The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1875-05-06
but knowing all the while, by merely
stretching out foot now and then, that
the tide was rising higher and higher to


stretching out foot now and then, that
| the tide was rising higher and higher to
sweep him off. Now my feet were under
water, then my knees, aud soon it rose
so high that at every ninth wave" the
death wave," as we call it down here on
the coast could feel myself lifted a
little; and at last, just as it was before,
I was swept off, and swimming again in
| the darkness to find another rock ON
which could creep. More than once !
touched something with hand or foot
and snatched it shudderingly back
while at such times the waves bore me
backward and forward as they ebbed
and flowed. AS far as I could tell the
bottom was quite beyond my reach, for
let down my feet again and again. But
the cave grew much narrower; for now
l struck my head against one side and
then against the other as I laboriously
swan along farther and farther, as it
were, into the depths of the earth,
till once more l came against part
of the rock which could climb up-this
time by feeling carefully about till
struck my head against the roof and
then crouched once more shiveringly
down, waiting in hall. dazed, swoon-like
state for the next time when I should
have to make struggle for life. felt
dull and listless, my senses seemed to be
numbed, and it was almost in dream
that I half-sat, halliday upon the wet
rock, listening to the wash of the waves
and the dull roar echoing from the cave
mouth; while close to me there seemed
to be strange, whispering sounds mingling
with the dripping from the roof, which
fell always with little melodious plash
in the water.
Sometimes seemed to doze-a sort of
stupor-like sleep from exhaustion-and
then started with cry, expecting that
l was hanging once more to the rock out
side, or being swept away by a wave
from the rock upon which was resting;
and, at last, far in as was, there came
what to me what was like hope Of life
for, at first very faint and pale, but by
degrees stronger, the light of day came
down into the thick blackness of that
awful hole, cutting it like arrows, and
striking upon the waters before it be-
came broken and spread around.
AS far as I could see, it came down
from the room eight or ten yards from
where sat, but it was q long time be-
fore could summon courage to lower
myself into the water and swim along
till came beneath the bright rays, when
l found that they came down through a
rift in the roof some ten feet above me
though as again drew myself out of
the water on the rugged side, and then
clambercd into the rough, long rift,
was so stiff and weak that every move
ment made me groan with pain.
Now, come here again to where the
rift is and you can look down, and listen
to the roar and bubbling OF the water.
A strange, wild place, but l made my
way up it to life and light once more;
but have never found any man here
yet with courage to go down, while
how much farther the hole penetrates
into the bowels of the earth no
one knows. There are plenty of such
caves along the coast here, made by the
water gradually eating out a soft vein of
stone from one that is harder; while as
to my leaving my bed like that, and
climbing to where l had been the day
before, it must have been from over-ex-
element, l suppose. But there, such
cases are common, and as boy | often
left my bed and went by night to places
where l could not have gone had been
awake.