The enquirer southerner., 1874-11-06
From the San Francisco Golden Era.
Utilizing a Jack Rabbit.
The Extraordinary Story told by Montana
Miner er-Useful Fishlines.

the Golden Gate Park last week,
jack rabbit came along, and stop>
ped to look at US.
If I had thought to bring my
revolver along we would have jack
on toast for breakfast tomorrow
] remarked.
Not with my consent he re-
piled.
'What reason can you give for
not consenting!
"A rabbit saved my life, and I
have not killed one tince, and will
never kill one again
How did he manage to save your
life?'
Three years ago | was living in
Montana. A smeller had jus. been
built, and it created a demand for
silver rock. l owned interest in
q lead that had been sunk on 80 it.
Thinking that the time had come to
make it available, | concluded to
60 there and get some ore and have
it tested. I did so; and reached
the place just in time to take shell
ter in the mine from the terrible
hsil.storm. I lighted my candle,
went to the bottom and went to
work. / had not been there more
than five minutes when I heard a
noise that sounded like cannon.
The rock over my head shook, and
in a moment the shaft behind me
caved. You can imagine my feel>
ings better than I can describe
them, when found myself buried
alive. I tremble even at this dis
tant day when I think of that mo-
ment. The roof of the shaft was
rocks, and when they came down
they did not pack so tight but what
the air came through. There was
nothing that I could do to release
myself. I knew that if relief did
not come from the outside I must
perish. No one knew I had gone
there. A road ran past the mouth
of the saft but it was not travelled
much, and I was not likely to at
tract attention by calling; never
theless I shouted at intervals all
day. The following morning ]
commenced calling again and all
day, whenever I thought | heard a
sound, I shouted.
when night came all hopes Of
being released abandoned me. One
thing added great bitterness to my
suffering. l owed quite a large
amount of money, and, should my
fate remain unknown, my creditors
would think I had fed to defraud
them, and my name would be stig
matized.
L will not dwell on the agonie:
I endured i am sorry cannot for
| get them.
The morning of the fourth day
of my Imprisonment heard some
thing crawl into my grave. light
ed my candle and saw a rabbit
!; There was only one aperture large
enough to admit him; l closed it tt
prevent his escape. 1 saw in hin
food to appease my hunger, and m.
hand was raised to kill him, when 1
thought occurred to me that pre-
vented the blow from descending
I had two fish lines their unitec
lenghth would reach to the road
I took off my shirt, tore it int
strings, tied them together, and OIL
to the fish line. 1wore long, gol'
watch chain; I tied it on to the par
of the line that would cross the road
I then cut several leaves from m,
, diary, wrote on them my condition
and tied them on to that part of tn
. line that would be outside. l thel
tied the end made out of my shir
around Jacks neck and let him out
He soon reached the end of the line
and I knew by the way he was pull
ing that he was making desperat
attempts to escape. Soon the tug
ging stopped, and knowing gnawinI
to be Jacks chief accomplishment
I thought he had cut himself loose
, About three hours afterwards l fel
!, the line pull, and some one called
!, I tried to answer, but the hoars
noise I made died IN the cavern.
then pulled the line to show that
was not dead.
} All grew still again, and | kne'
. the man had gone for assistance
: Then came the sound of voices
pulled in the line, and it brough
: me food. 1t took all the men VIII
= worked in the shaft nine hours t
3 reach me.
/ "A very large pine tree that stoo
: near the shaft had been the caus
r of my misfortune. 1t had bee
3 dead a number of years and tn
storm had blown it over. The tel
7 rible blow it struck the ground ha
= caused the cave.
, sJack had wound the line aroun
! a bush, and tied himself so shor
; that he was imprisoned outside a
3 securely as I had been inside. 81
3 was taken to town, put in a larg
cage, and supplied with all the rat
bit delicacies the market afforded
i, He, however, did not thrive, an
/ the boys believing that he 'pined i
3 thought voted to set him free
He was taken back to his old grio
Q ling grounds and liberated.
r He not only saved my life, br
4 became the benefactor of all th
q rabbits in the neighborhood-th
5 miners refraining from shootin
i~-- Eoo~:r :% r,:~6k 1o b;ro3