The Benton weekly record., 1880-01-30
LITERARY FlBUTloNs.
An Incident ofTErave1.

An Incident ofyH,ravef.
Late in the month of Otober, 1864, two
old ehums and fortune hlhters of the old
California type, men Whf are always on
the tramp and lookout utas#JE sJEgh better prospects,
came to the conclusion to enligrate toI
Montana and strike it ebig. y Having
once made up their mind immediate prep
arations were begun forltle undertaking
of a Journey of some fou1 hundred miles
travel through. a .ceuntry almost entirely
unsettled by white men.
The season was far alvanced towards
winter, but thoughts of fouble in crossing
the mountains did not deter them from
starting. because they Wished to be on
hand to take advantage of the earliest
waters Of spring. Being bachelors, they
were of course equipped With the necessary
camping outfit, and the batter which gave
them the most concern vas ,horseflesh, for
although each was the posessor Of a whit
tledig, the animals for safety, had been
kept pielleted within sightpn the bare fiat
Surrounding the town Of VILLA Walia, and
had been SO cmaciated nat it seemed
rather problematical if. they could make a
common days journey even without any
load whatever. But the two friends were
unable to procure better stGk; their purses
were5depleted and no Indians were just
Fthen in the neighborhood for a sWhoop
up trade So one pleasant day they di-
viled their small stock Of provisions in
| equal portions, tied them mp in their airy
blankets behind the saddles, and then
afoot, leading their ponhs behind them,
they started out on the Mullan road fol.
| their destination.
After neatly two weeks travel they
ound themselves in the Bitter Root noun
tains, which were ALREADY arrayed in the
SHOWS of winter. Here, while yet on the
West side, and some twenty miles from the
summit, one Of their ponies paid the last
tribute to nature by becoming food for the
little soured by the Unforeseen meeting OF
difficulties and hardships, now began to
quarrel, and the owner Of the surviving
equine skeleton, (Johnny McCalD, mount
ing his beast for the first time OH the jour
ney, told his companion he might go to
those warm regions which are now happily
regarded as a myth, and left him to either
return to the easily accessible Catholic
mission, or to follow the lonely road as
best he could. Johnny, in the heat of pas
sion, urged his steed to its utmost powers,
and the persuasion ofaswitch being deemed
insufficient, he improvised spur out Of a
forked stick, which he tied to his boot by
.AA ,4ee--of 4 string. AT last, when
the sl1ytEtre rreEilf1g had invoasea
the forest with a dark obscurity, he reach
ed4s Niger Prairie" and began to look
about for a favorable spot to camp. While
riding along narrow trail which winds
along the foot Of the mountain, near the
edge Of the river, and about four feet above
it's waters, he having raised himself in his
stirrup to obtain a better view, his horse,
white trying to step over a fallen tree, lost
its footing ON the icy path and fell over
sideHise, so suddenly that its rider had
not time to extricate his foot, and the
male-shift spur having caught in some
branches, held him fixed in the position III
which he had fallen. It was a bad fix;
the horse lying with its back down the
bank towards the river, with its weight
upon the leg of Johnny, one of whose
shoulders was in contact with the water, at
this point somewhat obstructed with float
timber.Should the animal make any effort
to alter its position, it could only be done
by first rolling over upon the man, and
either submerging his head into the water,
or crushing some of his limbs. The posi-
ton was fully realized, and Johnny knew
that without some proyidential interference
he was lost. He lay there quietly for q
few moments, keeping his hc:tl above
water, when the llorae making slight
movement, caused him to give q yell with
the full strength of his lungs; but there
was no answer except the echo, and the
man kept still now, very still, for fear the
least noise would move the animal, which
by its hard breathing showed that the po-
sition was becoming tiresome and painful.
And an hour passed in this agony. The
darkness Of the night had replaced the
dusk of evening; the cold air of Noven1-
Der was becoming intensely keen, and no
hope Of relief. A cracking of branches
was heard and listened to with the great
est joy, an expectation only to end in
disappointment and deeper despair, with
the prolonged howl Of a timber wolf that
was prowling through the woods. Well it
was, that the horse was so utterly broken
down. 1T made another effort to regain its
feet, and the movement caused Johnny to
give what he calls his ssdeath yell, which,
tc his great surprise, was answered by his
cast-of, friend of the morning, who had
followed, and was on the lookout for his
late partners camp fire, when his hair was
raisediby what he supposed at first to be
an Indian Warhoop, buta few loud words
almost unconsciously spoken by johnny,
and which seemedto imply a recollection
of a long-neglected deity, guided him to
the. spot OF the accident. Here at first he
perceived only the horse laying beside the
trail, and stood in nomentary Hesitation,
from which, however. he quickly recovered
upon seeing and realizing the fix Of his
old eomrade. Eagerly he went to work,
@
and intelli igentIy placing q lever between.
the horse and the entangled leg, he sue
ceeded TO raise the animal sufficiently to
permit The withdrawal of the man, who
was so benunaed that it was only slowly
he could extricate himself Deprived Of
its living prop the animal rolled over into
the river upon its back, and ere assistance
could be rendered among the driftWoe'd, it
had sueeumbea BY drowning
The two Ipen now became f1rmer friends
than ever, and III spite Of their former
pursued their journey ii q hap
pier frame Of mind than they had eS-
perieneed since leaving ALA WalIa. They
have, however, struck 4 ssbigs thing thi g
vet, aItflous they have been on nearly nearly
ever. stampede IN and out Of the Territory
since those days Both Of them are nov
WorkIng ma mining camp on the West
side and intend wing for Arizona in the
spring with the belief that their bonanza
Lies soIaefvh hers dpSyn there in the A Apaelle
collla q.
Esvaeuatans s. the state HEasass.
AaeHsTa The Capitol
Guards Light infantry
marched ont Of the State House ct 8 o o'cloek