Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1890-09-17

NONtN ~ Adioc III sell u luOl ubONc
the ledge.
inca another CLEAN OF hope shot
through my mind. Could | cut
notches in the walls, and so ascend,
as by a 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 of my frame; iU was as
hard as adamant-the steel blade
barely struck with all my force
against tie fiinty 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, unfathom.
able space, the sound ceased sudden
| ly, and | heard no more.
Up to this moment mad forborne
to cry for help; at heart | knew too
we'll that it was useless. The camp
was hall mile away, and my loud
est cutlery, muffled 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
loud, long and piercing cry. But
when shat! ] forget what followed?
The sound had scarcely left my lips
/ when it was answered by a voice
within the gult-by cry, beginning
low and quick, but swelling rapidly
into wild reyerberating peal orshriek
which stopped the very beating of
my heart; u shrek so utterly appall-
ing and unearthly that it seemed as
/ If all the demons OF the pit had burst
/ at once into II scream of hooking
/ laughter. Again, and yet again. the
/ sound reverberated in unimaginable
echos, through ! knew not what
/ abysmal caves and hollows of the
1 world. Shaken as | was in every
nerve, could no longer reason; 9TH
erwise must have told myself that
the cry could only be 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, flung
myself upon my narrow platform
and stopped my ears to shut away
the sound
When at last | yentured 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
minutes-five or ten. Then, even as
listened to the sound, | heard, with
freezing blood, change ofcharacter
take place within tia change into
n long, low, booming murmur, dread
full as a 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 thuhdcr-a
fierce explosion shook the very rock
there came blast, n shrek from
the abyss; felt shock that stunned
me-and the tremendous spout of
water shot me from the guilt and
hurled me so feet into the air.
Strange that had never thought
of this! that had never taken into
calculation the gigantic power of
such q jet! How incredibly absurd
it now appeared that should fancy
that n current of such force would
leave me in the hollow. Nor was l
fated to be boiled alive; the water,
though its 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 a spark
of hope.
But was my danger at an end? Far
otherwise; the most extraordinary
part of 1.-THE part for hich have
considered thatit ought to be record
ed as the sole experience of its kind
is now to be related. But how shall
l describe it? how shall / 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 n cork
figure kept dancing on the summit OF
a garden fountain. Now let there be
imagined a stupendous jet, five feet
in thickness and 80 feet in height,
tossing about in place CT the cork
ball, a living mani Such was now my
situation. There was the Brobdig-
nagian fountain dancing in the sun
light, and there was i, the veriest
pigmy, tossed like a puppet on its
: colossal crest. What mortal ever
found himself in 50 position so gro
: tesque and yet so terrible?
The motion of body suspended
} on a jet of water depends Tor the
most part, on its shape and weight.
: If to heavy, it falls instantly; if too
, light, the fountain casts it off like
spray. Inform, sphere is the most