The Sauk Centre herald., 1909-04-22


fastening their handvises to the wire
and with pulling straps about their
shoulders, ready to take UP the
slack" when / should signal.
The pole was a peeled spruce set
solidly In three-foot hole, which had
been literally drilled in the rock. and /
had no thought of it breaking. Catch
ing the wire across my biceps and
chest, mounted quickly AS climbed
/ noticed that the grain of the pole
ran in long spiral and that the Sun
checks were unusually open and ex-
tended ! glanced down AT Buckle. He
was standing between the base of the
pole and the edge Of the precipice. a
watchful, uneasy look in his face The
hollow roar OF the Trinity came up
seemingly from beneath my very feet
Reaching the top kicked the climber
spur Of my right foot into the wood,
threw my left leg around the pole,
and, mailing on the bracket. placed the
wire in the insulato- groove. The
pol leaned strongly toward the preci-
pice, and slipped round o. the land
side Of il and lifted myself with my
breast above its top, SO that ! might
the more easily make the tie" Slip
ping the hatchet handle into my belt
and drawing pliers and a tie-wire
from the strap, l shouted: Pull
ahead Apparently the unseen reel
men could not hear on account OF the
noise of the river, so ! shook the wire
and they began taking up the slack.
moving backward down the slope and
leaning against their pulling straps. AZ
the wire came taut the pole began to
straighten with the pressure, for the
men were around the point and were
pulling against the lean of the pole. l
shouted for them to let up" but they
could not hear. At that instant l saw,
not ten feet from me, kink" in the
wire, and sudden thrill Of fear shot
through my heart Only a lineman
could appreciate what this meant, at
that moment, for the long spruce pole
was being pulled back not unlike a
mighty bow ready TO launch an ar
row. ! was the arrow and the boiling
Trinity. 100 feet below, was the target
at which ! was to be shot The wire
was a number eight, galvanized, but q
perfect ~kink'' is simply hoop drawn
down to point, which, when sufficient
pull is applied, sewers the wire like a
knife
lnstinctiyely / clutched the TOD Of
the pole with my right hand and
pulled the wire toward the kink with
my left 10 ease" it, shouting like mad.
/ heard Red Buckle give a mighty yell,
but al that instant the wire, drawn
like tense bow-string, snapped at the
kink and the pole shot back toward
the precipice, and, under the shock of
recoil and my weight, split at the
base.
Red Buckle leaped against il with
his breast and shoulder and pinioned
il in his arms, while !, thrown over
and around the top, found myself
hanging above the Trinity with 100
feet Of air beneath me and my belt
caught over the point of the bracket,
l heard Buckles bones crack and felt
tremor come up the senseless wood
from his mighty muscles.
Slide down, Slide down." / heard
him shout. But / could not, for / was
hanging from the bracket on the under
side Of the tip of the pole A prong
of the broken base of the pole re-
mained in the hole in the ground
threw my glance about, and, / remem-
ii, and saw Buckles knotted hands,
white with pressure, his hrm-set feet
grinding into the stones, his wide
shoulders quiyering, his dark, bent
head and purple, swelling neck. and
heard sharp gasps of breath coming
through his grinding teeth. He was
trying to straighten the pole, but could
not. My body, hanging 20 feet away
at the tip of the mast-like piece of
timber, was frightful burden Death
for me was only a breath away save
for his herculean strength. In the
black terror that rushed upon me |
threw my glance about, and, ! remem-
Der, the tops of the mountains seemed
to fall toward me and the sky seemed
to turn dark and close down upon me
like falling tent of night. The gush-
IOdl VI Lie llkCi al VI
the abyss arose to a wild clamor in my
ears, then suddenly fell to a train of
odd whisperings.
When / got my senses back | was
lying On the rocky bench. The reel
men were standing beside me- Buckle
was dropping against the uprising
swell of the mountain-wall, white
faced and laboring for breath. We
looked at each other, and for the first
time during our intercourse his power
ful features rippled with a smile. 1
got up weakly and grasped his hand.
Red Buckle" said, ito me you are
the greatest of all Indians and the
greatest of ali white men If had
crown I'd put it on your head"
His lips trembled and he gripped my
hand a moment, then, wayering slight
ly, he walked away
The accident occurred near sun
down, and, my nerves being badly
shaken, We went into camp. Buckle
was pale and quiet during the even
ing, and the next morning disappeared.
Later / found he had gone to see
doctor in a neighboring lumber camp.
/ also discovered what he had tried to
keep from me, that his collarbone was
broken by the pressure of the pole as