Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1892-09-16

uluChS.
sits gang of treasure hunters for
sure" said the Commissioners after this
last proof had teen submitted, "aud it
is quite needless to caution you that
we must be very careful. No ono
must enter the shrubbery alone, and we
must be constantly ready for an attack.
They are doubtless Sholaga men from
the hills, and they will stick at moth
ing"
"But why not send down to Bheeta
for detachment OF soldiers2" asked.
"And so give away our 'tind,' in case
there is one2 We are not quite so green
as that. The Government must have
its share, of course, but we want no
further division. l think we are strong
enough to rout 'em out, and we will be.
gin business right away"
/ After breakfast the live of US moved
down on the head OF the village, leaving
the camp in charge of the natives. AS
soon as we got among the ruins we found
it tough work to get along. 1t had been
very substantial town. There being
plenty of building stone at hand, more or
less of it had been used in every house.
1t must have taken an earthquake to
fling the blocks about in such confusion.
Here and there piece of wall was stand
ing, but in most cases everything had
fallen in confused heap. Tne difficulty
OF climbing over the blocks was added to
by the vegetation, aud wherever the sun
beat down on stone we were sure to
lind serpent summing himself. We
were heading for the walls of the temple,
but after an hours work we had not adj.
vanced over half mile Mr.. Grant
called halt, and we were sitting on the
huge blocks of stone in glade about
tfty feet across when something very
queer happened. The foliage was deasc
enough to throw the glade into
shadow approaching twilight. Our ears
were suddenly saluted with groans and
means, as OF some person in deep dis
tress, and while we were looking about
and ut each other figure came out of
the thicket on the south side aud slowly
fioated across the glade. 1t looked like
a human figure, though draped and muf-
lied, and though 1t passed over the
ground at about an ordinary height, the
motion was that of floating along iu-
stead of walking. 1t wasn't over twenty
feet from us, and when it disappeared
into the thicket on the other side the
air was heavy with strange perfume.
''its nothing but a trick to scare us
off," whispered Grant, after the figure
had disappeared. eff it comes again,
everybody open fire on It,"
We waited in nervous silence for five
or elk minutes, when the apparition APP
peared again, preceded by the same dis
tressing noises. 1t was scarcely clear of
the bushes when we opened fire, each
one of us with revolver. 1t iioated
along as beforn and ut the same pace,
and we got III three shots apiece before
the smoke obscured 1t.
We've riddlcd one of them, any,
howl" chuckled Grant, rs we waited for
the smoke to ccar,; but minute later,
when it had floated away, tho figure was
not to be seen. We had fred point
blank at distance of eighteen or twenty
feet, and 1t was absurd to suppose that
all fifteen bullets had missed.
"And how do you account for that?"
asked, as felt my hair trying to climb
up.
"It's one of their conjuring tricks"
answered the engineer, "aud was pretty
we'll worked. I've seen stranger things
than that. we had best get out of this
ut onccl"
We were hardly off tho blocks before
rock weighing ut least twenty pounds
crashed down through the tree tops and
fell where we had been sitting. Ten
seconds earlier would have resulted in
one death at least. AS we made our way
along | asked the engineer how such n
rock could have been heaved into the mir
to fall with such exactness, but he could
not explain. Instead of pushing to the
temple we now made our way to the
right to get out of the ruins, and soon
were on the open plain.
"rne temple is our objective point"
explained Mr.. Grant, "and it's no use
pushing through these ruins to get there.
Wen go down opposite and then strike
in. Now look at that, will you2"
About 100 feet away from lis and
right in our course was a bushy-topped
tree about thirty feet high. There was
only light air stirring, and yet the TOP
of the tree was waving to and fro as if
in heavy gale. We slowly advanced
until we stood at the foot of the tree.
had expected ITO see native UP there,
but nothing was in sight. While we
stood there the tree continued its antics,
and none of us were sharp enough to
solve the mystery.
"It's just trick to scare us off," said
Mr.. Grant, land we'll see more of them
before we're through. How they do
these things 1 can't pretend to say, but
they are done for effect and would
brighten native out of his senses. We
must push along and not mind them"
Opposite the ruins of the temple we
entered the thicket again, MIR. Grant
leading, and the rest following in Indian
file. We had not advanced hundred
feet when we heard sobs and means from
both sides OF us, and one would have
sworn that dozen women were wan
dering about in distress The sounds
appeared quite close to us, but yet we
could not detect the preSence of a human