The morning call., 1893-11-12


| raised my head and shrank suddenly
back with an involuntary cry of horror.
The buggy stood upon the verge OF ire
mendous preeipice, and directly beneath,
down, a sheer. perpendicular descent OF
thousand feet, was the bridge! Scarcely
crediting my senses, l cautiously leaned
forward and peered down into the dizzy
depths again; but everything swan be-
fore my eyes, and | turned quickly away
from the frightful view with a feeling
of faintnPss ard nausea. What was to be
done? Two miles and half to the
bridge! How was | to get there? AS far
as | could see, which was but a short dis
lance, however, the road follow the edge
of the chasm, ana how the descent was TO
be made was an enigma. The thought of
riding along the brink Of the cliff made me
shiver with apprehension. Yet there
seemed no alternative. For a moment /
weakly thought of returning TO Sonora;
only the knowledge of he gibes and jpers
| would encounter deferred me. | would
have walked and led the horse only that
seemed more hazardous than riding The
only apparent way out of the dilemma
was to go ahead and take the chances.
Summoning all my resolution | grasped
rein firmly in each hand and sitting bolt
upright, with every nerve and muscle in
my body drawn to its utmost tens on.
clucked gently 10 my horse. who seemed
as badly frightened as myself. For a short
distance the road ran along the brink OF
the precipice, then veered out into the
very face Of the perpendicular wall, a
ledge blasted into the solid rock forming
be roadbPd. II sloped downward at au
angle of about thirty-fve degrees. After
continuing in that direction. for some 200
yards an abrupt turn was made and the
road ran in an opposite course, then
turned again and so on until the bridge
was reached.
The road way was simply a shelf, blasted
into the face of the cliff, that "zgZagged"
from the top of The preciplce o the bottom.
In no place was it more than ten feet wide
except at the turns, where the width was
sufficient for tw o teams To pass. As pro-
ceeded the tension on my nerves increased
until il seemed as if | did not weigh a
pound. and could have floated off In the
air without an effort. ] scarcely breathed.
There was painful sense of construction
in my throat, my mouth and lips were dry
and parched, and / am persuaded that my
face was CHASTITY white. l averted my
eyes as much as possible from the gulf, but
there was a horrible fascination about it
that at times compelled me to look down.
ward. There was nothing diSrernible,
however. in the abysIhal void. save the
Ioam-fecked waters of the Tuolumpe as
they dashed furiously over the jagged
powders in their mad race to the Pacific.
A vagrant fire had recently run over the
face of the cliff, consuming every vesIige
of vegetation and rendering the bald and
blackeDed granite wa II more hide0us than
ever. Not living thing was to be seen !;
not sound to be heard, save the sullen
song OF the distant Tuolnmne, fitting
requiem for a veritable valley of the
shadow of DEATH"
At the close of a most narrowing hour ]
arrived at the bridge. and to the toll
keeper. to whom l unbosumed myself, /
am afra i'd spoke rather disrespectfully of
the road, its inceDtOrs and builders. To
my TRADE of inveciive the tollman, a tact
turn, griZZled old mOuntaineer, made one
sententiOus reply: Its good enough, if
you keep in the road"
Crossing the bridge. fine suspension
sixty feet above the water, the toilsome
ascent ON the other side commenced. For
four miles | struggled on up, up, up,
twisting and turning In every con eiva BILE
fashion. now up the side of the canyon.
then over that ridge. I'm Ill at East re ched
the apex, pretty little plateau, from
which most magnificent panorama of
scenery was unfolded. Far to the south
stretched an endless succession of lofty
ridges, extending from high up on the
flank of the Sierra to the less pretentious
foothills on the west. Their sides and
SUBMITS were darkly green with the foliage
CT majestic spear-shaped pines, sturdy
veterans of the forest, whose widespread
ing bran ches had waved defiance to the
storms of centuries. Ii was as il the gigan-
tic, frelted pillows of some limitless
emerald ocean had suddenly congealed-
turned to solid earth at the touch of ma
gician's wand. To the east the serried
ranges of the great Sierra rose, terrace
like, until their frosted SUBMITS touched
the bending sky. Lofty peaks, like
buttressed towers, reared their hoary
heads from out the mountain battlements,
while farther to the south the snow-clad
dome of FL Captain, gigantic warder of
the Great Fall of the Yosemite, glittered like
a huge diamond in the Sierran crest. On the
west the eye swept down over the mound
shaped foothills, across the great valley
of the San Joaquin to the indistinct line
of the Coast range. Deep down beneath
my ieet the shining waters of the TuO-
lumne wound their sinuous way to the
sea, an opaline gem in bronze setting of
sun-browned hills. All The western sky
was radiant with the fleming glory of the
setting sun. FIeecy clouds, irradiated with
ruddy light, glowed like incandescent CAL
drons of molten silver. A long, low-lying
bank OF fog was deeply crimsoned by the
declining rays. while above it hung opal
escent. nebulous shapes, like great white
ships floating on a carmine SEA. My fancy
pictured the whole scene spread out be-
fore me as milling colossal amphi-
theater. with the gorgeous western sky as
a dr0p-curtaiu.
] watched the celestial embers grow dim,
expire and turn TO ashes beneath the
shadows of advancing evening. Then
arOusing my horse from cropping the
heritage of the roadside, was soon enjoy
ing the hospitality of mine host of the
Groveland Hotel.