The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1898-07-27
,nly enough to make a sort of brook,

j
low the island. 1t was the best sport /
had ever known, to wade about in the
warm water, setting up toy mill
wheels whitfield out of pine where the
stream leaped and spouted, and feed
ing and herding the shoals of darling
minnows in the miniature ponds. 1t
was great fun, too, scaling the cliffs
and climbing about on the mountains;
and it was on one of these break-neck
excursions that l discovered Jasper
cave.
I don't mean that was the first who
ever visited the place, though doubt
that any white man knew of it at that
time. 1 found it by the merest acct
dent, for it's mouth is about half way
ZIP the side of precipitous mountain,
almost as steep as the side of house,
and no opening is visible from below.
1t can only be reached from the forest
above, by zig-zag track along the
| face of the cliff-a path scarcely six
inches wide in some places. SO that one
has to lean against the rock to keep
his balance. In front of the cave,
however, there is fat shelf several
yards in breadth, commanding beau
tiful view of the valley beneath, the
river looking like q mere trout-brook
in the distance, the logs in 1t like little
sticks, and the mill like a plaything
The entrance of the cave is so low that
had to crawl in on my hands and
| knees. Inside, it is about as big as an
| ordinary room, and in the middle just
| high enough to let a boy stand erect,
the roof sloping down toward the
edges. But the most remarkable thing
about it is that roof and walls and
floor are all of jasper, beautifully mot
! tied in red and yellow. There is little
doubt that it had been gradually hol-
lowed out by the Indians in ages past,
as they continually Clipped away at
this vein of bright-hued jasper to
get its hard, sharp-edged flakes for
their arrow-heads. Indeed, l found
several of these and other stone i'm
plements by paving over heap of
fiinty scales which lay in one corner;
and subsequently it was made plain
that the secret of the place, once so
valuable to the savage warriors, was
still carefully guarded with sort of
superstitious reverence by the de-
generate remnants of the tribe.
When I told Bessie about this fas-
cinating spot she was crazy to see it,
and begged me to take her with me
the next time I went there. She was
my chief comprehension nearly all
the boys in the neighborhood were al
ready kept hard at work in the mills
and as 1 knew that she was almost as
clever at climbing as I was myself,
finally agreed that she should 60. So
one sunny Saturday morning we start
ed out together, carrying a substan-
tial lunch in game pouch which I
slung over my shoulder. We didn't ex
plain very fully what we meant to do,
only saying that we wanted to go up
the mountain after spruce gum
which was true, but not the whole
truth-a piece of duplicity for which
we were punished severely enough be-
fore we saw home again.
For about two miles our course lay
along the main road; then it
branched off toward the hills-a mere
trail. Just at the turn we met an old
Indian staggering down the path with
a heavy pack-basket corded upon his
shoulders. AS he approached he Stun
bled across log and fell.
''Why you put things make me fall
DOWN." he grumbled, struggling I'M
steadily to his feet.
l,;,,, oooo n
Joe," skillful hunter and good
guide, but otherwise-well, he was
very far from being a dead Indian" 1
saw, too, that he had been drinking,
though not enough as yet to set him
crazy.
little gal 'fraid?" he said, as he
Joined us. For, indeed, Bessie was not
able to conceal her uneasiness, and
this evidently excited him. mo need
be 'fraid of Joe. Joe not hurt any
body. Children like play with joe"
The more he talked the more fright
ened poor Bessie became, and the more
she showed alarm the more vociferous-
ly he proclaimed his harmlessness.
That evidently wouldn't do.
Hull ducdu, DcSSIo, WulSpcTcu,
and she sped forward while 1 remained
behind with the Indian-though 1
should have much preferred to run,
too. The fellow soon quieted, but. to
my great disgust, turned and reeled
along at my side.
"Why, you go up here?" he asked.
I broke off twig, pulled out my
jackknife, and made show of whit
Ting. Best keep it in my hand with
the big blade open, thought.
Were just going up after gum," 1
answered him.
Then I got him to talking about his
traps and the game he had taken; and
at last, to my immense relief, he start
ed back toward the road. l had long
chase, however, before I could over
take the terrified Bessie; the nearer
came the faster she fled.