Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1907-09-07

pated:
Santa Fe.. N. M, April -.
Arrived in Santa Fe, inquired
where Abner Fairbrother could be
found. 1 was told that he was at his
mine, sick.
Upon tnquiring as to the location OF
the Placide. / was informed that II
was fifteen miles or so distant In the
mountains, and upon my expressing an
intention of going there Immediately,
was given what thought very unneces-
sAry advice and then directed to Q Ger
tain livery stable, where / was told
could get the right kind of horse and
such equipment as stood in need Of
thought was equipped all right as
1t was, but said nothing and went on
to the livery stable. Here was shown
"A horse which | took 10 at once and
was about to moGt when a pair of
1eggings was brought to me.
you will need these for your jour
ney," said the man.
Journey" repeated Fifteen
miles,
The livery stable keeper, a half
0ACC0 Win PGtulldIiy plGdSdIL
cooked up his shoulders with the re
mark:
"Three men as willing, but as mex
perienced as yourself, have attempted
the same journey during the last week,
and they all came back before they
reached the divide. You will proba-
bly, come back, too, but l shall give
you as fair start as If knew you
5were going straight through"
But woman has done it." said I;
4 "a nurse from the hospital went up
that very road last week"
"Oh. women, they can do anything
women who are nurses! But they
don't start off alone. You are going
alone"
YES" l remarked grimly. News
paper correspondents make their jour
Tneys singly when they can"
''Oh, you are a newspaper CORE
spondent! Why do so many men from
the papers want to see that sick old
man? Because he's so richf'
Don't you know?" asked.
He did not seem to.
/ wondered at his ignorance, but did
not enlighten MIN.
Follow the trail and ask your way
from time to time. All the goatherds
know where the Placide mine is"
Such were his simple instructions as
he headed my horse toward the canyon.
But as drew Off he shouted out:
IF you get stuck, leave 1t to the
horse. He knows more about 1t than
you do"
With a vague gesture toward the
northwest, he turned away. leaving me
I'm contemplation of the grandest seen
cry had yet come upon in all my
travels.
Fifteen milesl But those miles lay
through the very heart of the noun
fains, ranging anywhere from 5000 to
1000 feet high. In ten minutes the
city and all signs of city life were out
OF sight. In five more I was seeming
ly as far removed from all civilization
as, If had gone hundred miles into
the wilderness.
As my horse settled down to work,
picking his way now here and now
there, sometimes over the brown earth,
hard and baked as in a thousand fur
naces, and sometimes over the stunted
grass whose needlelike stalks seemed
never to have known moisture, / let
my eyes roam to such peaks as were
not cut of from view by the nearer
hillsides and wondered whether the
snow which capped them was whittier
than any other or the blue of the sky
biuer, that the two together had the
effect upon me of cameo work ON
huge and unapproachable scale.
Certainly the effect of these grand
mountains, into which you leap with
out any preparation from the streets
and market places of Americas oldest
city, Is such as is not easily described.
We struck water now and then-nar-
row watercourses, which my horse fol
lowed In midstream-and, more inter
esting yet, goatherds with their fiocks,
MeXicanS all, who seemed to under
stand no English, but were picturesque
enough to look at and a welcome break
in the extreme lonesomeness of the
way.
/ had been told that they would
serve me as guides if felt at all
doubtful Of the trail, and In one or two
instances they proved to be of decided
help. They could gesticulate If they
could not speak English, and when l
tried them with the one word Placide
they would nod and point out which
OF the many side canyons 1 was to
follow But they always looked up as
they did so, up, up till l took to look
sng up, too, and when, after miles null
tiplied indefinitely by the winding of
the trail, came out upon ledge from
which full view of the opposite range
could be had, and saw fronting me
from the side Of one of its tremendous
peaks the gap Of vast hole not 200
feet from the snow line, knew that,
inaccessible as 1t looked, was gazing
M at the opening Of Abner Fairbroth-