Show THE prospector AND MS BURRO by will C higgins in our last conversation said the prospector to his burro 1 I told you how jim art and myself had been imprisoned in the tunnel of the old and long lost mine which we had christened the grandview Grand view because of its sightly location upon examination we found that the mouth of the tunnel had been most securely closed by the huge boulder which had fallen from its resting place on the towering cliffs above and that we would never be able to remove it as it was too securely wedged between the walls of solid rock composing the entrance to the underground workings of the mine while Top feather and the two squaws squads who were on the outside had no power to release us small crevices between the boulder and the walls enabled the air to circulate so we were in no danger of suffocation but it looked as if we were to suffer slow death from starvation and thirst and even though we had not been imprisoned for more than half an hour we already began to feel thirsty which goes to show how quickly the imagination acts on the physical senses and cravings clavings cravi I 1 had not given up hope however and directed Top feather to get a long tamping bar I 1 had seen near the forge and with this to try and enlarge one of the crevices between the boulder and one of the walls this he did and was soon delving away in the effort to open a pas gageway through which we could a at t least leas secure food and water and by nightfall an opening of sufficient size had been made through which we could easily converse in the he meantime lueta and jims squaw had found some al derberry bushes out near the old and had cut a sprout about twelve elve feet long pushing the pith out of this with considerable difficulty they formed mod the stalk into a tube through which they were able to 0 after a little practice transmit a sufficient stream of water to 0 this ingenuity on their quench our thirst part alleviated alevia ted our pressing need for drink but by this time we felt almost famished for food and we were more than pleased when lueta called to us and told us to prepare for supper and this also was delivered through the tube and to our surprise it consisted of thin muff mulligan igan stew composed of venison and rabbit it tasted mighty good to us and we took turn about in taking nourishment at our end of the hollow reed feeling all the time like babies on the bottle we had pipes and tobacco with us and when we had finished our supper and enjoyed a smoke we felt for all the world like kids who were seeking adventure and had met up with the real thing our friends on the outside then bade us goodnight and it was not long before we sought soft places in the muck and bedded down until morning we were up bright and early but top feather and the squaws squads were astir before us and were not slow in giving us water and breakfast through the same means of communication as employed the night before and our appetites were soon satisfied attaching a string to the end of the tube Top feather was able to push it through the small opening and by its use we were able to obtain a fresh supply of candles while we had been fortunate in finding an old short handled shovel near the mouth of the tunnel thus equipped we we began shoveling vack back the dirt and rock that had fallen from the roof of the tunnel and as we had a pick with us we made excellent progress taking turn and turn about with the shovel by noon we were hungry and thirsty again and our needs were supplied for the third time through the same channel although the girls had bad secured a new tube for each occasion and I 1 felt like saying lunch is now being served in the dining car my friends on the outside did not quite understand what I 1 was saying but they knew it must be a joke and so they laughed and were merry for they knew the present danger was passed for they them were prepared to feed us in this manner for a year if need be and told us so we shrank from the idea however and began to work harder than ever to clear the passage through the tunnel for we had no intention of remaining prisoners indefinitely and being fed through a tube any longer than was possible for the next two or three hours continued the prospector we made excellent progress and finally we found that we had passed the peak of the cave in As a matter of tact fact we were soon after able to crawl over the top of the muck but in 10 loing doing this we exercised much caution not knowing what was beyond us and so we ve went over one at a time here we found the tunnel clear again but had not gone along it for more than feet before we found our way again blocked by a cave in this was disappointing but we were not discouraged and so we started back for our pick and shovel imagine our cli chagrin agrin how ever when we reached the first obstacle which we had finally overcome with so much labor to find that the roof had caved in again shutting off our way to the mouth of the tunnel and also depriving us of our tools and meal ticket we were a sorry bunch believe me when we finally realized the extent of our predicament and we ve berated ourselves as a lot of idiots for not bringing our pick and shovel with us when we first broke through the cave in nearest the tunnel entrance we were so depressed by the knowledge of our se serious beriou riou situation that we were practically speechless then we awoke to the necessity of action and with our bare hands worked in feverish haste in the effort to break through to where we would be near our faithful friends again we kept no track of the hours but kept at our labor until one at a time we dropped exhausted and lay dead to the world we knew not how long when we finally awoke we were bewildered at first but soon realized our perilous condition and we began clawing at the muck again our poor hands torn and bleeding we accomplished but little however and were now wracked cracked by the pangs of hunger and thirst after awhile we again dropped through weakness and exhaustion and we must have been unconscious for a long time before we regained our senses again and even then as feeble as we were we attacked the barrier which held us back from succor for we began to feel by this time that we would be willing to take our eats and drinks through a tube for an eternity if we could only be near our friends anden joy a breath of fresh air we did not work for long however before jim fell over as if dead and I 1 was soon after laid out beside him in a semiconscious semi conscious condition babbling of flowing brooks and savory venison I 1 think that art held out for an hour or more longer but he was as good as dead when we all three were revived by feeling fresh air blowing on our faces and when we opened our eyes and gazed about us we were almost overjoyed to find that top feather was with us and that lie he had food and water with him sufficient for our immediate imm e needs little by little lie he gave us drink and some slender nourishment after which we dropped into a gentle sleep for some hours feeling greatly strengthened and refreshed when we finally came to proper then we partook of venison steaks and flapjacks flap jacks lueta and jims squaw had sent to us and within an hour or more were able to stand on our feet we wondered greatly however how Top feather had been able to reach us in our extremity but were still too feeble to talk much then aided by the indian we followed the tunnel into the mountain until we came to the second cave in over the top of which we were able to crawl into a shaft of daylight and this light we perceived came down the hole through which lueta had fallen while we were examining the newfound new found gold exposed by the uprooting of the giant pine during the night of the tornado of which I 1 have already told you looking up we could see the heads of lueta and jims squaw as they peered down at us in the dim light and they sent us verbal messages of welcome and encouragement when they saw us A rope was hanging down the hole and up this Top feather went like a squirrel as lie he would be needed at the top in order to help hoist us from our underground prison after his ascent the lower end of the rope was fastened under jims arms and he was slowly assisted to the surface I 1 went ut up next and was soon followed by art enly how good the sky and the trees seemed to us and lueta and jims squaw never looked so beautiful to us before and the welcome they gave us was from the heart and most sincere we could hardly walk but by degrees we managed to make our way to our camp down below the cliffs and believe me if any three men were ever grateful and thankful for their narrow escape from death we were the three after we regained strength so that we could talk without almost choking Top feather told us how our rescue had been managed the day we had become solitary prisoners in the tunnel between the two cave ins the three indians had time and time again attempted to communicate with us but without avail as you can well imagine the girls became almost hysterical in their anxiety and as for Top feather he became becart more and more worried for our safety and when the second day had passed without hearing from us and fearing for our fate lie he went up to where we had camped the first night we had arrived on the mountain and with the help of the women had run a rope down to the bottom of the hole at the root of the big pine and had slid down to investigate and to see if he could not be of some assistance si stance to us going through the tunnel towards its portal he came to the cave in which it afterwards transpired was the same one which had stopped our progress when we had broken through the first obstacle of the same nature in our endeavor to find a way out of the mine calling to the women they soon lowered pick and shovel and he found it an easy task to dig through and to follow the tunnel on to where we lay and as now explained to us if we had tried to get through the second cave in we would have made our escape without much trouble tor for it really was a small one but we were so obsessed with the idea of getting back to the tunnels mouth that we had never thought of trying to go the other way which was another of the mistakes we had made we were alright and happy over our escape however and ami did not care at the time to diagnose our experience too thoroughly as we were too much occupied in getting back to tn strength and health again in another of our talks I 1 will tell you how we finally cleared the tunnel how we rolled the great rock away and how we proved to our satisfaction that we had really found another bonanza but it is late now and I 1 feel more like hitting the hay than talking to a stupid looking burro any longer 1 I want to tell you old long ears concluded the prospector no words can call express the thankfulness we felt over our rescue and we valued the true friendship of 0 Top feather and the two squaws squads more than the great treasure in gold bars and ingots ingols we had discovered a few days before and there you are and then some |