The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-12-13

land within sight Of the Inaccessible water.
Tho gold is at tho bottom of the call
yons. That Is what Irataba and his Mo
haves saia, and that is what Bill Williams
beloved, nnd so they descended to tho hot
tom OF tho Littio Colorado canyon and
worked their way down.
From tho first they found gold but 1t
Gid not come up to their expectations. Tho
HI Dorado was lower down, go down they
hurried, till tho sky looked like ~ blue hclt
overhead md the sun could be seen for
but one brief hour in tho "a. These men,
though accustomed to profound depths and
| sublime heights. were, nwed by thor sur
! roundingS and began to lose their desire
for gold in their growing desire for light.
Ono early morning the canyon was still
black as midnight, but the flaming clouds
far overhead told that day had come to tho
upper world when the little band was stnr-
tied By hearing fierce yclls, like tie cries OF
anGcrcd eagles high up the cliffs.
No need to ask what the cry meant.
Each of these mon had heard it of old. II
was tho war shout of the Apaches. Up tho
canyon walls rang out an answering cry Of
defiance from the Mohaves. But the BRAY
est saw he wns in u trap nnd with nll the
chances against him.
From the giddy crcsts OF tho canyon
wall the Apachcs loosened hugo rocks,
which came crashing, smoking and thun-
dcring down on the camp.
Rive mon, nearly half the Mohave band,
were destroyed by that Titanic fusilladc,
that seemed to fall from the sky like the
thundcrbots OF an angercd Jupiter.
In their desperation Bill Williams and
Irataba used their rifles, hut up to that
time no rife had been made that would
send n bullet to such II height. But the
roclis-tlc awful rocks gained in destruc.
tive power by reason of their awful cluv;i-
tiOn.
The only hopo lay in flight down the
canyon, which up to this time had never
been trcddcn by tho foot of man. Still
from the cliffs tho Apnchcs pursued and
with such effect that when the black
shadows of another night came to the
depths where the maddcned waters roarrd
there were but two mon lcft-lrntaba and
Bill Williams
They discussed the situation and like
brave mon determined to fight till the last,
though tho effort seemed hopeless.
Retreat by the route over which they
had come was out Of tho question. The
only chance was to follow tho canyon
down, knowing that 1t must end in TINT
atupcndous labyrinth of canyons then UNI
known, but which have since amazed the
world
Their only food was little dried vcnl-
son. Tho next morning they came upon
large quantities Of free gold, but they had
lost their interest in the precious metal.
Life, said tho chief rs they pushed down
the mighty rift, is moro precious than all
carth's gold.
"On the second day they lost sight OF
the Apachcs, but as there was no means of
lcnching the upper world, without rctrac-
| ing their steps, they decided to keep on
Late on the afternoon of the second dry
| they were brought To II halt. There were
| no longer any shore lines along which they
| could walk. Tho swift current filled all
| tho spaco between tho black, towering
| banks.
1.-The next morning they found lot OF
| driitwood lodged in the creviccs of the
| rocks. Some of this drift WAS so feet above
the current at this time, indicating the
| height of tho Little Colorado in the flood
season. Using thoir buckskin lcggings for
cords, they fastened number of pieces of
| timber together. They Ind barely finished
their rude raft when again they heard
| Apache yclls, and again the murdcrous
rocks camo laundering down.
| with characteristic stoicism Irataba
was for dying where they wcro rather than
trusting himself to the frnil raft, which,
| Williams stood ready to launch on tho un.
known waters of tho canyon.
" If wo die, Irataba, said tho white
mnn, let us die resisting
| = But what can weak men do in tho
face OF natures awful forccs?' asked the
supcrstitious chief
= Wo are part Of natures forces, Ira
taba, and we must control them. Got
aboard and hold on That Ia what viii
liains said rs with his rifle ut his back and
pole in his hand he cast the raft loose
and tried to guide it,
| Tho current soon bore them ont oi
reach and hearing of the Apaches Accord
ing to Williams estimate they were now
at least 300 miles from the nearest settle.
ments ut the mouth of Virgin river and
| the Mohayc villages were fully $50 miles
farther off and to the south
| - All that day and the following night
they driftcd down between the banks that
| appeared TO grow higher Mt every bend till
| 1t seemed as IL they were descending into
the bowels Of tho earth
"On the fifth day of their flight the raft
was whirled into the still larger canyon OF
| the great Colorado. BY this time all their
food was gone, and their long watching
and fearful anxiety had weakened them,
| though both were unusually strong men.
a situation more desperate cannot well
| be imagined. Without food, their cloth.
! ing torn to rags and their skin blistcrcd
| they were mt the bottom of the greatest
canyon In the world and being carried on
whittier they knew not.
'lrataba showed that he had lost hope
by lying fiat on the shaky raft and singing
the weird death song of the Mohnycs