Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1897-11-11
MYSTERIOUS NIGHT RIDE.
He Crossed Bridge Where There Was
No Bridge to Cross.


No Bridge to Cross.
The most famous of the Adiron-
dack gorges is the Au Sable chasm,
which is not far from where the Au
Sable river flows into Lake Cham
plain. The galleries, caves and cas-
tellated columns attract thousands
of tourists yearly, but 70 years ago
it was comparatively unknown. In
those early days the preoipitous
cliffs were SPAWNED by a wooden
bridge, over which the farmers had
to pass on their way to Au Sable
Forks. The bottom of the chasm at
this point was sheer descent of 1875
feet. In those early days the pio-
neers were not skilled in the art of
bridge building, and so one night,
when fierce storm Numbered
through the mountains, the bridge
was swept away, with the exception
of the main stringer, a beam of
about IS inches square.
One pitch black night, about ten
years after the storm that had de-
moljshed the bridge, ID stranger drew
up his horse in front of the tavern
at Au Sable Forks. 1t was about 10
o'clock and the taproom was well
filled with villagers, drinking, smok-
ing and playing cards. The en-.
trance of stranger caused the usual
commotion, and as he sat in one
corner eating a hastily prepared
supper he was the cynosure of all
eyes. After the meal the host, as
was the custom, engaged the stran-
ger in conversation.
Ozark, nasty night outside, siri"
eyes, pretty black"
Have any trouble in finding your
wayi"
ooh, no. used to live in this
neighborhood 20 years ago."
"Soi Well, you'll find things
pretty we'll changed since you left. y
Eyes, 1 expect SO. The old bridge
is still standing, though, and 1 am
glad of that, for helped to build
it."
1.-THE old bridget" questioned the
tavern keeper, and every one in the
room looked up in amazement.
why, yes" rejoined the stran.
ger, "the bridge across the chasm
down the road half mile"
"What Are you crazyi" shouted
the host. '"There is 10 bridge across
| the Au Sable. There has been nc
bridge there for the past ten years. y
"Butyou are mistaken, my friend
I rode my horse across it not three
quarters of an hour ago."
Impossible, sir. tell you that
the bridge blew down ten years
ago.
again I tell you, my friend, thai
1 rode across it this very night,
was the imperturbable answer. III
was too dark for me to see, but
heard the clatter of my horse's fee
on the planking and the noise of the
water in the chasm below
The argument waxed warmer ani
warmer until the stranger said thai
they would wait until the mex
morning, when it could easily bt
settled if there was bridge or not
He made a wager with the Landlord
that it was still standing across tn.
chasm.
The next morning every man
woman and child in Au Sable Fork
was at the chasm. Sure enough, il
the soft sand of the road there wer,
footprints of a horse, and the trai
led from the stringer across tn,
chasm up to the tavern porch. On
| young daredevil walked across til,
narrow stringer and made star
ting discovery.
There was a similar trail on tn,
other sidel
The stranger had told the truth
In the darkness of the night hi
horse had crossed the chasm on
single beam.
| But that is not the strangest par
of the story. When that forenoo,
the stranger rode down to the Al
Sable chasm to settle his wager will
the keeper of the tavern and he say
the perilous path over which he hat
travelled the night before, it is salt
that he was stricken with trem
bling that never left his limbs unit
death, and that within the space o
60 seconds his hair turned from je
black to the color of the driver
snow.-Chicago Times Herald.
The Hair Under the Microscope.
Placed under powerful micro
scope, the hair shows surface GOV
cred with strong, coarse, jagge,
l. = 4 7