The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-04-29
TIE KING OF THE DEAD.

Last August I was shooting prairie
chickens In Southern Kansas. A thnn.
der storm came sweeping out oftbe north.
west took shelter in little roadside
inn: Time hanging heavily on ME,
read and reread the county papers that
Uttered the table in the small bar-room
Psrlor. Reading the list of marriages
births aud deaths, I found among the
latter the name John q. Zalmack, aged
thirty-six years. In another column was
this announcement:
6UICEDE.-Lsst night John O. Zaimack
returned to his cattle ranch, taking with
him bottle ef ,poisoned whiskey., He
had tfwpfeofp aud said chat il he found
he cohld.not Te8ist the desire for alcohol
he would drink Of the poisoned Liquor
and die. In the morning his dead body
lay across his bed.
Sitting by q window watching the
1erco storm musingly repeated the name
John y Zalmack. It sounded very fa-
n!iiiiar, Questioning the Landlord Of the
Inn, was soon In possession of the
little ne knew iof. the history of the dead
man, and learned that he was commonly
called Jack ZalIlack. Instantly the
Japki Lalmacky miner of the Northern
Rocky Mountains, stood fourth. Iknew
him well. Years ago I was among the
Cteur d'Alene Mountains Of Northern
Idaho, searching for mountain of iron
ore that common report located there.
One evening soon after sunset I rode up
70 the brink Of deep canon. By nv
feet tiny stream Of cold water poured
over the edge of the rock, disappear.
ing from my sight rs it sank into the ut.
ter M:csneas beneath me, q rope Of wav.
log. bubbling foam. I camped, and
having been unsuccessful Ia shooting and
fishing, / lay supperless in my blankets,
smoking my pipe. My horse grazed
about me, or, coming to the fire, stood
with hanging head, and looked at me
with mournfully lonesome eyes. Again
he would walk: to my blankets, and
would careas bim as his head hung over
me. I was very lonely.
The isolation Of my life WAS affecting
my nerves. heard strange sounds, and
as the night grew old 1 fanced I saw
uncanny objects lowering around my fire
or cf0uchi1g under the bushes, waiting
for q favorable opportunity to spring
upon me. ! was neither asleep nor yet
awake. While was resting physically
my brain was amusing itself by creating
horrors to frightsn my body. The DAYS
had spent in the Blackfoot Indian coun-
try, where light sleep, wakeful sleep, was
the price of my life had tried my nerves
severely. J. heard che light patter of q
VOLTS feet, then a quick, sharp sniff be-
hi1d me. My horse, with loud snorts
ran toward ,ne. Turning over on my
breast, my rife came to my shoulder,
and an ounce ball cr.ched between the
glaring eyes OF, the nlarg midnight prowl-
er. : arose, rebuilt my fire, and sat
waiting for the early dawn of a Northern
summer TO break. Out from the black
abyss at my feet rolled up a volume of
cries so fiendiah that my blood chilled
and little waves of icy GOODNESS chased
each other up my spine. With q great
ground awell Of q chill rolling through me
from right to left, recovered myself, say
ing "Curse those panthersl What start
long. This will moi do"
With final shudder I drew q pair Of
heavy Oregon blankets around me and
sat motionless. Again the cries from the
chasm. This time l heard the words !:
,"Help! helpi helpl Oh, my Godp L
lsy down, and With anxious eyes peered
into the gloom, beneath me. 1 could see
nothing, I heard d voice raised high in
piteous appeals, saying: DO not strike
me. Don't DON'T" Then louder. in
despair, shouting: "Help helpi Oh my
Godl" Then q succession of screams as
though some mortal W. enduring the
torments Of the orthodox nell. Hay lis.
tening. My horse stood alongside of me,
peering down with wide-opened eyes, hie
nervous ears cooked forward. AT short
intervals, the cries and appeals for help
were repeated. Faintdawn came. Loci
ing into the canon could see the line
of blacknesa descending lower and lover
until the tops of the mighty evergreens
at the bottom could be SEEN locking Ike
great black domes. Lighter, but still
blight enough to clear away the shad-
owe from the bottom of tue canon. The
pines behind me cast their shadows
across the chasm on the red wall of
basaltic reck opposite me before could
see plainly to the bottom Of the rift in
the rocks. Fifteen hundred feet below
me lay narrow valley. A torrent pour
ed over its rocky bed looking like long.
undulating white serpent gliding in and
out among tho pines. A giimse oft be.
low me, then lost to view, to flash out in
pure white through It's partial screen cf
evergreens far down the valley. Little
meadows Of bunch grass and psx,hes of
thoih OueuSos Will hC%lEl6C O6tEleS lllCk-
ly stndded over them, checkered Tho bot
tom of tho ,canon in. brown and green.
Two horses grazed on one Of these pfas-
BY lawns; one solid white, the other d
black With fonr white atockings and a
blazed face. "a roll Of blankets,Sa d little
pile OF ftour and bacon in sacks, come
cooking ptensilss two saddles, one d saw
buck pack saddle; and keg 10y. on the
ground bV 81 cIumD of pfyse-tfaaa Eti1l
lying on che verge Of the abyss, I Tsearched
the valley with my glass to my eyss. BY
o reckon the river side saw q miners
nreanank nap pm, ehneel, as.dd . pick 7
could not see the human being Tihad
heard crying 30 loudly in the night.
Walking hnek In nv nlankets. i picked
up my rifle and started On o hunt for my
breakfast.
Again heard, and the air seemed TO
Gniyef with the sound SO it rolled up from
the canon the cries, Help HelpI Help |
Oh my God |" Hurkying bsck to the
top Of the cliff looked over and saw a
naked man standing in the shallow water
I by the bank of the little river Pattlng
my glass on him, stood waiting and
listening. His ecreams were incessant.
He H0on rushed out of the water with
arms held above his head, as If to protect
it from Q savage blow. Reaching the
meadow land, ne suddenly turned on the
(by me uliseen) object pursuing him, and
atrnck savaga blows In the air with his
clenched hands; then, falling on his
knees, be covered his be-.d with his arms