Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1899-09-22
IT,
: Es.t 4A~"
Tourist Walked
On Stilts: Through a
I. } Stream Of Molten
Lava.

r
and amazement, he discovered that the
new stream Of lava ran directly into the
earlier stream. Tie streams joined, and
his retreat had been cut off.
He was hemmed in by running rivers
Of fire.
The streams converged in the crater
mouth above him and united at the brink
of the forest below him.
Mr.. Watson was palsied with fright.
Not knowing what to do, he hurried back
to the rocky knob, mounted it and gazed
abroad. The flow to his right was mile
wide. The new flow was 100 feet across
and seemed to be increasing in that d.
rection. To pass either was impossible
Gould he be rescued by his party? Would
they think to come and look for him? If
they came, would it occur to them that
he was imprisoned on these rocks? How
or by what means could they rescue him?
AS he meditated his eyes fell upon the
singular forest at the bottom of the in
cline, and he thought of the heat defying
properties of that wood. If he could
only turn the bunch which grew above
him to his service-ah, he had it, Stills!
He had been an expert on stills when
boy. Would his skill forsake him nov? ?
On stills he could possibly ford the small
er stream. He would not Judge it to be
over a foot in depth, and he could ira
verse it in about 25 steps.
Drawing a stout bladed knife from his
pocket, he began hewing at the base Of
one OF the smallest trees. The wood was
dense and hard, Of the species known as
ironwood. When the blade grew dull,
he whetted it on the rocks. All through
the night he worked, while the terrible
furnace belched above him, exhaling it's
green, yellow and blue vapors.
By daylight he had his stills carved
out. They were about II feet long, with
a good prong upon each on which to rest
his foot and ample length above the
prong for seizure and guidance with his
arms. The distance below the prong was
four feet. This would give him three
feet of atmosphere above the flow. Rest
ing his stills against the face of the
rock and lifting himself upon them, he
staggered a moment, then started off to
the edge Of the flow. A strong wind was
blowing in his face and added to the diff
culties of his advance. It was hot and
scorched him.
Mr.. Watson put forth a silt in the
lava. He found that he could draw it
out of the mass and that, though smok-
ing, it was not burned. His gait was IN
steady, but he fixed his eye on the edge
of the stream and worked toward it. The
wood was burning rapidly, though not in
flames. This added perhaps to the ease
with which he could withdraw the stills
from the lava. The heat was frightful.
His shoes seemed to be on fire, and his
feet were roasting.
The wood was low shedding charcoal,
showing specks of black and gray lava.
He pressed on, covering four feet at a
step. He felt the left silt crumbling.
His hands and face were now great bis
tiers. His eyes seemed like balls of fire.
The edge was fully Is feet ahead. If he
fell. he would shrivel like spider on a
hot shovel. On he went, the stills burn
ing away beneath him. The left one
broke 1T the bottom, and he plunged for
ward the hot earth. He had crossed
the flow. He was free of the lava.
The cheering voice of one of his COM
panions and cup Of water held to his
lips was the first Mr.. Watson knew upon
recovering his senses. He does not know
how he crawled some ten feet away from
the lava until he reached the cool ground,
but instinct guided him to this if memory
,, had left him. He was placed upon one
Of the mules and taken across the sum-
;; NIT to sheep rancher's house.
And that is how Mr.. Watson was cured
/ Of all curiosity about volcanoes.