Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-26
A. LEGEND OF AUsABLE.


Man Who Crossed n Bridge That
Was Not There.
From the Chicago Times-Herald.
To the lover Of curious scenery the Ad-
ircndacks present an infinite variety. The
region abounds in lakes large and small,
surrounded by mountains or empowered in
forests and the rivers which find their
way between the mountains seem in some
places to have cut their way through,
leaving the sheer precipices on either hand
to mark their pathway. The most famous
of these gorges is the Ausable chasm,
which is not far from where the Ausable
river flows into Lake Champlain. The
galleries. caves and castellated columns at
tract thousands of tourists yearly, but sew
enty years ago 1t was comparatively UNI
known. In those early days the precip-
itcus cliffs were spanned by a wooden
bridge. over which the farmers had to pass
on their way to Ausable Forks. The bot
tom of the chasm at this point was a sheer
descent of 125 feet. In those early days the
pioneers were not skilled in the art of
bridge building, and SO one night, when a
fierce storm Numbered through the noun
tains, the bridge was swept away, with
the exception of the main stringer, beam
about eighteen inches square. The bridge
was never rebuilt, and another road to the
little village of Ausable Forks was utilized.
The old stringer however, still stretched
One pitch black night, about ten years
after the storm that had demolished the
bridge, stranger drew up his horse in
front of the tavern at Ausable Forks. 1t
was about 10 O'Clock. and the taproom
vas well filed with villagers, drinking
smoking and playing cards. The entrance
of stranger caused the usual commotion.
and as he sat in one corner eating hastily
prepared supper he was the cynosure of all
eyes. After the meal the host, as was the
custom, engaged the stranger in -eeflyersa-
ton.
Dark, nasty night outside, STRIP
"Yee, pretty black. ;,rr-t
Have any trouble in finding your way?""
oh, no; L used to live in this neghbor-
hood twenty years ago"
SO? Well, you'll find things pretty well
changed since you left" 9Ft
Yes. L expect 50; the old bridge is still
standing, though, and / am glad of that
for helped to build it,
THE old bridge?' questioned the tavern
UP in amaZement.
Why. yes rejoined the stranger 1.-The
bridge across the chasm down the road
half mile
There is no bridge across the Ausable
there has been no bridge there for the last
ten years" q ffkIzI tSffa
But you are mistaken. my friend: rode
my morse across 1t not three-Quarters of an
hour ago."
Impossible. sir: ] tell you that the bridge
bieW Down ten years ago."
Again l tell you. my friend, that rode
across 1t this very night" was the imper-
turbable answer. 1T was too dark for me
to see. but heard the catter of my horses
feet on the planking and the noise of the
water in the chasm below"
The argument waxed warmer and warm
er until the stranger said that they would
wait until next morning, when it could
easily be settled If there was a bridge or
not He made wager with the landlord
that it was still standing across the chasm.
The next morning every man, woman and
child OF Ausable Forks was at the chasm
Sure enough. in the soft sand of the road
there were footprints of horse, and the
trail led from the stringer across the chasm
up to the tavern porch. One young dare
devil walked across the narrow stringer
and made startling discovery
There was a similar trail on the other
side! Ae o'iiei
The stranger had told the truth. In the
darkness of the night his horse had crossed
the chasm on single BEAM
But that was not the strangest part of
the story. When that forenoon the
stranger rode down to the AusabIe cbasm
10 settle his wager with the keeper of the
tavern and he saw the perilous path over
winch he had Travelled the night before IT
is SAID that he was stricken with a trem-
ping That never left his limbs until death.
ana that within the space of sixty seconds
MS hair turned from a jet black to the
color OF the driven snow.