Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1891-10-09

Still in his knowledge of narrow path
stumbled upon during previous hunting
xpedition-which followed the bottom of
a assure leading up the face OF cliff on
the side of the ridge that separated this
mountain park from the canyon. The
opening TO this assure was hidden by wild
vines; turn in the winding valley served
to hide his movements from his pursuers
and as they dashed round the rocky prom
ontory and kept on down the valley, Joe
was crawling sidewise up the narrow CLEFT,
which took him, after much difficult
squeezing and climbing, to rocky nook
near the summit of the ridge, so concealed
by evergreens as to be wholly out of view
of any one few feet away. When at last
the Indians retraced their steps he was
safely hidden, although they came SO near
him that he could hear their calls as they
ran about the ridge, passing and repassing
his retreat in their search for him.
Joe was in no hurry to quit his place OF
refuge, but after a time, when all was
quiet, he crept out from his shelter to look
about and see if the coast was clear. No
Indians were in sight, and he crawled to
the summit of the ridge and over the other
side until he reached a point which COM
manded view of the canyon and the Great
Cinch mine. There, in full possession of
his camp, were seven painted Apaches, the
same ones undoubtedly that had Jumped"
him so recently.
Joe, who had hoped that his unpleasant
visitors had gone away for good, was far
from pleased to see the enemy established
in his camp. Peering between the side of
bowlder and a Spanish bayonet plant,
which effectually screened him, the Mis-
souri, boy watched the performance of the
red men. who were making themselves
wholly at home. They had killed his
burro, and the choice parts of its carcass,
stuck on sticks, were roasting about a fire
made of poles torn from the sides of the
shack. They had upset and overhauled
the valise and pretty much everything else
in camp in search of ammunition,
''whisk," tobacco and less valued articles
of plumber The dynamite they perhaps
deemed sbad medicine" for it lay in the
box on the fiat rock where Joe had left it
when the squirrel had lured him from the
camp.
What specially grieved Joe's heart was
their killing of his burro, the only posses
sion he had in the world except the tat
tered clothes he wore. Now that after all
the fuss he found himself still alive the
10y = Courage Cdul6 DctCk SulllClcuUly LOT
him to get very angry over his loss. AS a
relief to his feelings he cooked his rifle
and sighted it at different members of the
group, thinking, as he dallied with the
trigger, what pleasure it would give him
to send a bullet among them as a sauce to
their meal. For youth of Joe's capacity
for doing the wrong thing this fooling with
the trigger was most unwise, as was shown
no 1o1 81 tr;H
hard; the hammer fell, and the heavy
army piece, pointing into the midst of the
Indian group, went off with a louder bang
and a more emphatic rebound-so it seemed
to Joe-than ever before.
The vicious kicking of the gun against
his shoulder, the noise and smoke of it's
explosion and the feeling of establishment
at its unexpected performance. occupied
Joe's thoughts for an instant. Before he
had time to be frightened at what he had
done he was Jared and shaken as if the
mountains were rocking and was stunned
by deafening roar that rent the air.
Loose rocks went rolling down the slopes,
trees were rushing to the earth, and Joe
saw, as in fantastic dream, the top of
giant pine that had overhung the mine
high aIoft and still going upward as if it
never would stop. Everything in the can
yon seemed to be in the air, flying away
from the spot where the camp had been.
After the dust had somewhat settled, Joe,
looking down upon the ute of the shack,
could see there only great hole in the
ground, while a heap of earth bad taken
the place of the Great Cinch tunnel. The
shot fired by mistake had missed every
Indian and pumped straight into the box
of dynamite.
At the time when Joe's shot was fired,
Peg Leg Crawford, riding burro and
driving his pack animals before him on his
way back to the camp, had reached the
mouth of the canyon. Another turn in the
path would bring him in sight of his mine.
He was specializing rs to how things had
gone on in his absence.
81 wonder what that fool boy Joe's been
a doin while I've been gone," he solilo-
quized. "Hes done no work ter speak of,
that's dead sure, an it's great streak O.
mercy if he hain't been up ter mischief. If
he should get ter foolin with that dyna-
mite''-
At this point in his reflections Crawford
found his burro's footing unsteady, owing
to an uneXplainable tremor of the earth.
There was a commotion in the air as if
several cyclones were fighting for the right
of way through the canyon and a great
roar came to his ears as if the thunders of
q whole rainy season were combined in one
peal. The next thing he realized was that
he and his burros were on the ground
together in heap, where, by unanimous
consent, they waited until the elements had
subsidized.
When things had quieted down the old
prospector, who was not very nimble on
his pins, pulled himself out of the tangle
of burros, got his animals on their feet and
stumped up the canyon to find out what
had happened. He expected to find some
part of the body of Joe at a distance more
Or less remote from the place where the
camp had stood.
When he reached the scene of the explo-
sion be looked for some sign of, his assist
ant.
'Joe's gone with the rest, ! reckon" he
said, with a touch of regret. cpl have
Whit O. my pipe N then take look roun
for the body n give it Christian burial, Il
thar's enough left ter put in hole. Hullol
What's that? Hain't the stuff got through
fallin yet?''
There was a rafting down the mountain
side, and looking up to learn the cause, he
saw Joseph Dobbs sliding on his back
down q sloping face of rock. In making
his way to the canyons bottom to investi
gate matters the boy had missed his foot
ing, in his excitement. and was coming
down by the run much faster than he
liked. He landed at the foot OF the cliff
torn as to clothing and scratched as to
skin, but was regardless of all injuries in
his wonder and pride at his unexpected
achievement. He was delighted to see
Crawford for he was bursting to brag of
bis exploit.
"pidn't fix up that trap fur 'em slioks"
he said, with the air of One who had carried
out carefully planed purpose
By good luck the picks and shovels lay
where they escaped injury. So the work
of developing the Great Cinch mine went
forward with no more extra trouble than
the rebuilding of the shack and the remov-
ing of the earth blown into the tunnel. 20
be sure, they had no dynamite for blast
ing, but Crawford felt that that his ex
plosives had been put to a good use.
So high was Joe raised in the old pros
pector's estimation that before they set TO
work next day he formally adopted him a.
bis .!pard," and thereafter that youth
dawdled over the pick and shovel with
sense of Importance befitting the half pro-
prietor of the true lead, dips, spurs, angles
and prospective profits of the Great Cinch
mine..-Clarence Pullen in New York Sun.
An ACT of Gratitude.