Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-08-10

attempt TO raise me from my dreadful
position. i was young, and life wa
very sweet to me; but felt that INV las
moment was ut hand. Another secon,
or two must end the matter; so severe
strain could no longer be endured: on
hands must loosen their hold; and
must inevitably be dashed to pieces OF
the broken rocks had observed NJ th
foot of the precipice.
There was an instant of breatbIess 81
lencey during which time my uncle ha,
clearly realized the critical nature of tn
situation. and decided on a plan of nc
ton. He looked over. and saw tina
Just below the spot where i was sus
Resnpea thsre was n rugged projection
otrock, extending fully Six feet beyon,
tee Derpebdicu Of the point where
hung. If fell on this INV fate wa
sealedi no power could save me from
Death Beyond this rock was water
Pusslbly Of q depth sufficient 90 breal
the force OF fall, IL only that waite
could be reached; but in this Law all th:
diihculty. My uncle was n good as wei
rs brave man; he loved me a. the sol
OF dead sister, and he was willing Il
uare everything TO save me: but he iii,
not undervalue the nature of the awful
risk he was undertaking on nv behalf
and he knew that he was going to take
his own life in his hands rs we'll rs mine
breathing n prayer for Divine protcc
tion' he said quietly but firmly: Tom
there Is but one way for IL. I'll saw,
You, or we will both perish together.
Nhen say the wOr,l. take your hand
from the rOck-Nowli
AS my uncle loudly said Now /
relaxed my hold of the rock: and ut the
same instant my uncle made an i'm
mense effort and sprang horizontally
into the air. carrying me with him and
retaining his hold Of my hand rs we
rushed violently down, turning over i'm
our headlong descent. can not pre-
/ tend 20 say that / ever very distinctly
/ rccollectcd nv sensations during those
awful seconds, for it was nothing more.
had my senses pretty clearly while |
hung from the rock, and / can recall
the gasping feeling which / experienced
as took my hand away; but beyond
mat all Is chaos. So great was the
force with which my uncle lcapcd, that
he completely cleared the projecting
ledge, and we fell into the sea. which
was deep enough TO break our fall,
though the violence Of the shock UNI
loosed our grasp of each other. Halt
stunned rs we were, the cold water
probably acted as u restorative. We
were both excellent swimmers, and \
moment or two later we were breastin0
the waves, fortunately not too bolster
Gus for our sorely tried strength We
rose about twenty yards apart. ut some
little distance from the rocky ledge.
and rather nearer fIattish rock which
reared is head from the pillows. For
this shelter we made; and too deep for
u'terancc were the feelings with which
We took each O'hcr's hands and "azed
into each others ewes.
"Thank God, my boy" ut last said
my uncle, fcryently.
81 do. uncle; and You. too. Where
should have been now. but for you.''
Hush! Tom. Thank God. we're
both safe; IL was an ugly jump, no
doubt of that
We both shuddcrcd ms we gazcd on
the prccipicc frOwning above us. on the
top of which we could see our two 50
recently horrOr-stricken friends. wildly
waving their hats in n transport of 10y
ut their discovery of us on the rock. ap-
parently safe and sound
A hearty cheer i'm reply assured them
OF our perfect safety; and then nv uncle
shouted To- them some directions rs TO
the course they were To- pursue in en-
deavoring To procure assistance for our
rescue. Owing 10 the width Of ledge
broken OF where fell. their return bv
the same route was impossible: and =
long and pcrilOus walk had to be under
taken befOr, they were themselves in
security, when they immediately sought
out means of delivorancc for my uncle
and myself.
But IN the meantime better luck had
bcfallcn Us. The noise made bv our
shouting had attracted the notice of n
fisherman who lived IN little cottage
under the cliffs. at place where the
shore rcceded. anil left bare n tinv
ERIE where a suall boat WAS -moorcd.
III had clambeN.d over the crap that
'''id ~ from liza si1ht; and rs soon rs he
spicd,thO two llghrcs fstanding on the
solitary rock our situatiun became ap-
parent to him, aud he lost no time In
launching his boat and coming TO our
assistance. Truly thankful we were for
the timely aid. We were both soaked
To the skin and shivering with cold. and
the rock was far too small for any At
tempt nj exercise. 4 very short time
saw us I'm the coy interior Of the fisher
man cottage. where bright little fire
was burning. very welcome 10 us i'm our
chilled condition; while his kindly
vile busted herself in preparations
Tor our comfort, and ransacked
net humble stores for supply
oil dry garments, also highly acceptable
Little remains to- bc told. When we
were quite rested and refreshed. and our
clothes were dry enough To- be worn,
the fisherman conducted Us to the ton
ut the cliffs by circuitous little path.
which in some places unplea,antiy re-
called our recent experiences. We
reached the summit in safety. however.
and made the best of our way TO the
farmhouse where we had left our con-
veyancc. The fisherman undertook 20
apprisc our friends of our whereabouts:
they having procured a boat at the
revenue station. and come round the
coast IN her, to point out to her crew
the exact spot Of our confinement.
Having literally rewarded those who
had so willingly assisted us i'm our ex.
tremity. we returned home. our bodies
fntigued by the varied cNertions and OK.
citemcnts of the day; our minds pene-
tratcd with lasting gratitude towards
the Almighty Being who had brought
us through so many perils, and had
mercifully preserved as from the Jaws
OF sudden and terrible destruction
Chambers Journal.
%e
VERY 0fd Tracks.