The Elk Mountain pilot., 1881-12-15
Il NIGHTS EXPERIENCE
WITH Il NIGHT lKARE
F7EN.D.

HEND. -.
I Mr.. EDITOR: Tonight the spirit
of the ancient mariner possesses me,
and to you must tell nay tale. l
have fed Upon scene OF horrors. Do
not reveal it unless you feel that the
welfare ofthc public imre atively de-
mands it, in which case sacrifice me
unhesitatingly
Did you ever sleep with Geo. Corn
wall, my friend? Pardon the abrupt
manner with which l approach my
subject. But did you Mr., Editor !?
| take it YOU never have, for your edl-
torals, as far as can discern, appear
IRRATIONAL enough, but if you never
have I beg of you, for the love of
Heaven, do not attempt the expert
ment, | did it once and my head is
grey. In all the Rocky mountains,
from Alaska to Patagonia, there are
not to be found two more hospitable,
kindly hearted, unselhsh, boys than
the Cornwals; that is when they are
awake, but when George Cornwall is
asleep he can be a devil incarnate, or
goblin damned" or as near there
to as it is possible for the human kind
to approximate. The night of my
experience I shall never forget, SO full
Of dismal terror was the time. That
night has almost banished from my
memory all the delightful social quail
tiles, all those genial happy hours l
have passed with those boys; the
pleasure l have experienced in wit
Messing brothers living SO harmonious
ly; the many unstudied kindnesses |
have received at their hands, and now
where once their little cabin rested SO
pleasantly in my memory, down by
the willow clad banks Of the noun
tain stream, where the SUN lies so warm
and swee:, there hassscome dream of
horror. | have in my experience had
! nightmares, | am willing to aeknow1-
ledge, and have seen other men have
them, but never did l know what
nightmare was in all its gastliness, un-
til saw and experienced one Of Geo.
Cornwall's: BY what gastronomic
regimen he is enabled to produce
such untoward disturbances | have
failed to discover. 1t may be he was
born this way, and has cultivated
Nightmares from his youth up. 1t is
lmmaterial quite, for the fact remains
that he can beat anyone l ever saw at
nightmares and then he'has such a
funny way Of thinking that it is YOU
Ta|i tho time, and he is not drunk
either, for he is in all respects most
temperate man. do believe though
ne honestly thinks l had the night
mare In question and not himself. It
all came about In this wise, | was en-
joying the kindly hospitality of the
Cornwalls' roof We had spent the
usual hour Of conversation seated
AZ put the pleasant winter nights fire,
a I'd had retired to our slumbers. moth
ing that can now recall had occurred
to mar the quiet of our thoughts.
George looked as harmless and devoid
of guile as the puting cat, that stretch
ed herself in the warm freight, and
SO gentle and of peaceful ways had
been our talk, that even the old house
dog IN the corner had dreamed his
ftful dreams in unbroken slumber.
my memory recalls not a night Of
more perfect peace, letters from home
had been received and read, some
little meFentoes Of autumn maple
leaves, that had cameifrom the East.
had been pinned against the wall, and
I'VE Dad n Telapsed into dreamy
stiffness. TO look at George Corn
wall then q to listen to him as he
quietly thAted, murnurfnk Along Ike
meadow brook, one could not have
s9ncelved that under this quiet ex.
terlor there larKed dark, uufathomed
powers OF i'll. You had only to put
ftMs gerae kindly nan To- sleep and
he became a fiend. 1knov not hov
long | had slept that night, when of !
tsqdden MAS aroused from nv x,een
BY the most uneathly yell thit eyer
greeted mortal ears, to say that |
! - NkpA u