Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-12-19

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nose' ana heard the faithful animal NOV.
tus doout near by. The supreme darkness
Tau Hidue the poor brute sfrightened. W men
WIS under shelter again | secured
T "a, from the pack and lighted it.
| htle Tue gale screamed overhead like a
'neu yeast, there was scarcely enough
! mn9JVelheht down there to flare The light.
- ,ioelhH the animals, both OF which seem
Gu very grateful tor the light. went up
tne valley about a hundred feet nIrther
man before. Here discovered, much to
my amazement, q great pile Of tirewcod
1Iu pace where cooking had been done.
NlIhOuJ stopping to wonder who had
Deen Jhere, or how long. | built a fire on
the piackened stones, feeling sure that
us blaze could not be seen outside in such
storm as that. There was a thicl,
CROWN OF grasssunder foot, and | unsad-
Gied the animals and let them turn to.
Iheh set about cooking a bite to eat.
ana at O'Clock by my watch was ready
10 wrap my blanket around me and turn
IN gave the Danites no further thought
ior the night. They would be compelled
10 seek shelter somewhere from the dread
lul storm, and IN The morning might seek
TO pick up the trail anew. l should let
circumstances guide me.
noticed several times while smoking
my atter.supper pipe that the animals
seemed Ill at ease. They frequently raised
their heads from the grass to look, and al
ways IN one directiOn-up the valley
What was beyond? My fire only threw
its glare few feet away. For all
knew this rift in the mighty mill might ex-
tend tor halfa mile further. Had some
animal been driven to this shelter in adj
vance of me? | picked up a blazing
brand and rising to my feet hurled it in
the darkness.
lac result was astonishing. There was
chorus OF fierce grOwls, and three great
mountain lions came leaping out of the
pltch dark ana skurried down the valley,
one OF them making flying leap over the
mule. 80 that was what allied the brutes.
Inc poor animals ceased eating entirely,
| and crowded as close to me and the fire
as they could get.
L now got my revolvers out, not know
ing what else might confront me. 1t
Watn't i've minutes before a snort of
alarm from the horse proved that some
danger was at hand. l had Just replen-
lshed the fire when the three lions return
ed. Their tails dragged on the ground
| and l could see that they were broken up
over something. They started to bolt
| past the fire up the valley, but l killed
the first one stone dead with a bullet
through his bead, and the other two ran
| Oil with dismal hOWls. ] waited and
watched for their return a whole hour and
then, seeing the horses begin to feed
/ again, | reasoned that the lions mad lett
the valley for some other shelter. | put
! the IRE well together, and dropped of to
| sleep, and l Was not awakened until an
/ hour after daylight next moaning. The
| horses were lying down near by, and the
! fire was all right.
While it was daylight outside of the val.
ley it was deep twilight down there, and
my ears told me that the storm still
| ragged. After a hasty breakfast / went
! down the valley, but only few hundred
! feet. One glance showed me that l was
a captive. The snow was plling up in the
ravine higher than my head. was not
within 200 feet OF the mouth of the ravine,
/ and yet the snow had drifted in until a
man on horseback could not have looked
over it. Not only this, but the storm still
/ howled and raved.
Well, was prisoner, and must make
the best OF it. ] returned 10 the fire and
! dragged the body OF the dead lion away
and then determined to explore the upper
end of the raVine. Beyond the fire the
width of the rayine was not more than q
feet. l lighted "A couple OF candles and
started of, both animals wbnnying after
me as if afraid TO be lett behind but nei-
Their making any attempt to follow. In a
]
/ journey. The ravine suddenly opened
/ out in an almost circular chamber. per-
/ haps leo feet across. Overhead was in
tense darkness: beneath my feet was
sand, gravel, and isolated punches oil
grass. The first thing noticed was that
miners had been at work on the sides oil
the chamber, and as / followed the wall
around was amazed at the richness oil
/ the indications. 1t was YerItable cham
/ Der Of silver.
When halfway round, or opposite the
entrance, my feet struck something which
sent forth an Ominous clatter, and l look.
! ed down to discover bundle OF rOtting
cloth and human bones. A few feet
away was another, and in the middle OF
I the chamber, bones were scattered all
] about in wild disorder. The storm had
not driven the lions into this ravine. They
had entered it TO gnaw the bones OF the
dead.
| was amazed, but not alarmed, at the
1 discovery. l noticed the entire absence
/ of skulls among the bones, and was won.
dering why this was so. when my eyes
happened TO glance up at the wall, and
the puzzle was solved. On a rocky shelf
were SIX grinning heads. The flesh had
not yet entirely decayed, nor had all the
hair fallen of. Ii was a sickening, hOrri-
! BILE sight. and one from which | soon turn
ed to see If l could CLEAN any clue to the
identity of the victims. | hunted the
/ chamber over and over, carefully inspect
| ing every pile of dust, but not even a
/ button repaid my search. Those men
must have had packs and tools and cook
ing utensils. Not a single article re-
/ NAMED.
Who were they, and how had this aw-
| full fate Oyertaken them? 1t was small
band Of explorers and prospect0rs from
| the States. They had lodged their way
! in, but their trail had been found. and the
| avengers had crept in upon them, and
slaughtered every man. Each body had
I been decapitated, robbed of every article,
/ and not the slightest clue left to be picked
up in after years.
On the third day of my Imprisonment
the storm abated, and when | walked
down the valley | found the snow packed
in to the depth of 20 feet. l was exactly
eleven days digging a tunnel under that
pack TO the mouth Of the ravine, and dur
ing that time, TO save my packed provis-
ions for the long journey, ! lived mostly
on the meat of that lion. IL had musty,
sickening taste. and at last l could not
bring myself 10 even smell il.
Four days after the completion of my
tunnel. the weather suddenly changed 10
warmer, settling the snow on the prairie
very fast, and at night I struck for the
Humboldt river, the horses rested for a
long journey, and no enemy at hand TO
pick up my trail.