il
the upper part Of the shire; and in consc
aucncc, the river .was full from bank Il
bae. was merely stranger in thu
place; indeed, so much so, that had sup
posed we were running from the river.
This, combined with the suddenneSS q
the shock, and the appearance of rapid
turhid river-sweeping down trees, brush
wood, branches, hay, corn, and straw be
fore it, with resistless force was so for
rign to my idea Of the peaceful Clyde
that when rose to the surface was quite
bewildered, and had very serious doubts
as to my own identity.
| l WIS TOuSCu IIOuI WIS oNdNC W. WV u
derlnrnt by the SnortinG and spa>hing o
the horse he was making bold attemp
to scale the perpendicular bank. Had
been thrown into the body Oi the stream
| should have been swept away, and tn
animal must have pcriShed; but in a
heavy rapid streams Of water, salt or fresh
there Is what is termed an eddy stream
running close in shore, in a contrary din &C
ton to the main body of the water.
have seen highlandcrS in their boats catch
ing fish in the eddy stream of the Gulf o
Corrlerckin, within Shor;'diStance of til,
main tide, which. had it but got the Sigh'
est hold on their boat, would have swep
them with fearful velocity into the jaws u
the roaring gulf was caught by thi
eddy, which kept me stationary, and cna
blrd me, by few strokes, to reach th'
horses side. To cross the river, or lanl
here, was alike impossible; so | to"k th'
rcinS in my right hand, wheeled the horS
from the bank, and dashed at once will
him into the strength of the current. =
Away we went, both in capital spirits; no
a doubt Of our efftcting Il Saf" landin!
ever crossing NV mind. And the horS
cvnccd his certainty Ep"n the subject 10y
Snatching u bite out Of II heap of hay tina
lluatcd at his side, and eating it aS com
po4edly and heartily aS if he had been il
the stable
We soon swept round the high hnnl
tha had caused our misfortune, and CAM
To level part Of the cnuntry. which wa
ilooird Gar up intO the firldS. I thri
struck strongly out in II Slantins direction
kr the shore, and soon had the sntiStac
ton of finding myself once more upon th
green turf. Satan shook himself, pricke'
~ his ears, and gave n low neigh. thcl
stroked him and spoke kindly To him =
lie returned ,hc cares>eS by licking M!
hand. Poor fellow! lie had CONTRACTED
n friendship for me in the water-a friend
shin which terminated only with his life
and which was rendered the more valua
BILE by his never extending it to any othc
person.