Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1890-08-21

could ct raise myself foot above
the ledge. 4
ll.rn .Another CLEAN Of hope shot
through. my mind. Could l cut
notclles in the walls, and so ascend,
as by u ladder? l pulled out my
hunting knife and prepared to try
its point upon the surface. Then |
stood hesitating, knife in hand,
afraid to make the trial and find my
last hope taken from me. Yet the
surface, though so polished, might,
quite possibly, turn out friable and
earthly. At last | struck the point
against it. A shudder ran through
every fibre Ofmy frame: it was as
hard as adamant-the steel blade
barely struck with all my force
against tie f1inty wall The blade
snapped short and fell with ring
ing noise into the depths of the
abyss, where heard it strike from
side to side us it descended. At last
as if it reached some vast, nnfathom-
able space, the sound ceased sudden
~, and heard no more.
Up to this moment l mad forborne
to cry for help; at heart knew too
we'll that it was useless. The camp
was half a mile away, and my loud
est cutlery, muftied by the chasm,
would be inaudible at so yards from
the shafts mouth. Yet, at that
moment, in the agony of despera-
ton, / raised my voice and uttered Il
loud, long and piercing cry. But
when sha:! ] forget what followed?
The sound had scarcely left my lips
when it was answered by n voice
within the gult--by a cry, beginning
low and quick, but swelling rapidly
into wild reverbernting peal or shrek
which stopped the very beating Of
my heart; shrek so utterly appall-
ing and unearthly that it seemed as
if all the demons of the pit had burst
at once into Il scream OF hooking
laughter. Again, and yet again, the
sound reverberated in unimaginable
echos, through | knew not what
abysmal caves and hollows of the
world. Shaken as l was in every
nerve, could no longer reason; 9th
erwise must have told myself that
the cry could only be a repetition OF
my own. No living monsters voice
from the abyss could have appeared
to me more real or more terrific.
Scarcely knowing what did, l flung
myself upon my narrow platform
and stopped my ears to shut away
the sound
When at last ventured to unclose
them, the awful peal had faded in
to silence, and no sound was to DO
distinguished except the faint con-
tinual noise OF gurgitating water
which had not ceased to issue from
the depths of the abyss. To this
sound now lay listening in a kind
of frightful fascination for some
lninutes-five or ten. Then, even as
listened to the sound, l heard. with
freezing blood, a change ofcharacter
take place within it-a change into
n long, low, booming murmur, dread
.ful as II lions growl. 1t was the
Weakening voice OF the eruption! At
last my hour was come.
Rigid with horror, threw myself
against the wall, and, with starting
eyes and painting breath, awaited
the volley of the boiling thundcr-a
fierce explosion shook the very rock
there came blast, shrek from
the abyss; ! felt a shock that stunned
me-and the tremendous spout OF
water shot me from the guilt and
hurled me so feet into the dir.
Strange that had never thought
of this! that | had never taken into
calculation the gigantic power of
such a jet! How incredibly absurd
it now appeared that l should fancy
that a current of such force would
leave me in the hollow. Nor was l
fated to be boiled alive; the water,
though it's heat was only just endur-
able, was by no means boiling hot.
Had | been aware before that this
occasionally happened, my bitterest
despair would have retained spark
of hope.
But was my danger at an end? Far
otherwise; the most extraordinary
part ofit-the part for hich ha We
considered that it ought to be record
ed as the sole experience of it's kind
is now to be related. But how shall
l describe it? how shall l recount the
stranges:, the most wildly, singular
adventure that ever mortal man es-
capped to tell OF? | must take an illus
tration.
Every one has seen bill or a cork
figure kept dancing on the summit of
a garden fountain. Now let there be
imagined q stupendous jet, five feet
in thickness and so feet in height,
tossing about in place CT the cork
ball, a living man! Such was now my
situation. There was the Brobdig-
nagian fountain dancing in the sun
light, and there was l, the veriest
pigmy, tossed like puppet on its
colossal crest. What mortal ever
found himself in sa position so gro
tesque and yet so terrible:
The motion of a body suspended
on a jet of water depends Tor the
most mart on its shane and weight.