New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1890-11-19
THE DEVILS SLIDE.

mlliar with the curious rock forma-
! lions in Echo and Weber canons, just
after the road enters the territory OF
Utah. 1t would seem that here ma
ture had made her play ground, and
out OF pure sport nature had fash
soned the rocks into all sorts of fan
tastics and grotesque shapes. But
few, if any are familiar with the leg
end which throws the glamours of
che supernatural over the quantity
shaped crags and gives them their
esulphurously suggestive names.
| left the train at the little Nor
mon village of Peterson, just beyond
Che cannon, and securing horses and
aguide, / prepared to spend a few
days trying the trout fishing for
which the Weber river enjoys a local
reputation. Pedro, my guide, was a
half breed Mexican, of the Sancho
Panza type full Of Indian laziness,
Mexican superstition and a true
Spanish love for the marvellous. He
had been brought up in an old mon
astery not far from the City of Mexi-
co, and was full of tales of the hardy
friars who braved the terrors Of the.
wilderness, in order to convert the
Indians, and who. if the stories be
true, used to lasso them when mild
er persuasion failed.
We logged along pleasantly
enough until we were we'll within the
canon, and I selected a grassy spot
on the river bank to pitch our
camp for the night Then Pedro
began to show signs of uneasiness.
Senior, I like not this place. he
said finally, as he fumbled at the
cords which bound the luggage on
Che pack mule. "What is the mat
ter with the placer" I queried, as I
took note of the pools and eddies in
the river, and made metal calcula-
ton as to the best place to COM
sznence my fishing the next day.
''lt is strange senior, the rocks are
works of witchery; and the story is
not pleasant to think OFF,
"Well," answered carelessly, as I
saw a big trout, which looked to be
over footlong as it flashed in the
sunlight, Jump from a pool directly
III front of me, 81 guess nobody will
hurt you; we will build big fire and
it will keep the animals away, and
the Indians are all peaceable"
1T is not the Indians nor the
bears I fear, senior; it is the devil"
"Pshaw, he does not want you yet
q WHILE" answered, laughingly,
and Pedro submissively began to
arrange the camp and prepare sup
per. [ unpacked my trout rods with
care, and busted myself selecting
flies and rigging my tackle for the
sport [ anticipated on the morrow
even went so far as to whip the
pool out of which l had seen the
trout jump, but it was too late in
the day, Or his troutship was sullen,
and | had my labor for my pains.
After we had eaten our supper we
lay on opposite sides of the camp
fre,I smoking my pipe and Pedro con-
Stunning yillainous cigarettes made of
black plug tobacco wrapped in the
coarsest straw paper, and thinking
;s.:----at least | Was-of how we'll the
natural appearance of the canon
gave color to Pedro's superstitious
notions. The moon was struggling;
though mass of feecy cloud which
did not hide it entirely, but which
made the light tremble as itshot out
bright and clear through the open
spaces, then was obscured through
ii cloud bank. The Weber river, at
our feet, looked in one moment as
bright as quicksilver, in the next it
was inky black. The tremulous
moonlight gave fantastic outlines
TO the strangely shaped crags and
they seemed to move with q sort of
rhymthic swaying, to advance in
the moonlight and how, then re-
,eede into the shadow, The night
winds rustled though the stunted
pines and sage brush ana mOaned
most uncannily among the myster-
GUS assures and crevices ofthe rocks.
The river rippled along peacefully
enough past our camp, but the dull
roar Of the cataract, where, a half
mile below, it dashed through the
,rock-riven Devils Gate, made a dull
monotone broken by the sharp yelp
of the coyote or the cry of a small
bird frightened by the prairie owl
Pedro drew closer to me, and
pointing to two parallel walls OF
rock about twenty feet apart, rising
to a height of about thirty feet and
1 extending from the top to the bot
tom of the mountain, he whispered
IN awe struck voice: ''The Devils
Slide, senor.''
Then pointing to a huge monolith
shaped like an Indian club, on the
opposite hill, he added:
That is the DEVILS War Club, :
and he crossed himself so vigorously
and 1nuttered so many strange
prayers in mixture of bad Spanish