The gold leaf., 1901-12-26

HE MADE THE WILD PLUNGE.
they will tell you, shot deer one day.
1t fell, and he stepped up to 1t to cut
its throat. AS he was standing astride
the deer he supposed was dead it rose
suddenly and went bounding down the
creek, with Silas on it's back. clasping
IT'S neck and yociferating loudly that
help would be welcome. Job Fenk,
WHO was hunting along the creek. saw
the deer In its wild fight and emptied
the contents Of his rifle into it. He
not only killed the deer, but bored
Silas Grub with his rifle ball as well.
Not long after that a Specter deer,
bestrode by specter rider. appeared
at intervals in the woods, daShinS
wildly down the creek until 1t reached
tie spot where Fenk's rifle had done
its fatal work, and there always van
ished. Then folks took to calling the
creek Spook Run and the gully Spook
Run gully, and by ana by a lumber
company put big dam across the
creek and q log shoot three miles long
through the deep. dark, crooked.
ghostly gully. down which the logs
dam Us swift as the wind. and down
this shoot came daShing. ast1ide a log,
daredevil Bill Topson. having drunk
more than generously of log driver
rum and wagcred that he would make
the fearful ride. He made it. includ-
Ing the Wild plunge from the mouth
of the gully to the pond, fifty feet be
low When he was taken from the
pond, after his awful ride and plunge
his hair, which had been black when
he started was as white Us SHOW.
And it'd "a been queer If it hadn't
turned white" any of the Passadanky
narrators will tell you. He rid that
To-: them three miles in less than four
minutes"
But the reason this feat of Bill Top
sons has particular place Of honor in
the chronicles of Old Passadanky is
because it was the cuIIninatiOn of the
O.: eer Of Old Bcelzebub as Il wonder
working bear When that bear was
less than 4 year old. Jephtha Virgins,
the pelt gatherer, killed its father and
mother and chased the orphan cub for
days. with the hope of adding its pelt
TO the other two. but failed in his pur-
pose. After awhile that orphaned bear
returned to the vicinity of its old home.
and, as everybody will tell you up
there. it came back with grudge
against Jephtha WigGins.
That bar came back" they will say
land If he hadn't "a come. there'u a
been more sheep and pigs along the
Old Passadanky than there was for
Ind hc
WAS SO ovcrpowerin' full of Satan thai
folks give him the name Of Old BeelZe
bub And Jepthy Virgins had gooc
reason to be sorry he ever pcitcd tina
bears father and mother. for wha
happened to him when he begun to ge
tie orders for black sheep pelts?-or
dcrs that came in thick and fast. al
though nobody never knowCd what II
the world rlade setch 4 call for Dlact
sheep pelts. What happened then
Why. black sheep pclts got scarce.
should say they did. And what made
'cr git scarce? That bar with {
grudge ag'in Jepthy Virgins! Tha
vrrgcful bar jest lugged off all TIL
back sheep there was in the district
Not smell &C white sheep did h
tctch.
But thai maxim Of 4 black sheep
skin famine in the district wasn't CIR
cumStance TO what that schemin Da
done in layin' out his plan of Hengeanc
Ig'jn. although it was included in II
He wouldn't "a gone as fur as he did
Though. if he hadn't happened to Sc
BIZ Topson shoot through Spooll Ru
hof n
shoot the gully and come piungn' ou
of that hole in the rocks down into tn
pond and he didn't fergt it. He re
mcmbered it. and ii give him tn
chance to give Jepthy Virgins wha
be thought would be the worst wiz
yit."
1t seems that Jephtha Virgins Va
the greatest pelt gatherer in the o.
Passadanky country, and he had
daughter named Prudence. Pale
Simco, a likely young woodsman, w;
In love with Prudence, and the feelr
was reciprocal.
Now" as the PaSSadanky narrat'
will tell you. "mebbe you mowt wo
der what under the canopy Old Beelz
bub had to do with that. Nothin', me
be. 'Tain't likely that he cared sns
whether Paley Since loved Pruden'
Virgins. But Jepthy Virgins care
He had other ideas for his daughte
and we'll that amaZin' bear knowed
Jepthy wanted the Squire Bimbler po
sessions in his family, and he could e
'em by marryin Prudence to Il
squire's son Jorum. Jorum didr
want to git married, and Pruden
didn't want to marry Jorum, but ]
rum and Prudence didn't have al
say in it. The squire and Jepthy fix
1t to suit themselves The weddi
night come, but no Jorum. Along
the forenoon Of the next day in con
Jorum to Virgins.