Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1902-04-26

plains below, I had traversed that
narrow stair of a pass some thou
sands of times, and so in a manner
of speaking knew every stone and
every turn and every cut of it by
heart. But l had never looked upon
it with an eye to shaving off all road
way to the Sacred Mountain, and SO
now, even in this moment of dread
full stress, had to traverse it no less
than three times afresh before /
could decide upon the best site for
demolition.
But once the point was fixed, there
was little delay in getting the scheme
in movement. Already / had sent
men to the storehouses among the
priests dwellings to fetch me rams
and crows and acids and hammers,
and such other material as was need
ed, and these stood handy behind one
of the upper gates. 1 put on every
pair of hands that could be spared to
the work, no matter what was their
age and feebleness; yes, If Nais could
have walked so far / would have
pressed her for the la Dor; and pres
emily carved balustrade and wayside
statue, together with the lettered
wall stones and the foot-worn cob
bles roared down into the gulf below,
and added their din to the shrieks
and wells and crashes of the fighting
Gods! but it was a hateful task,
smashing down that splendid handi-
work of the men of the past. But it
was better that it should crash down
to ruin in the abyss below than that
Phorenice should profane it with her
impious sandals.
At first 1 had feared that it would
be needful to sacrifice the knot OF
brave men who were so valiantly de-
Tending the gate then being attacked
1t is disgusting to be forced into a
measure of this kind, but in hard
warfare it is often needful to the car
rying out of his schemes for gen
eral to leave a part of his troops to
fight to q finish, and without hope OF
rescue, as valiantly as they may; and
all he can do for their rewarl is to
commend them earnestly to the care
of the gods But when the work OF
destroying the pathway was nearly
completed, I saw chance of retriev-
ing them.
So l gave the word for one more
furious avalanche of rock to be pelted
down, and while the few living were
crawling out from those killed by the
discharge, and while the next band
of reenforcements came scrambline
up over the bodies, / sent my nine re.
| naming men away at run up the
steep stairway of the path, and then
followed them myself. Each of the
gates in turn we passed, shutting
them after us, and breaking the bars
and levers with which they were
moved, and not till we were through
the last did the roar of shouts from
below tell that the besiegers had
found the gate they bit against was
deserted.
One by one we balanced our way
across the narrow ledge which was
| left where the path had been de-
stroyed, and one poor priest that car
ried wound grew giddy and lost his
balance here, and toppled down to his
death in the abyss below before a
hand could be stretched out to steady
him. And then, when we were all
over, heat was put to the rams, and
they expanded with their resistless
force, and tore the remaining lodges
from their hold in the rock. / think
pang went through us all then when
we saw for ourselves the last connect.
ing-link cut away from between the
poor remaining handful of our Sa.