The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-09-25


| hight of our trip. We were smoking our
pipes beside the fire. After the converse
ton had dwindled down to occasional re-
marks my guide suddenly startled me by
asking:
do you believe in the devil?'
Sometimes I replied.
"'Well, I believe in him all the time,
and If I had that camera Of yours and
knew how to use 1t 1 could have clicked
off q picture of the old boy for you
60 Did you see him?'
No, but I saw his picture once
"'Oh, there have been lots of pictures
of him, but none of them was a photo
graph. They were made by artists who
| ina gined what he looked like
ST know, but this wasn't made by any
artist, and if it wasn't a photograph I'd
like to know what it was. But it wasn't
photograph that 1 could get a spare copy
| of
81 waited for him to tell his story and
shall give it here chiefly in his own words,
though I shall not attempt to reproduce
his dialect or his slow tones. 1t was en-
tirely picturesque, for he was a thorough
mountaineer and uneducated to an inter-
esting degree. The fact that he was en-
tirely wothout education makes it less
probable that he fabricated the story he
| told
60 In the early '60s,' he said, L was do
| ing some prospecting on my own account
and did a lot of wandering over the noun
tains in these parts. One day after I had
| worked my way up particularly wild
gorge I came out ma little table land
where I thought 1 would camp for the
night. I gathered a lot of wood and built
fire before it got dark and was starting
in to broil some venison when I heard
| something stirring behind me. I grabbed
my gun and turned round and there,
standing looking at me, was one of the
darndest looking men I ever clapped
eyes on. He looked as tall as a telegraph
pole and as lean as a snake. He had 10
hat and only a little fringe of hail, but
his whiskers We're long and came down to
a point on his chest. 1t was the eyes Of
him that caught me, though, for they
were like the eyes of a mountain lion.
Good evening, neighbour says l to
him.
HE didn't say word for a minute, but
| just stood looking a me. Then he raised
his hand and pointed down the way I
came Co. says he.
"y'What for?' says 7.
'' Co. so, or it will be worse for you.
No man ever comes here he says.
" We'll, there's one come now and he
is going to stay until he's ready to CO.
I says.
''The fellow let a laugh out of him that
fairly raised my hair, but not seeing any
gun about him 1 didn't bulge Then he
| turned and walked off. He had given me
a little turn, but I hadn't time to think
Of that, for a storm began to rumble
along the mountain side In few min
utes 1t was pitch dark and the awfullest
l-J,4 At. T Io1I
sputter from the clouds. 1 shifted my
| pack to the side of a solid looking rock
| that would be some protection to me, and
did some cursing at that old duffer.
knew he must have a cabin of some sort
near by, and If I could have found 1t that
night would have slept dry. even if we
had to fight for 1t. Well, the rain just
wet and savage when I got up in the
morning After I got some breakfast I
waited around till the weather cleared a
bit and began to examine the rocks. I
found some that struck me being the
right thing, and forgot all about my old
crank until I was building my fire for
supper again. He came back just as he
did the night before
Co. he said, haven't you had your
warning?
az had a wetting,' said I, but If I
could have found your roost would have
bunked with you last night. Where do
you sleep anyway?
Go, lest q worse thing befall you
This mountain is mine and the storms are
mine he said.
We'll, I must say you keep a good
| brand of both mountain and storm T
said. Does there happen to be any gold
in your mountain?
He didn't answer ne, but walked
away as he did on the night before And
just the same as on the night before a
storm began to gather. But it came from
another direction and my rock was no
use for shelter l picked up my pack and