The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1898-04-23
LEGEND OF THE Az SABLE.
Horseman Crossed the, Chasm at
NiKht ON q single StrinxeF.

Night ON q single Strfnger.
To the lover of curious scenery the
Adirondacks present an infinite varie-
ty. The region abounds in lakes, large
and small, surrounded by mountains
or embowered 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 Au Sable chasm,
which is not far from where the Au
Sable river flows into Lake Champlain.
The galleries, caves and castellated
columns attract thousands of tourists
yearly; but 70 years ago it was COM
paratively unknown. In those early
days the PERCEPTIONS cliffs were spanned
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 a sheer descent
Of 125 feet. In those early days the
pioneers were not skilled in the art of
bridge building; and 30 one night
when a fierce storm thundered through
the mountains, the bridge was swept
away, with the exception of the main
stringer, q beam of about IS inches
square. The bridge was never rebuilt
and another road to the little village
of Au Sable Forks was utilized. The
old stringer, however, still stretched
across the cliffs above the Au Sable
chasm.
One pitch-black night, about ten
years after the storm that had demol-
ished the bridge, a stranger drew up
his horse in front of the tavern at Au
Sable Forks. It was about ten o'clock
and the tap-room was well-6lled with
villagers, drinking, smoking and play
ing cards. The entrance of stranger
caused the usual commotion, and as he
sat in one corner eating hastily pre-
pared supper he was the cynosure OF all
eyes. After the meal the host. as was
the custom, engaged the stranger In
conversation.
Dark, nasty night outside, sirrs
"Yes, pretty black"
slave any trouble in finding your
way?"
"Oh, no; I used to live in this neigh
borhood 20 years ago."
$50? Well. you'll find things pretty
well changed since you left"
"Yes, 1 expect SO; the old bridge is
still standing, though; and 1 am glad
of that, for helped to build it."
"The old bridge? questioned the
tavern keeper, and everyone in the room
looked up in amazement.
"Why, yes" rejoined the stranger,
"the bridge across the chasm down the
road half-mile."
"Whatl are you crazy?" shouted the
host. There is no bridge across the
Au Sable; there has been no bridge
there for the past ten years"
"But you are mistaken, my friend; I
rode my horse across it not three-quar-
ters of an hour ago."
Impossible, sir; tell you that the
bridge blew down ten years ago."
"Again tell you, my friend, that
rode across it this very night" was the
answer. at was toodark
for me to see, but heard the clatter of
my horses feet on the planking, and
low"
The argument waxed warmer and
warmer until the stranger said that
they would wait until the next morn
ing, when it could easily be settled II
there was bridge or not. BE made a
wager with the landlord that 1t was
still standing across the chasm.
q The next morning every man, woman
and child in Au Sable Forks was at the
chasm. Sure enough, in the soft sand
of the road there were footprints of a
horse, and the trail led from the stringer
across the chasm up to the tavern porch.
One young daredevil walked across the
narrow stringer and made q startling
discovery.
There was a similar trail on the other
sidel
The stranger had told the truth. In
Che darkness Of the night his horse had
crossed the chasm on a single beam.
But that is not the strangest part of
the story. When that forenoon the
stranger rode down to the Au Sable
chasm to settle his wager with the
keeper of the tavern and he saw the
perilous path over which he had trav-
eled the night before, it Is said that he
was stricken with trembling that
never left his limbs until death, and
that within the space of 60 seconds his
hair turned from a jet black to the colo
of the driven snow.-Chicago Times
Herald.