Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-03-04
out in line to surround his perch
IN thu hlssR

1
on the bluff.
The canon was his only chance
escape, and he turned with despe
ate earnestness IN that direction
| spurred by the yells of the Indian
which rang in his ears, as he ra
along the edge of the precipict
eagerly scanning the rocks for som
fissure which he might climb dowr
/ Already he was nearly incloset
by semicircle of the savages. /
his rear several of them We're work
ing their way up the bluff, dodgin
from rock to rock, to get a shot a
him without exposing their owl
bodies and he we'll knew tina
others would be ready to head hin
off before he could get much far
ther.
A moment later two rifle shot
cracked from among the boulder
off to his right, and he heard tn,
whiz of the balls. But there seem
ed to be neither break nor crevic'
in the solid ledges forming the wal
of the canon along the verge o
which he was running.
A second or two after, however
he came where the brink of tht
cliff shelved off somewhat, anG
down over the sloping rock he
caught sight of the topmost boughs
of a pine tree reaching slightly
above the rocky wall of the canon,
1t flashed acroos his mind that there
must be foothold at the root ol
this tree, path perhaps by which
he might escape.
Creeping to the extreme edge OF
the bluff, he peered over. There
was little there to encourage him.
About forty feet below some large
rocks jutted out slightly from the
face of the cliff. A crack between
two of these had become filled with
earth; and in this the pine had its
roots.
1t was a desperate venture; but
Bently determined to swing off into
the tree, and trust to finding a place
of concealment. He would assur-
edly be killed if he remained many
moments longer in his present
position, for the yells of his APP
preaching enemies were drawing
nearer and nearer. It could be no
worse to be killed at the foot of the
tree than at the top, he thought.
With his carbine buttoned around
his blouse (his pack venisen he
had already thrown away, he lay
hold of the pine boughs and scram-
bled down its trunk as fast as he
could.
But when about two-thirds of the
way down the pine he noticed an
irregular hole in the face of the
precipice, almost within reach from
the trunk. An inspiration came to
him. Here was his chance of con-
cealment. Supporting himself by a
limb, he contrived to back himself
into the hole, which he found to ex-
tend for twelve or fifteen feet back
wards into the rocky wall of the
canon.
Once inside, his spirits rose. The
Indians surely would never seek
him here; and even if they did, no
one of them would be hardy enough
to poke his head in at the hole only
to receive bullet.
The only apprehension which
now troubled him was the prospect
of seige, and as he had still little
coffee in his canteen, and three
"hard tacks" left in his sack, he felt
that his chances were good for at
least couple of days.
So with renewed hope he lay qui-
ct and listened. The Indians, evil
IDENTIFY, were approaching the place
of his disappearance very cautious
ly; their yelling had ceased. 1t
was nearly an hour before ne heard
anything farther of them.
AT length he became aware that
gutteral voices were in earnest con-
Versation overhead. These sounds
continued for few moments, when
he was startled by gra-
ting, rumbling noise on the rocks
above, followed a moment after by
the violent swaying and cracking of
the pine boughs and laundering
crash below.
The savages had rolled large
boWlder over the edge of the cliff
above him.. 1t had fallen
through the limbs of the tree, and
one of the projecting rocks
pClOW, dIHOlS "ilISIi thC plhC was
rooted, had broken away nearly half
Of it.
An appalling thought crossed
mind. What if the sava-
ges were to keep ON rolling down
powders till they carried away the
rocks below, tree and all!
The sweat rolled down his face,
and he felt faint and sick at heart
as the fact dawned upon him. For
how then as the probability of this
event could he ever escape from his
hole in the steep, bare, lofty wall of
he canon?
In great suspense he waited for
some time, hearing occasional noises
above him.
Not daring to show himself,
Bently remained in his close prison
Ill that night, and next day, until
ate in the afternoon, when, having
heard nothing of his enemies for
iully twenty-four hours, he ventur-
I'd to peep forth and to climb back
Up the pine, the top of the cliff,
which he regained after a good deal
1f effort. No Indians were there
Awaiting him-much to his relief;
md he at once set off to find his
way back to French creek, which
ne reached at about 10 o'clock in the
evening.