Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1869-04-07

It's immense and tireless wings around |
the mouth of the chasm ; aud the |
strong man sluddered, as he shook |
his fist defiantly, and.mui...ured with
bis hoarse voice, "Your time has not
yet come =" He thought also of his
happy home and his dear wife and
and then, naturally, for he
was faint and hungry, he thought
of the food his wife had prepared for
him. Having eaten of the bread
and goats milk cheese, drank of the
little bottle OF wine (which, strange
to say, had remained unbroken,) he
reasoned that it would be cowardiy
to lie down and die without an effort;
and he remembered the goodness OF
God, and once more fervently inn
plorea His help. Then a bold dea
came to him. Why Nigh. he cot
cut his way through the solid ice
He had Ratchet, such as his class
never travel without. All. but he
was fOrgetful that the walls might
be hundreds of feet thick; that they
Were of excessive hardness and
would soon render blunt both hatch
ct and knife. The bright hope
that had been born within him was
darkened by no such shadow For
the time being he knew that he was
safe. He was accustomed to the
cold, was warmly clad, could use the
skin of the ibeX, in case of need, and
its flesh woulddrive away the wolves
of starvation for many day
y brief rest and he began the task,
and toiled faithfully until darkness
forced him to stop. A night of easy
rest, n breakfast of his, raw flesh of
the hex, and he resumed his Iabors.
Another day of toll and he again
stretched himself upon the skin of
the beast, wrapping it around him
as much as was possible, and slept
long and heavily, although there had
been Il sudden fall in the tempera-
ture and now il was excessively cold
For four days he toiled thus, his
only food the raw and frozen flesh
of the ibex for four nights he slept
within the hole he had cut away in
the thick ice walls, closing up the
entrance, and thus obtaining par
tial shelter from the chilling blasts.
And once he heard a firing of guns,
and his heart beat wildly within
him. He dropped.his dulled natchet,
crawled to the centre of the chasm
and shouted with all his remaining
strength-shouted until his strained
voice was reduced To the very ghost
of a hoarse whisper. He knew that
his friends were in search of him
imagined he could hear his name
called could do nothing to attract
their attention; and as the firing
grew fainter, and farther and farther
away, flung himself down weeping
ana ,gringing his hands. The last
plank to Gnich he had clung had
been sEivereG! His neighbors and
friends had cOme-and gone. They
would never search that part of the
mountain again. None would ever
know of his fate. He was buried in
an icy tomb until the last trump
should sound, and hot flashes of flame
dissolve the frost " ork around him.
With his mind trembling on the
verge of madness, overpowered by
sorrow, crushed by bitter agony, he
fell back insensible, and lay for a
long time upon the cold damp snow
that soon must he his winding sheet.
The black Vulture Tapped his wings
above him, and he knew nothing OF
it. But, after some hours, the hunt
er'S consciousness returned, though
he was far too much crushed, in body
and soul, to resume his labors. He
crept into the little cavern he had
eXcavated, (would il not be to him a
tomb 2, and gave passionate vent
to his grief. For many weary hours
nothing passed his lips; and with ach-
ing head and fevered brain, with
trembling limbs and convulsive sobs,
he prayed for deliverance, if by no
other hand, at least by the skeleton
one of death.
1t was rayless, sunless, starless,
darkness in the ice cavern, when the
springs of his life again became cap
hungry, and arose to satisfy his hun
ger with a portion of the ibeX he had
left remaining outside in the chasm
He felt around, but could discover
no outlet. He had been frozen
Insult out from Gods blessed
sunshine forever ? Nothing but
smooth ice met his burning and
blistered fingers. Then, after an
hours search he found n soft spot,
and instantly solved the mystery
He knew there must have been Il
heavy fall of snow in the night, that
it had drifted into and blocked up
the opening and with the strength
of despair, he soon dug through. 1t
was still showing heavily the flakes
fell like great feathers and he drew
the remnant of the carcass of the
ibeX into the cave, and made another
rude meal. And thus refreshed, q
new hope was born within him and
again the ice walls resounded with
the blows of his little hatchot. But
it was slow work, and much of the
time was taken up in clearing the
chips from the little grotto.
y week pascal week OF the most
severe toll and terrible anxiety
and yet, he was not disheartened
His trust in God had returned and
love for his wife and dependent chill
dren kept alive his often sinking
heart. He was yet in hopes ofreach-
ing the upper air-of seeing his dear
ones again But even as he was
thinking thus, with something of
old time cheerfulness, a new anxiety
took position of and nearly over
powered him. The carcass of the
hex, that had been the innocent
cause of all his trouble, was picked
To the bones.
With dire starvation staring him
in the face, he bowed his head and
wept like child. Starvation, that
is dreSdful, even in thought Star
walton, that has IL it more of horror
than a thousand other deaths He
could almost see il silently approach
ing, and for 4 time despair alone had
possession of him. Then his trust
in the Supreme Being returned, and
he committed himself unto His Holy
keeping. Heavenly Father ~ he
murmured. frona between his parch-
ed and blackened lips sit il Thy
hand that has sustained me So far
has saved pl,. from all 1apnap