The Penn's Grove record., 1883-11-03
a chi

In lut lar nO3tn, lOuB ago, W9en 4 VIZ
a boy, my brother and | used to be expei
crsgsmen. II / may use the term Few
things gave as more pleasure than TO scale
sill the steep prtcipices, OF which ther'
was no lack in our neighborhood. Thest
precipices ranged from one hundred u
four hundred feet IN height. We wert
never troubled with dizziness and, boy,
like In such a pastime, did not Know what
fear meant. Dangerous 1t certainly was,
and many a narrow escape we had. ]
shudder now at the thought OF the places
In which we ventured. One of our adven-
lures after BIRDS eggs very nearly proved
fatal. We had often tried, but had al.
ways faIled, to obtain any ravens eggs for
our collections. We were anxious to pro-
cure specimens. and determined that some
how or other we should. Now, be II
known to these who are not acquainted
with the character and habits of the bird
of Ill oGen," that he is one Of the most
sagacious agd cunning of the feathered
tribe. He builds his nest high up, In the
most inaccessible cliffs, so that it is al
most impossible to reach it except with
the help of a rope, and even with such
assistance it is no easy task. We knew OF
a ravens nest about fifty feet from the top
oil q very steep and bare preciplce of four
hundred feet which there wa no posslbil-
lty OF sealing In the usual way. Above
tie rest the cliff was partly o~verhanging,
and beneath and on both sides, except
the spot chosen for the nest on a solitary
shelf, it was smooth and steep as a wall.
For many years the same pair OF ravens,
safe and unmolested, had occupied and
| reared their broods; but, with the peril
nacious ardor OF hoyhood, we were re-
| solved that they should no longer find that
their eyre was ~impregnsDle, and we laid
our plans accordingly. 1t was necessary
to have recourse TO a rope, that n OF us
might be lowered down from the brow OF
the cliff; also a pulley, in the form of
what sailors call a ''block, was required;
for n of us would, Of course, have
been unable to haul up the other with
the single rope only; but the doubling of
the rope by means OF the block would
diminlsh the weight and pressure by one
half, and bring the task well within our
strength. Accordingly, we obtained a
coil Of about forty fathoms of rope, such
as is commonly used tor the sheet OF the
SAIL OI u 5u1diI DOdtJ htoO o ou4dAl DAOShy
and a strong oak stake.
The brow OF the cliff was a smooth,
grassy sward, the turf being bard, and,
to all appearance, tough. We secured
one end of the rope to the stake, which
we drove firm into the ground right above
the ravens nest. My brother was to make
the descent; | was to stand by the rope
and manage the lowering and hauling up.
A small piece of wood to sit on having
been attached to a loop of rope and Sc
cured to the lower end of the block, all
was ready fer action, and the descent con-
tinued slowly. | paid out the rope. /
could not see over the clid, but was quite
within easy ear-shot, and every second or
" the shout came up: Lower away,
lower away" at last II was: .'Hold hard, y
and in a little: 'All right. Haul up
now" / knew that the prize was won,
and began to pull away Justify and cheer
iIy; but when / had recovered not more
than three or four yards, TO my horror and
dlsmay | noticed the treacherous soil yield
ing to the strain, and the stake being
drawn. ] had barely time TO seize the
stake end Of the rope. Another moment
and the stake would have been wrenched
out of the earth and dragged right over,
and-well, I dare say should lave held on;
[ am sure l should; but that would have
been of no avail. My poor brother
must have fallen down, down, till the
block caught the stake with q jerk, which
would have fetched me over, too, If l had
kept my mold; and down those terrible
hundreds of feet we would have been
dashed TO inevitable destruction. AS 1t
was. the situation was dreadful enough for
US both. For some time at least | could
hold on, but that was all. 1t was beyond
my strength now to haul in one yard OF
rope. 'Haul away, can't youa" shouted
my brother, little thinking what a dreadful
thing had happened. tf#
| paused a moment before answering
| was afraid, when he knew the truth
that he might faint or lose presence of
mind at the appalling position in which
he was placed. did him injustice. A
drawer. cooler spirit never beat In breast
of man or boy. "Don't be alarmed" |
cried, s'the stake IS loosenIng a little"
That is how | put 1t to lessen the shock to
his nerves. keep stu q moment, " /
added, s'nll | see what can be done"
But, IN truth. | could not think what was
TO be done. | could do nc more than hold
my place and my hold. HAS the stake
entirely slipped it's hoidf' he cred. ~"la
fear so, yes" | replied. "But don't be
afraic; l can easily hold you as you are
till we think what a be done" He
knew the worst then; we both knew too
well the peril OF the situation. Had he
-. a.1. +. &C.,, faok frann the hrnur -
the precipice, he might have got up by
the rope hand oyer hand, for he was
light, wlry and active, and his muscles
strengthened and toughened by constant
exercise, gymnastics, rowing, cricket, aud
the hike. But nearly fifty feetl II was
out of the question-it was impossible
and We both knew 1t. Moreover, we had
no hope of help coming. There was not
the slightest chance of any one passing
that way; for the cliff was far away from
human habiLation, an isolated headland at
the extremity of a peninsula, where q few
more than half dozen sheep grazed; a
place, therefore. where NJ n had occa
sion TO visit except the owner of the said
sheep two or three times in a year. OF
all this wa were perfectly aware.
What's to be donef" at last | cried.
'.But at any rate don't get shaky."
Firm and clear came up the reply:
s.Snaky! old fellow. Mol that l shan't,
and ! know you won't, either. 1 know
you won't let go. We shall do yet,
never fear, ! am thinking Of a plan"
And then, after q moments pause. 81
have it. II you hold hard by the STAKE
end of the rope, and slip the other over,
I'll slide down till l reach some footing
Wait till | shcat that Pm all ready, aud
then kick the rope out as far as you can,
that it may o come down on my head.
You understand" san right" | shouted
back, instantly comprehending and im-
mensely admlring the ready wit OF the
device. BE careful in moving, don't
Jerk; give the rope a twist round your
legs, and slip down slowly" 1t was not
without danger that this could be done,
and everything depended upon steadiness
md nerve. Haste OF furry would in all
.robsbility have been fatal. he had to
isengage himself from the loop in which