The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1872-12-06
Three DAYS in the Earth.

Before j had any experience OF life on
the Plains, / was sitting in company
with several others at the hotel in Inde-
pendence, Missouri, listening to the
yarns that Dan Rogers was spinning,
when one of the party asked him to re-
peat the story of the pueblo Hungo
Pavie. Rogers assented, and biting of
ahuge piece of tobacco, which he slowed
away in his check, commenced as fol-
lows:
'T had been in the Jemez mountains
for nigh about a month. 1t was in the
month of August, early in the morning
that / rode out of the Caflon of ChacO,
thinking of the poor luck had encoun-
tered during the past thirty days, when
on looking ahead of me / saw the pueblo
HungO Pavie, or Crooked Nose. was
tired and / reckon my horse was the
same, so ! thought I'd rest an hour or
two in the shade among the ruins, for
the sun was scOrching hot, and there
wasn't a tree as big as whisk-broom TO
be seen far and wide.
II had often been at the place before,
and thought / knew it pretty well. Tying
my horse behind an adobe wall, / lit my
pipe and commenced to saunter about
the ruins, wondering all the while what
race of people erected them, how they
lived and what could have been the
probable cause of their extinction.
Such thoughts as these you see would be
very natural when walking about among
ruined buildings, built ever so long, and
attributed by the parties to at least a
half dozen tribes of aborigines. The
fact is, don't believe any one can tell by
whom they were constructed, for it must
have been hundreds of years ago since
they were inhabited.
"At last I got tired Of these specula-
tions and sat myself down on a pile Oi
rubbish and fell asleep. l don't know
how long lay there when | was awak'
ened by n rumbling noise, and mex
minute / felt myself being carried
downward among a heap of dirt anC
stones. In an instant l cOmprehendeC
my situation. These ruins are con
stantly falling more and more int
decay, and ! had taken my seat on ;
spot destined to fall in that morning
But il wasn't a time for theories.
clutched at the falling mass, but wai
unable to extricate myself With {
heavy fall / reached the bottom, whert
all was dark as midnight, and q rank
foul smell almost Overpowered me
Rubbing my arms and shins, l was glad
to find that my bones were unbrOken
though they felt rather sore from my
fall. groped about me, but it was Sc
dark that / could not see. The hole
through which had fell in had chOkeC
up with rubbish again and sort of sealed
me beneath the earth.
"There was Just a small crack over my
head through which / could see the
blessed light of day, but it never pene
trated the abyss into which was cast
l don't think a man ever properly esti
1aa 1tra .f 1fI,arfr- until ha rrafi
into some sach scrape. / am sure
never did. Atlength l remembered tina
had box of matches in my pocket.
drew them out and struck light. l Ii
one after another as explored the plac
in which l was confined. / was sool
able to determine my whereabouts.
seems / had tumbled into an estuna o
underground room, in which the Indi
ans were wont TO hold religious ceremO
nies. 1t appeared to be fourteen fee
square and about twenty-five feet deep
The walls were covered with rude draw
ings and inscriptions, the work, n
doubt, of those who had long sine
passed from the earth and its scenes.
Notwithstanding the most careful
search failed to discover anything il
the shape of pole or beam that cOul
aid me to recover my freedom. / yelle
"You may suppose / had a miserabl
night of it; l did not sleep much, an
watched very anXiOusly for the fissur
TO show signs of returning day. A
length it began to brighten, and hop
that some one might be passing through
that wilderness, who would discover m,
horse and search for his rider, cheerel
my heart. l didn't know that the poo
animal, impelled by thirst, had broker
his halter, and was at that momen
straying miles away.
''The second day was repetition O
the first, with the pangs of hunger an
thirst increased. l was nearly craze
for water and food. My haversack an
canteen were hanging at my saddle-boN
when / tied my horse. Must | die i
this miserable pen? The reflection wa
agOniZing. No one would ever be abl
. TO tell my fate. / was far away froT
any human habitatiOn. 1t might b
months, perhaps years, ere any on
would pass within sound of my voice.
"Once again I could see my early home
and thought of the days of my you'll
ere the desire to roam had fastened il
II on my mind. / could see my oil
mother, as she last stood in the doc
weeping, and my younger brother, as h
waived me an adieu over the gate. HOY
vlvidly these things came back! / re
i'SieS hOW Lney I'M plOfeu NE W Ie
man on the old farm and be contente
VIII Win my lot. But / was disobedient
anu anu would not be tied down TO the lif
., ora q elod. Oh! my ways were perverse
anu now punishment had come. Surel,
III ehis 1 could recognize my doom. aIS
why did l think of those t6inDs n sncI lJ
moment? I got down ON NV tnoa No.
and tried to pray, but I didnit Hne I-noT
what TO say. Years had rona ~. Ntoe ~,
ing which l had not tha6Ied ~, Sd1 1IT u
any good He had bestowed nro,' OOu 10 10
Would He listen 10 my Imperfect mn; saf
tion now? l'e'l
f'I don't know how ever got tlro,,,.
that day; / must have been crazv. -
could tell when the day was again n5ers
ing into night, but 1 could not -
whether the glad stars were above n
or not.
f'The third morning / saw the ligl
again, but / had a fever. My tOngl
seemed like a rasp and stuck TO N
mouth. My eyes pained me, and in n
desperation had actually dug hole
my chest with my sharp nails.