Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1894-06-22

stood was formed of oyerhanging
juts of silica, as brittle rs glass.
Alas! did not know it, and | took
no heed. STOPPING forward to look
down into the funnel, | 5hrew all my
weight with suddenness upon one
foot; the tut on which itrested broke
off short, and my foot des. ended on
the slippery surface of the crater. ]
staggered-struggled to regain my
balance-but in vain. The very Of
! fort, Ikea reeling skaters. complet-
ed my disaster; swung half round,
and iell full length upon the side OF
the incline
For a second or two remained
stationary. Then | felt that | was
sliding-slowly but surely sliding
down the shelving funnel toward the
mouth Of the abyss.
With cry of terror, threw out
my arms in convulsive search of
something to arrest my progress;
but the projections of the margin
were already out Of reach, and my
fingers only slipped OH the polished
walls Of the declivity, which grew
sleeper and sleeper as they APP
preached the chasm, which now, like
a monstrous jaw, seemed gaping to
receive me. A moment more, and
with the horrible intestinal sense of
falling from q height dropped like
Il plummet into the darkness of the
gulf
For one instant; in extremity OF
horror, | felt thar | was lost; the
next, was aware that something
unexpected had occurred. ! was no
! longer falling. What had happened?
AS Il rule, geyser shaft, is as per-
pendicular MS a coal pits, but some
times, by mere chance, the shaft de-
fleets and forms an angle at no great
j distance from the surface; and such
was the case here. For II or Is feet
the shaft descended vertically; then
it ended on a slightly shelving floor
lofrock, from the edge Of which q
Larger tunnel, black and steep, sank
down into the very bowels of the
earth. This ledge or landing place,
received me as | felt; and thus, by
the merest freak OF fortune, it hap
pened that, though bruised and
shaken, | escaped the fate, which
otherwise | must have met, of being
dashed to pieces on the spot.
| felt a movement of relief-of JOY.
Yet had | cause for exultation? /
gathered myselfup and looked about
me-
There, above me was the opening
OF the shaft, beneath a circle OF clear
sky, in which, to my surprise, a star
was shining, though the time. was
noon. My wonder was, however
only momentary; the effect, | knew,
arose from looking up the tunnel OF
the shaft, as in the broadcast sun
shine, the moon and stars ara}visible
from the bottom Of Il well. A more
mementous observation seized my
notice; the interior Of the shaft, wet,
slippery and shining, presented
neither crevice nor projection. Even
as | looked realized the horror of
the fate before me. Escape was inn
possible was the captive OF the
geyser! Beside the rocky ledge
ON which / stcod-a space
about a yard in width could
perceive, as my sight became accus-
toned to the feeble CLEAN which fell
into the chasnl, the awful throat of
the abyss. descending, Avernus-like,
for all knew, into the very gulfs of
fire. From the gorge a faint steam
rose like mist, and in the utter still
ness / could hear, fardown, the sound
of gurgitating waters. In a little
while--how long / could not tell
the moment of eruption would re-
turn and food the chasm / should
be drowned-drowned like a trapped
rat; no. horror!-drowning is not an
instant death, and the abyss would
have become II bubbling cauldron.
| should be boiled alive!
AS the horror of this thought
broke on me, my veins ran chill with
in me, and shook from head to foot
as if with aguc. Sick and dizzy. for
many minutes l remained, like man
paralyzed, incapable Of thought or
motion, vet conscious-consciou
even to the keenest torture-of the
flight Of every moment. An eNpec-
tation-a suspense unutterable
strained every nerve to agony. The
insuants numbereSNby my fevered
pulses seemed to fail upon my heart
like drops of melted lead. My ears
were strained to catch the far, faint
sound OF the abysmal waters-a
sound which might be changed at
any instant to the roar which would
anticipate my doom.
At last, with the spasmodic effort
of a dreamer starting from the
clutches ola nightmare. Iroused my
mind into exertion. Was | doomed
inevitably doomed-was there no
possibly escape before me? turn
ed my eyes again upon the shaft.
1t was, as | have said, about five
feet in width. A little narrower and
| might have had a chance offreedom
by setting my back against one wall
of the ascent and my hands and
knees against the opposite, | might
gradually have worked mS body up
ward. as a chimney sweeper,'s boy
goes up a stack. AS it was, how
Ii q In r.