Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1886-09-23

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those narrow, zlgzag, natural lodges by which
the coast guardmen, used to the cliffs from
childhood, may be seen clambering like cats,
apparently without foothold, up the steepest
precipices At another time l should have
shrunk from making the attempt to reach the
summit Of the cliffs in this manner, for the
slightest stumble would have sent me headlong
on to the rocky beach, and death would have
been inevitable. But necessity nerved me
with courage, and clinging with desperate
ting point of rock, l managed to ascend several
yards, when tho ledge became wider, and the
ascent more easy.
CHAPTER I'LL
Il must explain why il is that the coast
guardmen of whom l have spoken, risk their
lives, according to the ideas Of landsmen, in
ascending the IFS in the reckless manner
have described; Tor il is not to be supposed
that even these hardy, gallant men attempt
these feats of agility without motive Know,
then, that the caverns have al uded to, worn
into the rock by the action of the weather dur
ing many successive ages, and probably, III
many instances, enlarged and deepened by ar
tificial means, occasionally serve as temporary
storerooms, for smuggled goods, until oppor-
tunity arrives to remove them to more COM
modious place of storage.
"In that part Of the seacoast almost every
body who Is not connected with the existing
coast-guard, is a smuggler. Most of the men
of property have acquired it by the success
ful pursuit Of smuggling in early life;
and it was we'll known that the then
Mayor of the neighboring town, though
too respectable to countenanc5 contrabInd
dealing, now that he had secured fortune,
had, for many years, been captain and
owner of a smuggling lugger. From the sum
NIT of the cliffs they let themselves down by
the aid OF ropes, held by their comrades, to
ssscmpiing, ass ropes M arc again let down from the
cavern to the beach beneath, to which bales
and barrels are attached, and dragged up INTO
the primitive places of storage.
This desperate method of running con-
traband goods, as it IL technically termed, is
rarely resorted to, except the smugglers are
hardly pressed by the revenue cutters outside,
and they usually succeed, by this hazardous
method, in safety securing their hard learned
booty. Sometimes, however, the place OF
concealment is discovered by the no less
hardy and daring coast-guard, who as soon as
the smugglers have retired, assemble in suffi-
cient force to render any attempt at resistance
vain, and, climbing up as l have described,
they secure tho booty to the crown.
Il had no doubt that the ledge on which l
now had safe footing would conduct me 10 one
Of these caverns, and as perceived that the
cliff overhead, near the summit jutted over 30
far out Of the perpendicular as to render any
attempt TO scale it in this place out OF the
question, thought 1t would lie tho wiser plan
TO make the cavern, il cavern could find, my
abiding place until daylight would enable me
to reconnoiter.
ITO spend a cold, stormy night in O dark,
damp hole in the side of rock was by no
means pleasing prospect but l was young
and strong, and having often heard OF but
never having seen one Of these natural cav
erns, the spice of romance in my disposition
caused me to regard il rather as q pleasant
adventure than otherwise. l thought how my
friends would wonder what had be come of me,
and how / would surprise them In the morn
| ing when made my appearance, and tod my
story, and what capital story 1t would be to
relate in after years.
sAs had anticipated, after scramblng
sometimes on my hands and knees, and nearly
losing my foothold, and winding, aud ascend
| ing, and descending for nearly quarter Of an
hour, 1 at length stumbled upon cavern, IN
to which / crept with as much delight and
thankfulness as il / had been entering my
bedroom at the house OF my friend, for the
| storm had increased wth fearful rapidity
since / had commenced the perilous ascent
The wind howled, the sea roared beneath me,
the rain fell in torrents, wbilc thunderstorm
that had long been brewing now burst over
me in awful sublmity, each heavy peal of
thunder reverberating among tho cliffs, and
seeming to shake them to their foundation,
while the flashes Of lightning in rapid success
clan lit up rock and sky and sea with lurid
glare of light which rendered the darkness be-
tween whilos perfectly awful ip its contrast
During the last FIVE minutes ] had boon IN
constant apprehension that should be carried
by the sheer force of the wind over into the
foaming sea beneath, and the cavern, rude,
cold, damp dark, and desolate as it was,
/ hailed with the delight with which tho
storm tossed mariner halls havon of security
after having felt for hours that his life hung
upon q thread, and expecting every moment
that his ship would strike tho rocks and be-
come a wreck
@The hole into which had crept evidently
increased in size as it penetrated into the rock,
though could only perceive that this was the
case whel flash Of lightn ng lit up tho side
OF the precipice The momontary glare Of
light did me no further service, for, after en-
tering few feet, the cavern ran downward,
and turned sharply TO the right OF the aper-
ture
@wet, hungry, weary, and cold as l was, 1
| would have given all possessed at that mo-
ment for the means Of lighting fire, or oven
OF procuring stationary light, and yet csr-
| tain sensation OF delight was mingled W tn
| my weary wretchodness sort OF Dirk
Hatterick' feeling came over me- Countless
stories f.shed through my mind Of
pistol in hand, keeping watch over
stores OF spirits and tobacco, and rich silks
and lacos OF inestimable value, ready, at the
| first fash Of danger Of capture, 10 blow them
treat 10 shiVeFsi and, rs IL in consonance
with my thoughts, every moment the scene
grew wilder and more terrible.
SEach fash OF lightning az ! stood in COM
| parative security at tho mouth Of the cavern,
disclosed black powders and huge masses Of
rock, amid which the livid glare played fan
taetically for an instant, and then left me and
| them in Cimmerian gloom as il an extingu sher
had suddenly been placed over all The wind,
which had increased 10 . hurricane, roared
| INTO the mouth Of tho cave more loudly than
| IL II he'd swept through the branches OF q
thousand forest trees, end tho waves beneath
| the dark masses OF rock and seaWeed ] had
| never, thought, seon suoh lightning nor such
thunder Lefora, though the sound was no
| doubt increased tenfold in volume by tho re-
verberatns echoes The solid adamant above
and beneath me seemed 10 vibrate with each
successive shock; tho sky, the rocks, the sea,