The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-03-10
"RATTLEsNAKE BILLS" FEAT.
Race That Included Leap From a
Precipice TOO Feet HiRh.

/ a race mat Included q Leap From q
Precipice 100 Feet Aigh.
From the Chicago Tribune.
| 81 do not want at this late day to take
away any OF the glory Gen. Putnam &C
quired by his famous ride in revolutionary
days." said c. P. Chandler of Colorado at
the Grand Pacific yesterday. But l was
an eyewitness to a ride out in Colorado
that was a whole lot more daring than that
! of the brave Putnam, and the rider was not
inspired by pursuing foes. 1t was all done
on wager between two fellows Of a reck-
less type. found only in the uncombed west.
From Union dump to Pandora mill,
near Tulluride Col. in the great Marshall
basin, and not far from the beautiful Bridal
| Veil falls. is a distance Of something over two
miles, The dump is so far above the mill
that there is drop of 8, 600 feet in the trail
| which leads down from it. The trail Is a
hard one. and to accomplish journey from
| the dump to the mill was the work Of an
hour. The ore from the mine was carried
to the mill on burros, thirty or forty Of the
| little elevators usually being led down at
time. A fellow who termed himself
| 'Rattlesnake Bill, the terror of Dakota,
was one of the boss burro punchers around
the camp. he was great blowhard. but
what he boasted of more than anything
else he owned on earth was a
COW pony by name Get There
The trai! from the Uuion dump to
Pandora was easier OF travel for
men than for hrutes, but Bill always swore
that he and Get There could cover the
distance faster than any man in the
mountains. He offered to bet on the
proposition, and finally found skeptic in
the person of one 'Lanky' johnson, who
owned a saloon and a pair Of legs which were
his pride. BE was considered tho finest
mountain climber in the state. Well.
| 'Lanky' and Bill came to terms for a race,
| Bill wagering his summer wages, his bur-
| ros, his cabin and f1xt1res, and everything
else be could beg or borrow that he could
ride his pony from the dump to Pandora In
| shorter time than Lanky could 60 the same
distance afoot He even robbed his own
trunk and bet the clothes he wore on the
| proposition.
"'Lanky' met him and put up coin
| against the collateral, the stake all told
being worth a couple of thousand dollars.
"The day for the trial came. The miners
IN the Basin all threw down their tools,
| business was suspended in Telluride, and
everybody turned out to see the sport. The
faro dealers turned their boxes, and even
| the Bridal Veil was lifted, they say out
there, that the falls might see the sport.
| at was perfect day away up there in
| the mounts when Bill, mounted on Get
| There and Lanky' johnson went to the
| pOSb LOT Tue Dig tEldI. 1ue LuAuoIs oSb Adl i
ously, at least $4,000 changing hands.
'Lanky' was hot favorite. The miners
| knew the trail we'll. They knew, or be-
! lieved, a man could move over it as fast as
| a horse and that be could take cut offs q
rider would not dare to attempt, But the y
knew nothing Of the recklessness in Bilrs
heart as Get There bounded away at a
| furious pace, goRded by blacksnake IN the
hands of one of Bills friends.
HHalf gav down the Travelling was good
| for the horse, but Lsuky's hopes were based
on the zig gag, foot wide trail that led down
the side of 700-foot precipice The horse
| led to that point where Lanky's hackers
! expected to see him move up with a squirt.
| At the side of the regular trail was q
| draw leading TO the foot of the precipice.
| The footing was Of slide rocs, that was
| dangerous for 10 an or brute. Another friend
| OF Bills stood right at the edge of the preci-
| pice with a bullwhacker's whip. As horse
| and rider neared him Bill turned Get
There's head to the draw and the friend
whipped the horse, which jumped right on tc
the loose earth and stone of the draw and
was carried down with it to the bottom in q
twinkle. The feat was practically nothing
more than drop Of 700 feet, as the draw
was almost perpendicular. Out of the dust
at the base Of the precipice horse and rider
came unframed, resumed the trail and
dashed on furiously. 'Lanky' gave up tbs
race, DuG Bill dldnb know IL onu Kept OF
his wild ride. At Hanging Rock, where an
other 40-foot precipice was In front of him
be did not turn for the trail, but sent hil
pony flying into the timber below. Then
he drove through the timber to the mill
No trail had ever been made there and how
he managed to get through no man knows
1.-THE timel Well, sir, be went to the
mill from the dump In eight minutes auc
forty seconds. Steam engines make the
same trip now and people think they are
going a lively gait when they make it In
half an hour.
when Bill reached the mill he had to be
lifted off bis pony. He hadn'ta bit Of nerve
left He gathered in his stakes, sold out
and left the camp"
ToMMy-There's a girl at our school, mamma