Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-09-19

bnrros and the body OF the dead one.
| For one moment il whirled close to our
side. then turing It struck with a crash
among a mass Of sharp rocks. | saw
the broken and splintered timbers Of
the raft rise half out of the water,
culver for one brief moment, then
pitch downward and disappear in the
rising flood.
Our frail craft now swept through
the dangerous channel and glided into
smoother water but we had only
passed the first and the least of those
dangerous points in the rapids, and |
knew that it would be impossible for
us to pass safely over those that lay
before. For, glancing down the river,
| could see not a quarter of mile
ahead. masses Of jagged rocks in the
channel. around which the foaming
waters leaped dozen feet into the air,
to fall again in feathery spray into the
seething torrent
Every vestige of hope left me as !
saw this and turning to Paul saw
that he was as pale as death. Arrajo
still stood with oar in hand, a strange
look of perplexity and resolution on his
swartly visage.
Suddenly he dipped the oar into the
water and steered the raft toward the
steep cliff that skirted the right bank
Of the stream. Was he going to try to
landl No, this would be utterly i'm
possible, since a smooth, perpendicular
cliff rose twenty or thirty feet above
the water
A few vigorous strokes of the oar and
the raft was gliding swiftly along the
very edge of the cliff. Then dropping
the oar upon the raft he quickly picked
up a lobg lariat that lay at his feet
one that we used to picket the burros
and began to coil it in his hands.
Throwing one end to me, he said, in
a hurried voice:
You and Paul fasten this to your
belts as quick as you can; be ready,
and when ! tell you, both jump into
the water"
Then he began swinging the loop
head.
Although neither Paul nor | had the
slightest idea what Arrajo intended to
DO, we obeyed his order as quickly us
possible, only too glad to grasp at the
faint hope that his words gave us.
The sound of the waters rushing
through the rapids, now close ahead,
came to us in a thunderous roar, send
ing chill of terror to our hearts. The
cliff, along whose base we were now
running, varied in height from twenty
to fifty feet, and | saw that Arrajo had
his gaze fixed upon some object on its
summit at point where it was not
over twenty feet high. This object, as
soon discovered, was the stump of a
broken pine that grew on the very
verge of the cliff
AS we drew near | saw the loop sud
denly shoot upward from the half
breeds hand. 1t rose swiftly till it
'eached the top of the cliff, then it
ettled over the stump of the pine
Jump for your lives, was the sharp,
Imperative command from Arrajo, an6 |
without any hesitation we eaped from
he raft into the rushing stream. felt
quick. Sudden tightening of the rope
md then we were swept under by the
caring flood. Though bewildered and
trangled, clutched the rope tightly,
md with the instinct of self preserva-
ion drew myself upward till my head
vas above the water.
As did so found Paul and Arrajo
1t my side, both clinging desperately
% the rope The current had swept
IL around against the cliff, and there
We clung, with only the small rope be-
.ween us and a watery grave.
As soon as we got our heads above
water Arrajo explained that one of us
must climb TO the top of the cliff while
he other two remained in the water,
10 as TO subject the rope to as slight a
strain us possible.
PAM, who was an excellent climber, |
was the first to ascend the rope. AS |
ioon as he had reached the top of the |
,lff, Arrajo signaled me to follow. ] |
lid as directed, but was so nearly ex,
lausted when reached the top that / |
,ank down almost helpless upon the
rocks Then we were soon joined by
Arrajo. whose ccolness and bravery had |
rescued us from the very jaws Of death.
Ii was quite dark by this time, and
after wringing the water from our drip
ping clothes we set out FOR the ranch
We saw nothing more Of the Indians
whose appearance on the bank had
driven Us into the rapids They had
evidently not considered il worth the
while To follow US, doubtless satisfied
that We had met our death in the rapids
below
We reached our destination the next
10y sunrise, only too glad 10
return alive from trip that had proved
so disastrous, True Flag.