The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1901-07-31
The MAGNET Rock,
BY WILLIAM J. HAMPTON.

10, BHlu Iue blIduBeT W group
around the hotel stove, my partner
and l started out from Denver with
burro load Of provisions and tools and
with our minds made up to find for
tune or let the burro die In the attempt.
Well, we lost our bearings. l didn't
know where we were, and my partner
didn't, and as like as not the burro
didn't, but we had heard plenty Of sto-
ries about animal instinct and the cat
coming back, so we concluded to leave
1t to the burro and see If he could
pilot US to some point or other that
we knew.
"There wasn't much to do but to give
him his head, and he kept knocking
along in the direction of somewhere to
us unknown
"One night he got loose and wandered
off, leaving his load for us to carry or
to cache where we were likely never to
find It again. Then we went hunting
for the burro instead of hunting for our
way out of the wilds, and we divided
up his load and took it along with us.
"The hunt had continued a week,
when one morning we spied the burro
about half a mile ahead of us, appar-
emily standing on a piece of rising
ground, surveying the landscape.
"He saw us as we approached and
whinnied and showed all sorts of signs
of joy, but he didn't move peg. When
we got to within 80 feet of him, we
noticed that the rising ground on which
he stood was in reality a huge black
stone standing up from the ground to
about three feet at its highest point.
"As soon as We struck the stone, 60
ing to the burro, we found that it was
ell we could do to lift our feet up, and
we hadn't gone more than three or four
steps till we fairly stuck to the stone.
We thought we were paralyzed at first
and were scared half to DEATH but in
my efforts to walk pulled one of my
feet out of It's shoe, and when l put
that foot down on the stone l found l
could use 1t all right.
"Then we took off our shoes, my
partner, who was considerable Of a sci
entlfic man, suggesting that the stone
must be magnetic and was acting on
the steel pegs in our soles and heels.
We knew the magnetic stone was hold
ing the burro fast by the heavy, steel
shoes he wore for mountain travel.
He had tried to walk until his fore
feet were so far from his hind feet
that he was sway backed. He had
evidently been a prisoner until he was
half starved and famished. and we did
not wonder that he was glad to see US.
"Of course the first thing for US to do
was to get him off the stone, and we
began by trying to pry him loose, but
as fast as we got one foot free and
tackled another one the magnet would
pull the free one back again, and the
best we could do was to get his fore
feet nearer the hind ones and relieve
the strain on his spinal column.
eve tried to roll him over on his
back, but he couldn't lie down, and we
had to give that up too. Then we de-
termined to take off his shoes, and, 60
ing back after our ak, we started in
with that, but the magnet dragged 1t
out of our hands and held it so fast we
broke the handle trying to get 1t loose.
Stones We're the only tools we could
use, and after an hours work with
them we got the shoes Off, and the bur
70 was free. BY zucks, gentlemen. the
Joy of that dumb animal when be
found he could walk and had chance
to get at grass and water was enough
to bring tears to eyes unused to weep"
The hack driver SMILED, but he apollo
gized by saying he had cold
Eve gave the burro day to fill up
and get some of his strength back,
continued the stranger, land, putting
the pack once more on his back, we
proceeded on our course, the burro
making the best time ever saw bur
70 make. We believed we had found
something greater than gold mine and
intended to come back and develop our
find.
Eve had long, hard trip still before
US, but we got out at last and reached
Denver in good shape, all things con
sidered. Interesting some scientific and
moneyed people In our discovery, we
organized another party and went back
to find the magnet, but Its location es
capped us, as is often the case with
mines in that vast region. and, do what
we could, we could not locate It"
The stranger stopped as If he had
reached the end of his story.
"Why In thunder didn't you let the
mule lead the party?" asked the hack
driver in state of suppressed excite
ment.
The stranger looked at him more in
pity than in anger.
"Why didn't weT he replied. ave
did, but as soon as the burro was head
ed in that direction and got his bear
ings he turned tail and started east on
a dead run, and we haven't seen him
since. Have any of You seen strange
burro In this neighborhood? I'm here
on my way to the Atlantic ocean look
Ing for him"
"Well, I'll be derned" remarked Sam
Perkins, and everybody else was
speechless.-St Louis Republic.
The Art of Skipping.