St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-04-08

Ssf-JH tiiNO PSlOoiio WIZ oiN
LE ESX driving a tunnel to de-
M EgyS ~ velope the rich Ar
-&I III 8O| gOnaut mine. The
% IN country around about
is broken, and the sew
eral hills or mountains denSely clothed
with timber. There are very many
rocky cayerns to be found in the vi
cinity, some of which are yeritable
chambers, thickly strewn with decayed
wood brought down from the hills and
deposited there by floods during the
long periods of which men know little.
This debris along with the large quanti-
ties of dry leaves that the winds have
blown into these caves, afford excellent
beds and hiding places for owls, rats
and the larger and much fiercer wild
beasts that are to be found Whereabouts.
During the recent cold spell-much
colder in these great hills than few
miles below in the valley-the water
courses and the surface of the ground
were tightly frozen, and the consequence
was that, pinched by hunger and thirst,
the members of the wild beast families
became much more brave and daring
than at other times. The gentlemen
who, as before stated, occupy the cabin,
have been frequently surprised by the
ferocious and blood-curdling cries of
these animals at night, and on more
than one occasion have heard them
Skulking around upon the ice and snow
in front of their cabin door, seeking and
devouring all the scraps of food that
might be found there-remantS of
their miners meals.
A day or SO ago the weather mOder
ated little and the sun Softened the
crust so that the tracks of the hungry
providers could be seen in the morning.
A watch was set in vain on several Oc-
caSionS, and yet, as soon as all became
quiet and the lights were out, the ami
mails would begin their night foraging
expeditions. Night before last, OF
rather in the dawn of yesterday, the
most unearthly cry, the most weird and
Wretched moan that ever broke upon
mortal ears, awoke a member of the
party, who called to his comrades. The
noise kept up. and two of the boys
crept out to see what sort of living
animal, or ghost, if not an animal, the
sound emanated from. There is not
gun, pistol or rifle in the party. An
ordinary butcher knife is the most dan
gerous death instrument here Cau-
tiously creeping along and secreting
themselves in the shadows of
tllC UlllCh-lillD pluCO, ullC UNO
moved along in the drec-
ton of the spot whence the noise
seemed to come. Some time passed;
the noise ceased and the daylight made
all things visible. Meantime the. third
person had started out and moved in
cautiously toward one of his COM
panions. 1t is. probably that his APP
proach alarmed the animal which the
others had SO long vainly tried to find.
1t should be stated that about $50 feet
up the gulch from the cabin is spring.
The excessive cold had frozen the wa
tiers so that sort Of pyramid of ice
formed around the spring by an over
flow of the waters, and these, running
down the gulch on the surface of the
snow, had flooded the entire strface and
made a long sheet of ice as slippery as
anything could be. Upon sudden the
party who approached his cOmrade
called: look up there" pointing to
the point of cliff above one of those
caverns and Immediately over the ice.
cts mountain lion, and a dandy,
too" yelled the astonished man.
All were in a quandary. No gun-nO
weapon of attack or defense-placed
the boys in the predicament of the little
fellow, who cried to his mother: 81
WALT W 20 ll0lllc.
For few moments there were three
hearts busiIy beating, and if the lion
felt as the boys did, there were four
as possible, one of the BOYS spoke
spoke not loudly, you may be sure
and suggested that it was cold out, and
inside the house would prove more
comfortable. In fact, none of them
were angry with the lion; poor fellow!
he was cold and hungry and had not in
any way interfered with anybody or
anything. As they turned to move. the
crust on the snow broke with sharp
retort, and the lion began some man
euvers that suggested to the boys
the propriety of Fastening home.
Haste may not always make waste,
but it surely affects a mountain
lion sometimes. AS the men moved
off the lion did so too. 1t might not
have been critical moment. but the
boys thought it was. They were
alarmed. and so was the lion. Like the
boy who whistled while passing through
the graveyard to keep his courage up
and scare away the ghosts, some one of
the boys yelled. If bomb-shell had
burst under that lion the effect would
not have been more noticeable. High
in the morning air he leaped, aiming,
apparently, to jump right into the face
of the man nearest to him. 1t was all
done in moment, yes, in seconds
in height, and perhaps some sixteen in
distance off from the cliff. The
man did not yell-he screamed.
With an instructive effort he sprang
off, fell on the ice, and went sliding
down the gulch as if propelled
by the force of circumstances, as doubt
less he was. At the same instant the
great beast passed through the air and
struck heavily on the ice field. With
a cry that eclipsed all the roarS that
mortal ever heard, most probably, he
seemed to double up and hump himself.
Then he rolled and slipped, and slipped
and roared in way that sent the blood
flying along each mans veins. There
could not possibly have passed more
than minute or two, while this was
going on. but to the writer it seemed
longer than the battle of the Wilder
ness. Oh! Lordy, but it was trying.
The boys rolled into the cabin. Who
got in first will never be known. But
they got in. Nobody said anything just
then. In fact, nobody could conyen-
iently think OF anything to say.
After recovering their nerves and
breath in part. one spoke to inquire if
s'we are all here? Then cautiously
tiptoeing to the window he looked out.
The lion was there, still tloundering Oh
the ice, and each moment getting nearer
the cabin. Matters were getting dis
PRESSING. If the lion was playing
possum," it was no joke to the inmates
of the cabin. If he was really stunned
by his gallant feat of tobogganing, it
was of special Importance that some
step be taken to continue his stunning.
Finally one started, then the rest took a
step forward. The door was cautiously
opened, and the boys as eau
tiously, crept out. Just then the
lion made supreme effort to arise, and
it was evident he could not Then the
hous felt brave AnaXn was found and