Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1873-07-10

in front with Ashley beside her, pointing
out the beauties of the wild scenery
through which we passed, and occasion
ally laying hand upon her bride to
guide the mule over some unusually rug
ged portion of the almost trackless noun
| tain. M'Dermot and l were walking be-
hind, a little puffy by the steepness of the
ascent Our guide, whose name was
Cadet, a name answered to by every sec
ond man one meets in that part OF France,
strobe along beside us, like a pair of CON-
passes with leathern lungs. Presently
the last named individual turned to me-
SECS mcssieurs reulent-ils ooir le Sdut de
lou Contrabandiste ?" said he, in the bar
barous dialect of the district, half French,
half patois, with small dash of Spanish.
"Le Saut du Contrabdndier, the Snug
gler's Leap-what is that?" asked Dora,
who had overheard the question, turning
round her graceful head, and dazzling
us-me, at least-by sudden view of her
lovely face, now glowing with exercise
and the mountain air.
The Smuggler's Leap, so Cadet informed
us, was narrow cleft in the rock, of vast
depth, and extending for considerable
distance across flank of the mountain.
1t owed its name to the following Incl.
dent Some five years previously, snug
gler, known by the name of Juan lie
Negro, or Black Juan, had, for consid-
erabie period, set the customhou Off
GERS at defiance, and brought great dis
credit on them by his success in passing
contraband goods from Spain. In vain
did they lie in ambush and set snares for
him; they could never come near him, or
ifthey did it was when he was backed by
such force of the hardy desperadoes
carrying on the same lawless traffic, that
the douaniers were either forced to beat a
retreat, or get fearlully mauled in the con-
test that ensued. One day, however, three
of these green-coated guardians of the
French revenue caught sight of Juan
alone and unarmed. They pursued him,
and rare race he led them, over cleft
and crag, across rock and ravine, 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
he got within hundred yards or there
abouts, for then he slackened his pace.
The douaniers 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 izardlike agility,
and by one bold leap clear the yawning
abyss. The douaniers uttered 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. He 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 "Lc Saul du
Contrabander."
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 most remarkable
chasm, whose existence was only to be &C
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 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
sides; a recess on one side into which a
projection on the other would have nearly
fitted, could some Ant9us 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 Undiscovered crags
was visible and now that the sun was
high, narrow stream was to he seen,
flowing, like a line Of silver, at the bottom
the ripple and rush of the water, re-
peated by the echoes of the ravinc, as
cended to our ears with a noise like that
of cataract. On large fragment of
rock, few yards from the brink, was
rudely carved date, and below it two
letters. They were the initials SO our
guide informed us, of the unfortunate
douanier who had there met his death.
We had remained for half minute or
so gazing down into the ravine, when
Ashley, who was on the right Of the party,
broke silence.
"Pshaw!' said he, stepping back from
the edge, "thats no leap. Why, III jump
across it myself"
"For heavens sake" cried Dora.
ASHLEY" l exclaimed, don't be a
fool"
But it was too late. What impulse pos
sessed him / cannot say +; but certain l am,
from my knowledge of ms character, that
it was no foolish bravadO or schooi-boy
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 for 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
A 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