The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1872-08-03
which he accompanied with harsh chOf ing

ed the plain of Tbingvalla, upon the light
of which was the Althing, that famOtu in
closure of rocks and ravines there were held
| in times past the tumultuous national as SEM
! bles OF ancient Iceland.
| Suddenly the band reached sors of
! gaping aperture which resembles ne OF
| the gateways to the inferno of mythology ;
| it was the gorge of tue Almannagia- The
| road which leads to the bottom Of this
abyss of depth of 14O feet is n atural
stairway, straight and steep, formed by a
volcanic eruption. 1t is one of the most
startling phenomena of the soil of Iceland
| On reaching the bottom of this immense
| fiSsure, one finds himself in the middle of
| Il gallery seventy feet wide and tOmed Dy
| two parallel walls. the highest of which is
of an attitude of 100 feet BY e strange
chance this lava formation has taken the
most fantastic shapes. Upon It's crest are
| turrets and little beltries, similar to thos,.
visible upon the manor houses of tho an.
| cicnt feudal barons.
The negro climbed along thcs e basaltic
| walls. Suddenly he signaled TO the band
of soldiers TO halt. Then drawing near
them, nc seized one of the soldiers Inv the
| arm and placed him at The foot of an epor-
nous block of lava, and then in like man
ncr conducted another to n similar post
He thus posted five soldiers until all the
| issues leading from the ravine were guarded
Ills next act was to take n gun from one
of the soldiers aud load it, indjcatjnp Inv
gestures that all the party should follow his
example. After this he lit the torches with
which the soldiers were provided and dis.
tributed them among the men i'm the rear
rank The red light from these torches lii
up the depths of the subtcrrancan gallery.
scarcely had the torches commenced 10
throw this glare into the hidden recesses of
the gorge when the young negro made a
sign to- the rest to hold themselves in readi-
ness then he uttered sharp ululating cry
which rc-cchocd among the rocks. Thrice
was this signal-note repeated.
AT a sign from the negro, who trampied
his torch under foot, all the torches were
simultaneously cXtinguished, and at anOth-
er sign from him the whole party lay flat
upon tie ground as he himself did
Along the WALL ut height of about two
feet from the level, extended sort of
tissure-, dark line which manifested itself
against the black basalt of the sides of the
cavern, The men were all stretched upon
the flooring of the ravinc, and not sound
broke the stiffness.
Suddenly a dawning light, a sort of auro-
Ia, was seen along the whole extent of the
fissurc, and III a glimmering light, caused
by the fires of invisible torches, appeared
first the head and then the body of armed
men.
The negro arose precipitately and made
an imperative slgi. which was at once I'M
derstood by the chief of the sySseimonds
''To your feet! y the latter cried, s~and
fire.
a discharge of muskets, directed to-
wards the h-sure, shook the wall of the
cavern.
The bandits, finding themselves surpris-
ed, threw themselves out of the opening in
the wall, and a fearful struggle ensued
Was it with men or was it with demon
that the police of Reykiavig were now con
tending? The flashes from the guns cas-
their Pickering light upon the black rocks
for while, and then, as the combat thick
ened, the fight became hand-to hand
one.
In the distance the reddish light of the
sfegDing Geysers added TO the dramatic
character of the spectacle.
The conflict was protracted one; the
assailanss. whose number is not known,
hurled themselves against the intruders
with the fer9sity of wild beasts. But the
police stood shCir ground firmly, and were
finally successful. The Survivors of the
criminals were captured, and vain were
the efforts made by the bandits TO escape
from the fatal gorge. The soldiers posted
6v the negro eitectually blockaded the
path.
These mysterious beings were securely
bound The cavern was infinitely search
ed and several mats, kitchen utensils, aud
weapons were found. The little negro
danced around the prisoners, uttering yells
full OF hate
The culprits thus captured were handed
over to Justice upon the return of the
party To Reykian,g. They presented a
strange and homogeneous medley OF nation
alities They gave their names as fol
lows. Tom Corpse, an Englishman
Kunz, German Guet N'Dar, of Upper
Nubia, brother of the little negro
Nogais Tartar; Pierre Ia Mort French
man; and IIadj-Mourtouz, native of the
Caucasian mountains, who had already ac-
quircd some Ceebricty III the annals of the
brigandagc of that region.
The sequel of this capture was that many
others of the companions of these men
were subsequently apprehended; and to-
day nearly the whole band is in the hands
of justice In their arrest. through the
agency Of the negro boy, the noises that
had been heard at night 10, the dwellers in
Dyratiord were satisfactorily explained.
AS to the little negro Samba-TOro by
name, he had been the witness of the
death of his mother, who had been thrown
into the Great Geyser by Norgate and
Guet N'Dar; and it was TO his impulse of
vengeance that these revelations are due.