The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1881-12-28
A Subterranean Chamber in the
Judith Mountains.
What Came from a Draught from an En-
chanted Spring.
a Look into the Future Vouchsafed to one
of Earth's Inhabitants.
BY JEs.

mining interests in Northeastern Montana
had received fresh impetus by the develop
ments in the Barker district, and the reports
of new discoveries in other quarters, a party
OF whom I was one QUILTED at Fort Benton
for a prospecting trip in the judith noun
tains. Crossing the river on the Lynch q
Flint ferry, the close of the fourth day saw
us in camp among the rugged hills OF the
Judith range. The next day three Of US !
Bill Parker, Frank Seymour and myself
started out to look for Indications.
1t was my first prospecting trip, and to tell
the truth, the grand sights which the eleya-
ton afforded WereSo of more interest to q lover
of nature like myself than quartz, and in
endeavoring to reach q point from which |
thought I could, perhaps, obtain a better
view, I found myself out of sight of Bill and
Frank, but still, as | supposed, within hail.
Turning my eyes in every direction, to take
in all that the position opened to me, l OBJ
served, within twenty paces, what seemed to
be an opening in the mountain. Shouting
my discovery to my companions, and Calling
to them to come on. | started for the open
ing, and soon found myself at the entrance
of a cavern of unknown extent. My natural
curiosity and desire after the exploration of
the unknown was strongly aroused, and,
thinking the others would soon join me, as /
knew they could not fail to see the entrance
when they reached the point | had just left,
, I advanced into the cavern, the natural
A.3 3. . ~ .xs:.L -, - c4ol cor 49, I:o+a - 40
byS the light from the entrance, and soon
stood erect in q subterranean chamber, the
sid es and roof of which were invisible in the
faint light. I had an ample supply Of matches
with me, and right at the entrance were 9 lot
Of dry tWigs and q portion Of dead limb,
and ! soon had 9 fame going, and, lighting
the larger stick, held it over my head like q
torch. The sight which met my eyes was
~onefimposslble to describe. The light Of the
torch was reflected from q thousand points
the chamber was literally studded with crys-
N tails Of every conceivable size and shape
while far beyond the reach OF the weak light
the sides of the chamber lost themselves in
the deepening darkness. Within ten feet Of
me a small stream Of clear water emerged
from a point low down in the nearest wall,
ran for about forty feet, and then sank
again in the rocky floor Of the cavern. The
day was a warm one, and | had become
heated and thirsty in climbing, and, as the
stream looked so inviting, | stopped and took
q drink az the water, which found to be
ice cold. But by this time, even in the en-
@ b.-.;nc -, x,;4l, rr,hiat tho linonunry had HIlod
me, the sense of loneliness in the great, and
apparently boundless darkness made itself
felt, and 80, fixing my torch in a crack in
che wall, 1 turned toward the entrance to call
again to my companions. But when / step
ped forward a weight seemed to be fastened
to my feet, q droWsy feeling stole over me,
and, overcome with d desire for sleep, { sank
down within a few feet Of the stream, and
was soon oblivious of all surroundings.
/ awoke slowly from the sleep which had
fallen on me. AT first I was rather startled
by my strange surroundings, but gradually
the recollection of what had passed came
back to me, and starting to rise, with a queer
stiffness in my joints which | attributed to
the dampness of the rocky floor on which |
had lain, / was surprised to find that the en-
trance. which had been quite large when |
went Ia, was now almost closed by fallen
pieces of rock, and rubbish which looked as
though it had blown in and laid there for
some time. But there was no time to waste
in idle conjecture, for / knew not how long
had slept, and was afraid my companions
had left, and SO, going to work with q will, |
soon managed to clear q space sufficiently
large, and erawled out into the bright sum
light. The air felt sharp and bracing, like
the air OF morning, and, surprised, ! pulled
out my watch to note the time Of day, but it
had run down. This made me a little ner-
yous, and I made all haste down the noun
tain to the camp. But when / arrived at the
place, there were no signs Of q camp to be
seen. Thought, at first, that I was mistaken
in the place, but a second glance around me
showed landmarks which there could be no
mistaking-the camp lad been there once,
but where were my companions, and why
was there no trace of the recent occupation
of the spot?
AS 4 stood la Wonderment, all at once,
seemingly from the valley. q shrill. piercing
scream rang cut, which there was no mistak-
ing b sone8 who had ever heard 1T before-it
was the shrek Of . locomotive! The story
of Rip Van Wrinkle flashed through my