The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1890-07-03

w CHHHSe IL IOr an elepnanG, q meth
lsod ofriding with which Twas already
familiar, and my journey for the few
Remaining miles through q dense jun
gle was comparatively cool and re-
ireshing.
Leaving the village where I had
passed the night at early dawn, /
reached before noon the city of Ka-
bune.
AS soon as dinner was dispatched
lsent word to the governor Of the
city, requesting an immediate inter-
view with him. This was granted
me, and | delivered to him my official
papers, announcing my object in Wis
iting his province, andrequested him
to supply me with a sufficient force
OF men for the carrying out Of my
! purpose.
He assured me he would give me
all needed assistance, and, two days
after, furnished me with twenty men
and seven elephants, and started
for the mines.
AS / left the city the governor
accompanied me to the gate, and in
parting with me there expressed a
desire that | might be successful in
4 my undertaking, but intimated that
it was a hazard GUS one.
i Somewhat surprised at his words,
4 asked, through my interpreter:
is it, then, a locality, peculiarly
4 beset with danger?o
sAh!' he replied gravely, who can
tell what the dangers may be when
the very gods are against you?
Their curse has hung over the mines
since the cruel death of their first
q owner, and yourun a very great risk
4 in your undertaking. Nothing but
8 your royal commission can save YOU
I from harm,
Il turned away from him with a
light laugh, and mounting my ele-
I, plant, gave the order for the train to
! move OH, for knew well the natives
d dread Of the jungle, his aversion to
any encounter with the wild inhabit-
S ants of the forest, and also his be-
8 lief that royal commission would
4 preserve the bearer from all danger
until his mission had been accom-
plished.
8 .sOur route for few miles was
across alevel country, dotted with
villages. After a time, however, the
villages grew less frequent, and we
soon entered an immense Jungle,
through which there was only an ele-
plant trail, and from which the great
! trees, with their thick foliage, com
pletely shut out the sun.
ssThere were three or four hours OF
I this travel, and then we began to
! wind around a mountain slope and
assembled into rugged and narrow
!, pass. About noon we halted, and
my attendants announced that we
were at the site of the first mine.
Anxious to make as rapid an in
vestigation of the locality as posi-
{ BILE. I called one OF the men to ac-
company me, and while the others
arranged the camp and got dinner /
walked on toward the place where an
3 upheaval ofthe soil told me the open.
ing of the mine was
Il soon came upon the disued rail
road tracks, now largely overgrown
with rank vegetation, and saw, ~
$ ing down the steep embankment,
] the two engines formerly in service
upon the road, broken by their fall
and rusty from their long exposure
/ to the weather.
!. Leaving the track, Islowly pushed
J my way through the thick under
| growth to the pile ofrocks and earth
that had been cast up from the mine.
q Under my directions my attendant
4 tore away the weeds and shrubs that
had grown over the pile sufficiently
) to allow me to make brief examin-
alton Of the sub-soil, in which I had
no difficulty in discovering traces of
the precious metal
d Leaving the mound after time,
I went on to the place Of excavation,
. and found it a comparatively small
! opening, that went on a sharp de-
cline into the sideof the hill. To my
astonisemhnt, moreover, there was
what seemed to be q hard, well-beat-
j. en- track leading directly into the
mine, and, as / could discover no evi-
dence that it had been made by wild
. beasts, | jumped to the conclusion
that some of the natives were secret
Ily working the vein to their own
4 profit.
81 was all the more convinced Of
this by finding a small nugget of
gold lying quite loose just within the
a opening, and somewhat excited by
my discovery, | determined to exam
!. inc the mine more closely before re-
3 turning to the camp.
s Il therefore directed nv attendant
& to form a rude torch of some resin
Y Gus wood that lay on the slope ofthe
hill few rods beyond us, and having
81 lighted this, We started down the
8 passage.
! Sit soon became so narrow we had
to proceed in single file, and, telling
my servant to keep close at my heels
q / led the way onward.
Perhaps twenty feet had been
s passed over in this way when we
came to.a heap of rubbish that near
#Ely filed the narrow chamber.
!. 81 hurriedly clambered over this,