Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-07-17
THAT thar hole We air a.goin, on about


He reigned in his horses and stopped the
wagon. Taking up an ak he handed 1t to
some person on the ground, and said few
words which did not understand. tired
TO raise myself to look out but fell back
helpless, full of sharp shooting pains. My
joints refused to bend, my neck creaked
when / tried to turn my head, aud the
struggle of the night came back to me like
horrible repetition. At the first sound OF
the ak Cap Hawkins put his arm under my
back and forced me to sit upright.
"Cobe air a-cuttin yer tombstone, kur-
mel. an l lowed ye'd like to git last
look"
To the right of the wagon stood giant
poplar lifting its shaggy top 800 feet above
the road. In its trunk there were three
gaping wounds, and q moonshiner, in
broad hat and big boots, was cutting a
fourth. Two other Unlocking men stood
near their guns in their hands.
"Kurnel.' continued my guard, " do ye
want ter write yer epertaph? 2" The men
| laughed al their chief Them other three
revies didn't git nary chance ter write
theirn. Boys, air any o yet got pencil p
FOO well 1 knew the meaning of that
notch from which the sappy chips were fly
ing. My heart quivered as the ak ate its
way into the soft wood My face must have
reflected my thoughts, for the outlaw, CIV
| ing me a gentle push. sent me on my back.
Lay down, Kurnel and don't git so all
| fired skeered," he said. That air mighty
comftable hole up in the hills-board an
lodgin' free" And quoting my own words,
| he fairly made the welkin ring with his
coarse laughter.
Surely you don't intend to murder me,
Cap?'
That air jes about it, 1 reckon, Kurnel.
4e air cross the dead-line, an yer epertaph
! air done writ
Before / could say more his three COM
! panions climbed into the wagon beside
me. Clucking to his horses, he drove on
| at trot through the pass, and as the sun
rose over the mountain we entered the
precinct of Sleepy Cove. 1t must have
been after 10 o'clock, yet into that lonesome
| spot the sun was just beginning to pour
| his rays. By P. v. he would disappear
behind the Jagged cliff that formed the
western boundary of the retreat, and the
| long twilight would set in. with its spectral
shadows chasing each other in the dark
wood. Often had l heard the country folk
talk with bated breath of the horrors of
Sleepy Cove. COLLINS, they said, dwelt in
the mountain caves, coming forth at dusk
TO frolic with the fearless moonshiners
and dancing at midnight upon the slip
perry crags. Ghouls, armed with the bones
of murdered men, kept nightly vigil at the
narrow pass, and If any human being ap-
preached from the outside they gathered
around the giant poplar and beat upon the
bark till the frightened man disappeared
in the direction whence he came. No man
but the moonshiners had ever been known
to come from Sleepy Cove alive, conse-
quently none ever voluntarily entered that
wild, uncanny place.
~. l.
mind when suddenly the wagon stopped,
and the four men threw themselves into at
titudes of attention, grasping their guns and
casting furtlve glances at each other
Straining my ear | thought | heard the
faint veip of a hound. Cap Hawkins
dashed his horses into gallop, and we
sped on through the woods for half mile
stopping again in the shadow of cliff At
their leaders order two of the men lifted
me out of the wagon and half dragged me
to q spot where the earth formed a kind of
bench against the rock wall Placing me
on the ground they began prying at a
bowlder, which, gradually yielding to their
hand sticks, rolled over on its side, expos
ing hole in the cliff. Into this they drag
ged me for some twenty feet and tossed me
on bed ofleaves. Then one of the men
brought in some food. and another water
and another wood.
turned to the outlaw leader and asked
how long he intended to keep me prisoner
He laughed at the question, but made no
reply. Going to the caves mouth he
peered stealthily out, listened awhile. and
came back to me. There was an ominous
glitter in his eyes. 1t looked like murder
Ny God Was he going to bury me alive?
| begged him to shoot me- cut my throat
anything but leave me there to starve. But
he paid no ate ton to my appeals.
Eff We air live when | git back, Kurnel
EFF | git back, he said why me an the
boys mought put leelle lead in yer car
cass. Ye may hev comn'ny fore night,
enyhows. The revies air arter us hottern
demnition blazes. They are done cross the
dead line. Hyar the moosic, Kurnel?"
" l hope they'll give you ali you deserve,
you cold blooded murderer" said wish
ing that could throttle the villain.
"Now, Kurnel, don't git out O. sorts. 1t
air mighty comftable in hyer-boa-d an
lodgin' free. Boys. air We ready? Them
hounds air pickin' US up. Light the fire.
Cobe. Kurnel, hyer air knife ter cut yer
loose arter we leave We. Don't git skeered
o the ghosts, and member We air mighty
conf table-board an lodgin' free an yer
epertsph air down on the big POI .r
Good-by, Kurnel'
The outlaws were already placing the
bowider in position, and when Cap Hawk
ms had squeezed his way out the rock was
rolled into the opening. With a crunching
sound it settled into place, and / was a
prisoner in Smoky hole.
listened for the baying of the hounds,
hoping that they had tracked us to the
cave, but not sound penetrated the door of
my prison. The fire burned briskly, and
Smoky-hole glowed in the light of the
blazing pine knots 1t was the work of
few minutes to cut my bonds with the
knife the outlaw had given me. and then |
took an inventory of the contents of the
cavern The place had evidently been fit
led up for the illicit manufacture of
mountain dew and "tangle foot and
red eye,n for there were the WORKOUT cop
! per STILL the worm. the mash tub, jugs and
| TASKS, and other apparatus of the moon
! sinner. The cave was about the size of
| railroad box-car, except that the roof was
! higher and more arched. ] iabbed my
| knife into every square foot of the walls.
| They were of solid rock In vain, mad
effort TO roll the bowlder from the entrance
l drew the blood from my shoulder. II was
all of no use. Unless help came to me
| from without my doom was sealed.
| A dull, heavy feeling came over nue. and
l sat down near the fire. The confined air
was getting close. Suddenly. on looking
up. was appalled, at the discovery of a
new danger. The roof of the cavern was
no longer visible. The dense, black smoke
| of the pitch pine, unable to escape, was
banked above me like an 'ominous cloud,
ever growing denser and blacker and de-
scending steadily, remorselessly, upon me
! like a veritable shadow of death.
Already the aspyxiating gases were caus-
| ing my brain TO whirl. | crawled to the
| fire and stamped upon the blazing knots I'M
| til every spark was extinguished, but they
continued to send up their sitting smoke
l could feel it ascending, hot and pitiless.
Falling fiat upon the ground ! saturated
nv coat sleeve with the water the outlaws
had left me, and placing it against my
mouth secured few full breaths of strained
gas. But they gave me little respite. The
| high pressure of the atmosphere made my
| veins swell almost to bursting my hands
| aud feet were benumbed, and | was soon
unable to move muscle. Then / longed
| for death.
Suddenly there was loud explosion, fol-
| lowed by falling of loose earth and rock
| and rush of air. A faint ray of light ap-
peared in the corner of the cavern over the
still, growing broader and stronger as the
smoke cleared away. With life and strength
renewed / made my way to the opening
where | drank in the fresh air with a swell
ing heart and lighter conscience than
had ever hoped To possess. The explosion
had torn away some rough masonry with