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

A11A1 v.
II reooncotod nothing moro until awoko
from what SCENE a long, dreamless slumber.
] was lying in bed at the house of my friend
tried to rise, but was too weak, and then L
discovered that my head was bandaged. l
tried to remember how got into this condi-
ton, but | could not although gradually
recollected my adven ure in the cavern and all
that had occurred until / had attempted the
perilous descent after flying from the horrors
had witnessed
@In few moments my friend entered the
apart tmcnt He expressed his surprise and
delight at seeing me restored to consciousness
He told me that week before. the morning
after the storm, l had boen found by
party of mon who had been in
search of me, lying at the foot of
precipice, my clothing torn and drenched,
and bleeding from severe wound in the head.
They supposed had allen in attempting to
scale the cliff l was sen eless, A. d they car
ried me home, and was laid on bod aud my
wound DIRE 3sed Since t1en had wandered in
my mind incessantly, and had spoken of
spoils and treasures and heaps of golden coin,
and of bloodshedand murder. Unt ! that mo-
mont l had shown no signs of returning con-
sciousness.
sIrelated what had seen, but though per-
sisted In asserting the truths of my state
ments, l could see that all to whom related
my adventure were incredulous, and believed
me still to be laboring under delusion caused
by light ht-headedness--the effect OF the wound
in my head.
~Three weeks passed by before was suf1i-
ciently recovered to go abroad, AMI then, as |
still insisted upon the truth of my story, and
that had not dreamed but had really seen
the ghostly pirate band and their captives,
and the treasures in the cavern, II was re-
solved, partly out of curiosity, partly to CON
vince me of my @ ror, to search the cliff for
the cavern Ihad described
elA6dara and nrOVi1a1 and a
large party, led by M, proceeded to the spot
Greatly to their astonshment, they dis
covered the mouth of the cave as had de-
scribed It, though it could not be seen
from the beach beneath. ! and some
half dozen others entered the cavern, and
though there was no spoil, no treasure, no
barrels and boxes and bales, no stacks of fire.
arms, and no cutlasseB or battle-axes, there
was the half-rotten seaman's chest on which /
had seated myself ana slept and there was an
aperture through which l had seen the light
glimmer, which disclosed o second cavern of
much larger dimensions.
This at least was proof that had entered
the cave, though all wondered how coull
have scaled the almost perpendicular preci-
pioe, and proof also that lanip or 0 lanterl
must have been lightel to enable me to see
the aperture which lei to the interior cavern,
since but for the torches carried by our party
the place wou d have cen in utter darkness.
This discovery, and my frequently re-
ed tho .ghosily apparitions of the pirates
and their unhappy captive, led TO much
gossip regarding the matter, until at length
the old superanLuated sexton of the parish
church came to hear the story and then
he said how, when child, he had
heard his grandfather tell of a legend
relating to band of pirates and Snug
glors, tho terror of the coast and sur
rounding country, who we're beieved-a full
century before-to have gathered rich tpoils
in goods, and amassSl treasures of gold and
silver and jewelry, which they had plundered
from ships and houses, after having mur-
dered the crews and tenants And he told
Hubert Ingoldsby by name had leen treach-
erously betrayed by his renegade nephew, one
Mark Davenport, and had been captured,
with his daughter, the Lady Dorothy, on his
way home from the governorship Of the then
newly discovered islands of the West on
board a kings ship, the youthful commander
of which was said TO be the betrothed lover of
the young lady. The body Of the murdered
officer, said the legend, was found cd up in a
sack, but 10 had never been known what fate
had befallen the aged knight and his daugh-
ter The pirates were captured in their
stronghold soon after the d scovory Of the
naval commanders body, and wero dragged
hanged ia ohains and Their i'll gotten booty
recovered and taken possession Of for the use
of the crown.
Nov, sad the old gentleman who had
volunteered this story, y had never before
heard this legend, which had been forgotten
in the lapse Of time by all save the old, super
annuated sexton and few other equally aged
PERSONS who reco leotel haSng heard n,
after my description OF tho double cavern and
its ghostly occupants had refreshed their
III was very strange, almost inconceivable,