Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1892-07-22

4 II
would not take some risks? | soon
learned that the flume was all right so
far as the men knew, only it had not
been inspected for some time, and it
should be before they would send down
a single log. I made up my mind to 60
down the fiume.
did you ever see one of those log
fumes of the Sierras?"
I replied that had seen fumes which
came down from the mountains to the
Columbia river carrying wood for the
steamers and also lumber, and that I
had seen those long fumes which car
riGd water from distant heights for
mining and irrigation purposes.
"Well," said he, ''these log fumes are
stronger, They are quite common, and
they are from two miles to fifty-ive
miles long. They are constructed in
the shape of V out of two inch plank
securely bolted together and placed
firmly on trestle. The sides of the
water about ten inches deep that usually
pours down. The decline is quite steep,
say eighteen or twenty inches to the
| thousand but in some places much
more than that. This fume ran some
thing like twenty-three miles, and the
| town was almost mile below us. My
ride was to be nothing like that which
the millionaires ]. &. Fair and j. c.
Flood, in company with an eastern man,
once INDUCED in down fume fifteen
m les long. They took every precau-
ton and made everything as secure
as possible, having at their disposal>a
well constructed boat. But they were
upset, thrown out, and escaped by only
a hairs breadth with their lives. With
the same motive it would have been the
very extravaganza of folly for me to
have entertained the idea of going
down this flume. What madness was
it then for me to deliberately determine
on making that terrific descent un-
certain whether the line of the hume
was continuous or not? The sagging
of rock, the rotting of timber, the
fall of tree across it-any one of fifty
possible things would be enough TO hurl
me into eternity and thoroughly thwart
my purpose.
but there was my pardner, whose
case was every instant becoming more
and more ,ritical. He was growing de-
lirious, having bruised his head in the
fail. My heart vas big with grief at
the bare idea of his death. went out
and examined an old boat which had
been used to take trips down this hume,
1t would serve my purpose. | was
ready to start Leaving my pardner in
the care of one of the men, after telling
him that / would soon be back with the
doctor, i came ont of the rough log
cabin again in company with the other
man, who was to turn on the flood
gates at the reservoir when would be
ready.
might had come and a wind from
the south arisen. | noticed a mass Of
clouds was rolling around corner Of
the mountain and its outer edge hac
touched the line of the fume. And al
the same instant there touched my ear;
the faint, muffled echoes of thunder
Following upon this came a sharp re
port, which was preceded by an ugly
thrust of lightning, which seemed tc
cut through my path. | adjusted my
! boat and told the man / was ready
The old reservoir gate creaked as the
man worked at it. A thin stream o.
water came at first sweeping beneath
my boat I was firmly fixed within
watching the white line as it shot aheat
of me. The stream increased. i
touched my boat, The next instant
the full tide struck me and away
shot 1t fairly took my breath
away for the first few rods, The veloc
ity and the fall gave me sinking sen
sation and my brain began to reel
while everything began to run together
in a universal chaos about me. knew
only enough to hold on tight Will,
downward | spun, like proiectilt
hurled from a lannon's mouth, Out O
this dazed condition of mind and sick
ness of heart | was ierlSed by sudder
jump of my boat. The line had sagged
causing an unevenness. But the de
cline was so great that the waters
plunged across and my boat leaped thu
break and struck the other end of tn,
flumc, making the water spout up fol-
sixty feet. Then there was tremen
dous jostling for moment, y received
splash of the water full in the face
which revived me. Thereafter tn,
perils, known and unknown, and tn,
terrible rush only stimulated my facul
ties,
/, 81 was now swinging along like light
ming in the full light of the moon. TIL,
swiftly-moving panorama of trees, o
wide-reaching forests, of rocks, ofyawn
ing chasms-all stood out with terribl,
distinctness The flume went straigh
for awhile, then it curved and skirtet
the edge of precipice which over
looked what seemed bottomless abyss
Ahead was an enormous rock. Agains
it / appeared to be rushing, when, lik,
"a flash, the boat seemed to Strangel'
evade it and cling to its perpendicular
| sides, for the tlume was bracketet
against the dead wall and beneath
there was only an unfathomable deptl
of darkness. On to the solid but steer
sides of the mountain the boat cam,
with bound again. Then there was
frightful drop; it seemed straigh
down, as though the bottom had fallel
out of everything in general and tn,
flume in particular N.Y. how the waite
dashed and tore when the boat strucl
the more moderate decline. Acros
an awful chasm it shot, an,
what roar rose, borne up by tn,
chilling winds which struck me Their,
for an instant, making my teeth chat
tor Opoa ~. tu,ioa N f+ar eto,+oJ h.,