The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-08-06

N Incident in His Career That the Road
Agent Never Mentioned So Far
- KNOWN.
In the purple western sky . food of GRIM
pun and gold, slowly darkening under the
Phadows Of night; upon the horizon = grand
outline of iridescsnt snow peaks; on every
bide a magnificent prospect OF blending
Relds of RlarinQ white, dark rook-rihbsd
cones, and somber forest-what scene more
lifting for dramatic recital. ~. mounted
npon n swaying stage top. We are whirlsd
behind six noble horses alonR tho dizzy
heights and through the deep clsft can
vons of the Rocky mountains In midwinter.
Amid such surroundings I once found
myself seated beside : veteran driver, who
had grown gray upon the box" and drawn
reina. at ono time or another. over eve.y
important stage line In tho great west.
We had CROSSED the main divide between
Helena and Deer Lodge. Mont. and having
m hour Of rather toilsome road to pass
over before reaching the supper station. !
said:
Johnnie. you've been 60 long in tho bus.
iness on the frontier, surely many evsnts
must have occurred in your experience to
make good material for stories. Can't you
tell me one2"
II A sudden tightening Of the lines and Arm
pressure of tho brake. followed by a sharp
crack of the whip. as We entered and pulled
out Of q rock stream bed, and he turned to
me with . dreamy sort Of face. and said
slowly:
II was just thinking of something that
happened nearly eighteen years ago, when !
was driving on Tho overland stage road into
Virginia City, then the queen city of Mon
tana, and the ~liveliest mining Damp / ever
load Of baggage and mail, and - the roads
we're heavy with the spring rains we had
made mighty poor time. so l found myself.
ut the hour I was due at my homo station,
nearly six miles from il and a dangerous
canyon to drive through in tho dark. There
was only one place in it though that / had
much fear of. which was whore a swift
mountain stream came down through a
gulch and was crossed by a narrw bridge,
where any little accident might throw my
coach over into the gorge some BOO feet be-
times BY daylight. though never once at
night. and I felt confident I could make
it all right Il my leaders kept quiet-two
nervous little thoroughbred Mambrinos-
which our division agent had fetched out
The night got darker than pitch and I lit
my stage lamps IN I drove mostly by my
perfect knowledge of the road.
The passengers, of course. didn't know
anything about the danger, and l made dp
my mind not to say anything to them about
stop and explain it and advise them to walk
across. There wero three or four young
college sprigs in the coach, q lot of specu-
latols coming 70 look up mining property.
two or three miners returning from a trip
to the States and a very pretty little girl.
Quot and modest like, who was all alone.
On the outside with me were a lawyer, a
preacher and two stotekespers, who had
been down to Salt Lake to buy goods. All
this I found out from their talk. "a you
familiar a talk considerably about their
business.
THE little girl was the only one who
didn't say anything, and ! noticed once,
when l got down off the stage for something
that she was crying. Well, We were Creep
the college chaps we're singing a pretty
lively sort of song. when I saw by an old
pine tree near the road that We were close
to the bridge, so I pulled up my team and
warned the passengers. They had all got
out except the girl, when quick as a fash
off the hills. and l saw eight masked horse
men, with leveled guns, all around us. NV
leaders leapt into their collars. the swings
and wheelers followed before l could con-
on the bridge. the coach rocked a second.
horses with il. and down into the
black chasm we went. l shall never
forgot that fearful plunge; IL seemed
to me a lifetime before We struck the bot
t~vn h,k 1ubn,, - ala vvu. srr, f----
the box into the rushing water, and swept
down stream q hund ed yards or 30 around
a bend, when l crept out ont, a sand bar,
and then climbed up the fnce of the cliff.
When the coach went down the girl sent up
one sharp cry. and then I heard no more,
a deep pool, l knew she had no show.
LAS soon as ] got on top ! saw two dark
Lanterns on the bridge, and, not thinking
or perhaps caring about the robbers Who
had caused the trouble, I ran up to il and
saw the passengers all grouped together, at
one end, while the masked men. having
left their horses in caro- Of two of their
number, were prepared to descend into the
Rulch by the light Of their lamps. could
see the coach had been carried down aRaiu,t
some rocks and was partly. out Of water, Il .
carcasses of the drowned stock swashir 2
around it in the white current.
"A tall, broad shouldered fellow who an
peared to be the leader of the gang, had
gone down first, and l saw him leap from q
big boulder to the coach top and then
climb dow or the lower wheel, at the same
time calling to some of the others to hold
his lamp.
I'm another minute he disappeared
through the window. which was Just above
the water. and it was quite a long time be-
fore he again came out. dragging the body
of the drowned girl after him.
with the assistance of all Of ID, for
everything else seemed to be forgotten in
the hope Of rescuing the girl, We cot tho
dripr ing body on TO the grass, but il was no
use; there was q deep cut on her head. and
life was gone. One Of her hands vas
clasped tightly over something. and I
reached down and gently opened Il, when .
chain and looket and a piece of pape fell
to tho ground. The leader stopped and
picked them up, and I saw his brow above
the mask grow white a. marble. then with 4
cry like a wounded lion be tore away his
disguise and fell upon the body of the Girl
with sobs and moans, amid which ! could
hear the words, My child! q, my childn
The moment the black Grape fell from
his face ! recognized by the flaring lamps
one of the. famous road agent captains OF
the day. but before I had time to discover
anything more the gang had gathered
around tho passengers and myself, and
with leveled pieces ordered US to Travel
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