The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1884-06-27


Clarence King, the Sierra scientist,
was once followed for three days over
the Tulare plains and into the San
Joaquin Valley, by a couple of mounted
Mexican highwaymen, who alternately
chased and intercepted him, forcing
him more than once for safety to the
chances of speed or strategem,. After
one narrow escape by a magnificent run
of his good horse, "Kaweah, he had
travelled q day unmolested, and was
stopping for the night at q settlers
ranch, when the robbers rode up TO the
ranch, and from their questions to his
villainous host, and their sudden de-
parture, he knew as he overheard the
whole from his window, that they in
tended to w~aylayhim on the road. The
story of the remarkable slip he gave
them is thus told by MI. King him.
self:
In the night I rose cautiously, and
holding my watch up to the moon, found
that twelve o'clock had just passed; then
taking from my pocket a five-dollar
! gold-piece, Ilaid it upon the stand by
my bed, and in my s~tocking-feet, with
my clothes in my hand, started noise
leSsly for the corral.
A fierce bulldog, who had shown no
disposition to make friends with me,
bounded from the open door ofthe pro-
prietor, to my side. Instead of tearing
me, as l expected, he licked my hand
and fawned about my feet.
Reaching the corral gate, I dreaded
| opening it, remembering that the hinges
creaked badly. So Ihung my clothes
upon an upper bar of the fence, and eau
tiously lifting the latch, began to push
back the gate, inch by inch, an oper-
alton which consumed eight or ten min
utes.
Then I walked up to Kaweah and
patted him. The horse was full of Curl
osity, as if he had never been approached
in the night before. Suppressing his
ordinary whinnying, he preserved a
~motionless, statue-like silence. l was
IN terror lest by a neigh, or some ner-
vous movement, he should waken the
sleeping proprietor and expose my plan
The corral and the open square We're
half covered with loose stones, and
when | thought of the clatter of Kaw-
eath's shoes / experienced a feeling of
trouble, till finally the idea struck me
of muffling the iron feet.
In constant dread lest the horse
should make some noise, / hurried to
mufie his forefeet with my trousers and
shirt, and then, with rather more care,
to tie upon his hind feet nay coat and
drawers.
Leading him slowly out ofthe corral
gate, l walked beside him, holding him
firmly by the bit, for a distance of per-
haps aquarter of mile. then stopped
and listened. All was quiet. Ithen UNI
bound the wrappings, shook from them
as much dusta possible; dressed my
self and leaping on Kaweah's back start
ed northward on the Mariposa trail.
In the soft dust we travelled noise
lessly for a mile or so, passing from
open country into groves of oak and
thickets of chapparal.
Suddenly, / came upon a shoulder
ing fire close by the trail, and in the
shadow saw two men asleep. One was
stretched on his back, snoring heavily
the other was lying upon his face, pill
lowing his head on his folded arms.
rode carefully by without awaken
ing them. My nerves were keyed up to
a high pitch. I turned round in the
saddle, leaving Kaweah TO follow the
train, and kept my eyes riveted on the
sleeping forms, until they were lost in
the distance, and then felt safe.
We galloped over many miles of trail,
enjoying a sunrise, and at last came to
Mariposa, where i deposited my gold,
and then went to bed, and made up my
lost sleep. Mountaineering in the
Sierra Nevada.