Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-07-10

Negre, or Black Juan, had for conoid
erable period, set the custom house ofti
GERS at defiance, and brought great dis
credit on them by his success in nassing
eontraband goods from Spain. In vain
uid they lie in ambush and set snares for
MN; they could never come near him or
IL lney dld 1t was when he was backed Nv
ouch d force OF the hardy desperadoes
carrying ON the same lawless traffic. that
| inc oouanlers were either forced to beat a
retreat or get teartully maued in the con-
'est tlat ensued. One day, however. three
., these greencoated guardians of the
| french revenue caught sight of Juan
alone and unarmed. They pursued him,
ana d rare race he led them, over cleft
| anu crag, across rock and rayine, until at
| last they saw with exultation that he made
| right for the chasm in question, and there
they made sure of securing him. 1t
| seemed as if he had forgotten the position
| OF the cleft, and only remembered it when
| ne got within hundred yards or there
aDouts, Tor then he slackened his pace.
| Inc douanlers gained on him, and ex-
pected him to desist from his flight and
surrender. What was their surprise and
conservation when they saw him, on
reaching the edge of the chasm, spring
from the ground with lizard like agility.
and by one bold leap clear the vaWning
| abyss. The douaniers uttered a shout of
rage and disappointment, and two OF
| them ceased running; and the third, a
man OF activity and courage, and who had
| frequently sworn to earn the reward set
on the head OF Juan, dared the perilOus
Jump. lie fell short; his head was dashed
against the opposite rock, and his horror
| struck companions, gazing down into the
dark depths beneath, saw his body strike
| the abyss. The smuggler escaped and the
| spot where the tragical incident occurred
was thenceforward known as LIE Saul du
| Contrabandier"
Before our guide had finished his nara
| tive, we were unanimous in our wish to
visit its scene, which we reached by the
time he had brought the tale to a conclu-
sion. 1t was certainly a most remarkable
chasm, whose existence was only to be ac-
counted for by reference to the volcanic
| agency OF which abundant traces exist in
| Southern France. The whole side of the
mountain was cracked and rent asunder,
forming a narrow ravine of vast depth, in
| the manner of the famous Mexican bar
| rancas. In some places might be traced a
| sort OF correspondence on the opposite
| projection on the other would have nearly
| fitted, could some Antaus have closed the
| fissure. This, however, was only here and
there; generally speaking, the rocky brink
was worn by the action Of time and water,
and the rock composing it sloped slightly
| downward. The chaSm was of various
widths, but was narrOwest at the spot at
| which we reached it, and it really
did not appear SO very terrible leap as
Cadet made it out to be. On looking
| down, a confusion of busll-covered crags
was visible; and now that the sun was
| high, narrow stream was to lie seen,
| flowing, like a line of silver at the bottom
the ripple and rush Of the water, re-
| peated by the echoes of the ravine, as
| cended to our ears with a noise like that
Of a cataract, On large fragment of
rock, few yards from the brink, was
rudely carved date, and below it two
| letters. They were the initials, 50 our
| guide Informed us, Of the unfortunate
| douanier who had there met his death
We had remained for half minute or
50 gazing down into the ravine, when
Ashley, who was on the right of the party,
broke silence
| the edge, chats no leap. Why, I'll Jump
| across it myself"
For heavens sakcn cried Dora.
"Ashley!" | exclaimed, don't be a
fool"
But it was too late, What impulse pos
| sessed him | cannot say; but certain | am,
from my knowledge Of his character, that
it was no foolish bravado or scho0l-bov
desire to show off that seduced him to so
wild freak. The fact was, hut for the
depth below, the leap did not look at all
formidable; not above four or five feet,
but in reality was a deal wider 1t was
probably this deceitful appearance, and
perhaps the feeling which Englishmen are
apt to entertain that foT feats of strength
| and agility no men surpass them, that con
| WINGED Walter Of the ease with which he
| could jump across. Before we could stop
| him he took short run and jumped
4 scream from Dora was echoed by an
| exclamation of horror from M'Dermot and
myself Ashley had cleared the chasm
and alighted on the opposite edge but it
was shelving and slippery, and his feet
| slipped from under him. For one mo-
mcnt it appeared as if he would be instant
ly dashed to pieces, but in falling he man
| aged to catch the edge of the rock, which
at that place formed an angle. There he
hung by his hands, his whole body in the
air. without a possibility of raising him
! self; for below the edge the rock was
smooth and receding, and even could he
have reached it, he would have found no
| foothold. One desperate effort he made to
grasp stunted and leaf1ess sapling that
grew in crevice at not more than a foot
from the edge but it failed, and nearly
caused his instant destruction. Desisting
| from further effort, he hung motionless,
his hands cOnvulsively cramped to the
| ledge of the rock, which afforded so slip
perry and difficult hold, that his sustain
| ing himself by it at all seemed miracle,
and could only be the result of uncom-
mon muscular powers. 1t was evident
that no human strength could possibly
maintain him for more than minute CT
| two in that position; below was an abyss,
| a hundred or more feet deep-to all APP
pearances his last hour was come.
M'Dermot and [ stood aghast and help
less, gazing with open mouths and strain
ed eyeballs at our unhappy friend. What
could we do? Were we to dare the leap,
which one more active and vigorous than
ourselves had unsuccessfully attempted?
! 1t would have been counting destruction,
without chance of saving Ashley. But
Dora put us to shame One scream, and
only one she uttered, and then, gathering
up her habit she sprang unaided from her
mule. Her cheek was pale as the whitest
marble, but her presence OF mind was I'M
impaired, and she seemed to gain courage
and decision in the moment of peril.