Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1901-09-05

fact that his ribs were prOtrudlnS IN
truly remarkable style, and that his
labors had been unusually steady and
entirely creditable it was deemed ad-
yisabie 10 grant ntni q noildaN. lnerS,-
fore Bellies driver, Tim Murdoch, led
him out of the great Sutro Tunnel and
where he cast OF the halter and turned
aCcou4palnru nlln 70 d Diean n!!l-top,
Belize adrift.
Belize bnnked his brown ewes. The
bright. hot sunlight GaZzled his vision
airy organs Four years under ground
is conducive to blindness, and Belize
had pulled ore cars in the drifts of the
deep Comstocll mines, and trotted to
and fro through the Sutro Tunnel fully
that length OF time. So Belize blinked
his eyes and gazed about him in a
dumfounded manner. He didn't know
whether to be pleased with his unusual
lreeuOm of U@-Led Ut ,te iuSa Oh eN'
listing in such nrilltant atmosnherc.
Perhaps Belize remained on that par
ticuldI suOH Us
longer. 1t is certain, however. that as
soon as the sun dropped behind the
mule seemed relieved; he grew quite
sportive by the time nights sable pail
fell upon the dreary landscape. Thus
did the overworked mules vacation
begin; the days slipped by, and ere
long the bony, long-eared solemn
looking BeelZebub became familiar
object as he roamed about the Vir-
ginia hills.
Strange things will happen, and it
became apparent that this visible
ribbed donkey was thriving on his sage
brush diet. His master noted the fact
and decided to terminate Bellies fur
Tough. Mules were none too plentiful
just then; work was pressing, and,
take it all around Belize could i'll be
spared especially since he no longer
cut the same figure as did the rack of
bones that emerged from Sutro Tun-
mel four weeks previous. So Tim Muir
dock was detailed to roundup the re-
juvenated BeelZebub. His accustomed
haunts We're searched, no brown mule
with the peculiar markings of Belize
could be discovered. Inquiries were
made. but no one remembered seeing
him within the last week. Finally the
stage driver informed Tim that he
seen a mule ambling down Geiger
Grade, pretty close to Steamboat
Springs, day before yesterday" This
seemed self-evident clew, and Tim
got an extra day off, mounted spare
mule, and struck out in pursuit OF the
wandering Belize.
Steamboat is noted for its HOT
springs. geysers and the altogether eX-
traordinary formations in and about
that locality. These springs are
favorite resort for natural scientists,
and offer a splendid field TO Inc re-
searches of biologists.
There happened to be particularly
Jealous professor sojourning at Steam
boat about the same time Belize was
rustlng for new growth of bone and
muscle. Two prospectoi ), firmly be-
, lieving they had struck a bonanza,
were extending an old tunnel in hill
side, about half mile from the main
springs ard geysers of Steamboat.
| Quite a friendship sprung up between
miners. The three made frequent eX-
petitions, bent on investigating the
wonders of hot springs, surmising
causes and effects of internal heat, and
the prospectors listened in utter fasci-
nation to the theories propounded by
Professor Mellins.
One sultry night heavy earthquake
shook up a goodly portion of western
Nevada and California. 1t played odd
tricks in and about Steamboat
| Springs. The main geyser went dry.
! When Professor Mellins discovered
this fact, his rapture knew no bounds.
/ He recorded voluminous notes on the
natural phenomenon, and began the
preparation of exhaustive lectures for
future classes to digest. While busily
engaged in jotting down notes, and
| gazing into the cavernous dry vent of
! the erstwhile geyser. the two prospeC-
| tors hove in sight. They were breath
less, tired, yet gasped out a voluble
and excited description of an unprece-
| dented freak of nature that had taken
| place on the site of their tunnel. So
! NdS tllc account given ny
the two men that it was with difficulty
they were understood; but Professor
Mellins comprehended at once that
something stranger still than the mere
disappearance of the spring had loi-
| lowed in the wake of the trember
"By the trumpeting elements. boys,
this is great" Professor Mellins forci-
bly, expressed himself by using his
favorite term, as he beheld long ir-
regular fissure beginning a few yards
from the mouth of the tunnel and run
ming directly into it, extending as far
as the eye could penetrate the gloom.
Putting jets of steam arose in thin
clouds. converting the prospectors tun-
mel into veritable steam retort. AS
suredly the subterranean force that
elected the water in the main spr' ng
has found new outlet here" said Pro-
fessor Mellins.
But, professor, that amt the phe-
nom what amazes us. Just you listen