Show THE HE prospector C TOR AND AND ITS HIS BURRO BURR BY will C higgins we began to feel hungry ty oy this time said the prospector to his burro and we were mighty glad that we had been wise enough to bring food and water with us and as we partook of our meal we discussed the subject of escape from our serious predicament di for we were convinced that it would be impossible for us to work our way up the whose walls were almost as smooth as glass as it had been sunk on the vein and this was as pretty a body of ore as one could wish to see as it was filled with high grade quartz and as the light from our candle shifted from side to side the native gold gleamed and fairly twinkled like stars from its gement lod in the broken rock we were not much interested in the gold proposition at the time however no matter how much it glik glistened ened for our benefit for two dead men could have no use for all of the gold in the world even if entombed in it and so we gave the subject of its existence but little thought and would have given all of the yellow metal in sight to anyone who could have rescued us after eating we began taking stock of our surroundings escape up the was deemed an impossibility drifts had been run both ways from the bottom of the for thirty or forty feet but both faces presented barriers that seemed insurmountable and after several hours spent in futile efforts to find some opening through which we might make our way out we finally sat down by the face of the south drift where we again reviewed our situation we were hungry ag again ain but had about exhausted our food supply and but little water remained in the canteen jim was feeling mighty gloomy and frequently referred to his squaw wife wishing lie he had brought her along with him in which event she would have rescued us by this time and so we wore the hours away disconsolate and discouraged coura cou raged ged until finally we both dozed and jim with a start w were ere almost asleep when that raised a ray of hope in my breast became quite excited because as he said he had just noticed that a I 1 current of air was issuing from a crevice in the breast of ore against which he had been leaning with every one of our senses on the alert we tested the face and could readily locate the che fissure through which quite a strong air current poured in upon us this gave us a new lease on life and with our picks we began digging as we had never dug before and we were sorry we had not brought our shovels with us only one of us could do effective work in the face but the other would pull back the broken rock as fast as it came down and as the hours went by we made considerable progress in time however we became exhausted and were compelled to take a rest and we fell like dead men to the floor of the drift where we must have remained in deep sleep for hours when we awoke we were both hungry and thirsty and soon finished what food and water we had left for we realized that if we failed to escape or were not rescued within the next twenty four hours we would have no further need for eats or drinks then we began digging again and must have worked for several hours when quite unexpectedly we broke into an opening which in the darkness seemed as large as a meeting house we feared to take a step forward however as the floor might be uneven and cause us a fall that might result in injury and so we lighted our one remaining candle and it was well we did so for by its feeble light we found that our exit into the cavern was like going through a hole in a wall and that the floor of the cave was at least twenty five feet below us I 1 rejoiced then that the rope had been obliging enough to follow jim down the and it was not long before I 1 had brought it to aid us in our descent into the unknown region below we had some difficulty in fastening one end of the rope at our end of the route but finally succeeded in driving my pick into a crevice near the face of the drift then a as s I 1 was lighter in weight than jim I 1 volunteered to be the first to slide down into the seeming abyss below I 1 made the trip all right though and believe bellave me there was no loitering on the way my hands and legs were somewhat bruised and skinned in negotiating the journey but I 1 landed squarely on my feet with several feet of rope to spare then jim lowered what little baggage he had and then took the slide himself landing by my side with but slight injury which was not surprising to me as I 1 thought in my mind that any white man who would take a squaw for his wife must necessarily be tough and then I 1 thought though of lueta the indian maid who had sacrificed so much for us and immediately felt ashamed of myself we felt mighty good in being able to escape from the drift continued the pros and began at once to make an examination of our surroundings A little stream of excellent water trickled along the floor of our um prison for we felt thai that we were not yet freed from our perilous position and you may be sure that we drank until we could hold no more then we decided to follow the water course in the hope that it might lead to some outside channel through which we could make our way into the open at one point the cave assumed the form of a long gallery which narrowed down until we were forced to get down on our hands and knees and crawl along the best we could this was for only about a hundred feet however and when we entered the next cave a turn to the left disclosed to our blinking eyes a glare of real daylight and within a few minutes we stood in the center of a large pit or depression whose sides were almost sheer and whose upper edge was at least fifty feet above us the prospect was not in the least encouraging but being in the sunlight we felt that we were saved although still imprisoned and we knew we would not die of starvation for we had already noted the fact that there were a few rabbits in the pit the bottom or floor of which was covered with some vegi tation while some deadwood that had fallen in from above would furnish fuel for fire the pit I 1 should judge covered an area of nearly a quarter of an acre and in its floor near the center a clump of trees had found root and it was in their shade that we established our camp if camp you might call it for we had nothing to furnish it with save the little mining equipment we had brought along with us the first thing we did however was to make an effort to catch a rabbit or two jim tried to lasso one with the rope we had with us but it was too large and stiff so that the loop run I 1 made an attempt with a sling I 1 made from a shoestring and bit of leather I 1 had in my pocket but instead of hitting a bunnie I 1 laid low a quail that had hopped up on a little rock just as I 1 let off my ammunition after his failure with the rope jim gathered up a quantity of small stones near the course of the little stream and you would have thought he was throwing hand grenades the way he stormed the rabbits as they scattered from cover to cover still he scored some successes and within an hour we had half a dozen of the little fellows roasting on forked sticks over the fire we had kindled and to this sumptuous layout I 1 added my quail which we reserved as dessert after partaking of the main meal then feeling safe from all disturbances we s selected elected a soft place under the trees and made preparation for a good sound sleep in clearing away avay the ground however I 1 found a big rattlesnake coiled under a piece of dead wood but this was soon dispatched and in our profound sleep which followed we never dreamed of snakes or even of impassable dinzes or drifts for we were dead to the world in the morning we awoke feeling fee lill a refreshed and quite cheerful with th filtering down upon us through the QUA the thel in the trees and we leave sang ankip A alie T and the girl I 1 left behind behma laurie me chased the festive rabbit as ve from his lair la for we were hungry again and could have e a bear we were out for fresh meat 2 we got it and soon had our at fire again the only thing go going 28 lacking in our tender tend roasts being a pinch of salt with which to r f lavor flavor them we made quite a feast W ever and were engaged in washing our hands at the little stream when gewere we vere greatly astonished upon hearing voices call ing us from above almost in a fright ye looked up and I 1 was amazed to see two ahro I 1 forms leaning over the steep walls ofa 0 vs prison one of which I 1 recognized at once as being that of luneta the indian maid while the other jim told me was that of his squaw in joy I 1 called up to them and asked how they happened to be there while jim took off his hat and threw it into the air for he was as much pleased to see his soul mate again as I 1 was to gaze upon the comely figure of the indian maid just how we got out of the pit I 1 will tell loa ion in our next fireside chat and I 1 am that judge haire when he reads this narrative in the mining review will be more than anxious to learn just how we weman managed eventually to make our escape 1 I want to tell you old long ears concluded the prospector it is mighty fine after being in peril for several days to know that rescue is near at hand and that a real welcome awaits you when thelast the last obstacle is overcome and there you are arc and then some |