l)ia. 61, 1882.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



403 



ing Ui<- brittle aud blanket over my shoulder, 1 started ou my 

 BbpeJess journey. Just as the cactus hedge in frout of the 

 ca*--t was reabhed, 1 heard a joyful whinny behind me, and 

 Ejrning, there, stood Rob on the other side of the corral, hot 

 and dust v. and trailing behind him a broken riata knotted 

 aionnl Lis lower jaw with tli.it peculiar hitch which be- 

 tokened the hatid of n Mexican vaqupro, 



Some day, -when my tongue ia tipped with inspirational 

 tin- I may attempt to describe ray joy at the Bight, but at 

 [resent my vocabulary is too lunitea to ajlow of the attempt 

 I know I threw ray arms around his neck, and hugged hire 

 |: lover would his mistress, and I would not swear that 1 

 Kd not kiss the white star which shone in his forehead, 

 •again and again. Truly, "Hichard was himself again, "and 

 wli.-n once more Inthcsaddle, 1 snappedniy Angers defiantly 

 nknown distances, lost Ban Rafaola, 

 •hi fade, Dame Fortune, might play 

 teps of the 

 nl ffrsl -truck the 

 loped inlo 

 Mexican villa-;,-, but as welcome 

 stone in Mecca to the true child of 

 h did duty as 

 1 dismounted, 

 ailed for the mail, and ordered a 

 dung for the latter, I made inquiries 

 to the trail to Oanulo Creek, and 

 brisk riding, before sunset. 



Bt Greaser I 

 oranv tricks which th 

 Be. Down the valley n 

 das- before, past the plac 

 trroyo, until, about the 

 San Rafael, a little dirty- 

 to mv eyes as the Kaaba 

 Hi-- Prophet. Ridingui 

 well for hotel, post olliei 

 Uttcnded to Hob's wants 

 hasty dinner. While wi 

 of the station keeper as 

 found I could reach Hi- 



rode, 



w hi 



iddle of the da 

 can rillagi 



in Mn -.-a u 



■ station, w 

 lalo, 



il i 



by tv 

 Opp, 

 hall, 

 of tin 

 becoi 

 tal. li- 

 ned si 

 cracki 



1 ll:i 

 til" 'l, 



don,. 

 Ucrdci 

 tuit 



all, 



m the right. ' 

 Bitting, was ih 

 sr the eating to 



ised as a More, 

 /o doors, one i 

 ■site to the din 



,-lirix HUiUg, lATUHl SUUS-Cl. 



By the time this information was obtained, dinner was ready, 

 and I was ushered to the table. Through the middle of the 

 li two rooms on the left, and one long 

 be front room, on the left, where I had 

 i stage station, and post office, Baekoi 



m. while th,- long room across the hall 



with a bar in the rear, and was entered 



tin- slOreend, and one in the bar and. 



ig-rooin door which opened into the 



was anode r one which opened into (lie bar-room. Both 



open and as, with the caution which 



nes Instinctive in that country, I took my seat at the 



facing these doors, 3 could look Into the store room, 



e the forward end of the bar. over which hung a 



d ncaih finished my dinner when, just as I was rais- 

 :-up of coffee to my lips. 1 happened to glance into 

 Arret and saw reflected there the facesof two men, 

 henisclves were bidden from sight by the half open 

 Two men I said, and certainly one oi' them was the 

 • from whom I had inquired my way the sight before, 

 ic other— well, though the dn- - wa- Hiafof a man, 

 fflfe face was certainly that of my whilom hostess Nifti' -i 

 ■Key were talking logclh.-r in low, eainesl tone-, but the 

 purch of their fingers upon the h 



and the murderous seowl upon their swarthy visages boded 

 no good to some on« — and wim that might he was not very 

 •difficult for me to guess. I only heard a muttered "mala- 

 (lito Americano. 'and something about "Paso del Burro," 

 before I hey turned and left the room by the rear entrance, 

 and la lore I could reach tin- door they were niounied and 

 Watching them 1 saw that they 

 ills in the direction of the trail 

 They rode in a gallop, and in a 

 hat showed th,\ were in a hurry 

 II looking- after thein 



Whi 



id. following Hie direction of 



the walks.' 

 bt's adventure, and asked 



idel 



minutes 



Iter you 

 b at the 



off toward the foot 



I to I'analo Creek. 



ady, business-like way, 

 reach some given point. 

 station-keeper came uj 

 r-'>, asked afiruptlj : 

 now them dinned' <lr. 

 'Don't know: think 1 do " 

 ol 'ny grudge agin you?" 

 •-1 suspect one of them has— perhaps both." 

 'Which un— the moharrie?" 

 'Then one of them is a woman?" 

 'Sarfin; tell that by th 

 'hereupon I told him o 

 I what he knew of the . 

 "Nothin', 'eept tiny rode up about fi . 

 came in. saw you ousaddling your roai 



' j-e/, 'the man to the' woman. -That's hii in' sez 

 she. 'Yes, d— u him,' or words to thai effect, an' then they 

 Ride off. By George, though them ain't the two horses they 

 wuz ridin' when they came; one wuz a pinto and 'tolher 

 wuz a dun, ami (hem an- both bays or blacks." 

 I then told him of what had jtisl passed in the barroom, 

 ml asked him if lie knew anything of "Paso del Burro." 

 Yes, it's a dura nasty place on'the trail about ten miles 

 Bhissideof Kunynlo Crick, jist where the road crosses the 

 pint of the hill. Thur's a place lhar. whar the trail crooks 

 Ground the face o' the cliff, like yer elbow jiut, 'u' 'taint 

 ni»re'n two feet wide at the turn. Bf thet roan o' vourn 

 juii'i mighty sure-footed, ve'd better get off 'n' walk "when 

 ye get there, fur ef he sh'd slip, V the rock's mighty moist 

 pi.' shclvin' there, ye'd drop about (wo hundred feel, 'n' 

 'twould kill ye both too dead to skin. So many burros goes 

 over then.-, bringing down ore from the mines, 'is whin's giv' 

 il tts nam.-, 1 reckon. Jest 'tother side o' the elbow, and so 

 ye can't see it 'till ye git right on it, 's a gouge in the rock 

 about lt-ii bet deep, V 1 reckon tbar's where they mean to 

 Rjorye." 



"Thanks:; forewarned is forearmed. Is there any way 

 bound that pass?" 



"No. tiny liaim no trail, bul— Hist roan o' yourn a good 

 Hmber?" 

 "Climbs like a cimarron." 

 "Will he folk tv" 

 "Like a dog." 



"Then 1 reckon you might give 'cm the go bv, by leavin' 

 ■' trail jesl wie re "it Strikes the bill, 'n' climbiir up "through 

 bresh across the pint, 'n' comin' out again in the trail 

 rout a quarter beyond the turn." 

 "llow'.-. the road from thereon?" 

 -VGood gallopinV 

 ''All right. Thanks, if you'll bring Rob around I'll 



you heeled'?" 



BiZes two bower.- an-1 an ace," showing my Colt. .4-t's, 

 idmy Sharp's rifle. 



nigh, l.uckloyou. So long." 

 "So long," and olf 1 rode, and soon reached the point 

 ■ere the trail reached the foot of the lull, whence il 

 Wung round Sharply to the left through Hie "Paso del 



Sum.. " lb-re 1 dismounted I throwing the bridle over 



■j pommel of the saddle^ began to climb the steep ascent, 

 t was covered thicklj With scrub oak, and for some two 

 mndi-ed yards seemed almost impassable. Rob followed 

 "Vely, plunging and crashing through the bushes, sonn- 

 ies (making hi, way through by main strength, sometimes 

 a series of rabbit-like jumps. The oaks safely passed, I 



we came to a belt of piiion woofle, where, though the slope 

 was more precipilous, we made better hendwav. Arriving 

 tit the summit, at a point which 1 judged to be directly over 

 the pass. I crawled cautiously to the edge and looked' over. 

 Sure enough, there they were, directly below me, and on 

 a little shelf about, thirty feet above I lie elbow. Their horses 

 were standing iii the little pocket above mentioned, while 

 they themselves «-, re crouched behind aooupleol fragments 

 i>i cocks, ready ta hurl them down upomuoas [ passed. 

 Their lassos wen- aKo uuslung and coiled, so that if bv any 

 chance the rocks should miss me. I he fatal thong would lie 

 at hand to do its deadly work. Looking beyond them 1 saw 

 that the only point at which 1 could regain the trail was nol 

 more than five hundred yards from them, and in plain sight. 

 Could I once reach that safelv. I fell no lear of tin- result, 

 aa I was sure thai itob couldVhow a clean pair ol beds to 

 any cayuse in the country. If they heard or saw mn before 

 1 gained the trail, and the worst came to worst. \v\w. there 

 were only two Oi them, and my pistol hand had i-„,i \-t la i 

 jts cunning, [could have lulled thein both fronrwhere I lay, 

 and felt strongly tempted io do so. but an innate repug- 

 nance to such cold-blooded work restrained me. 



Withdrawing quietly f rom my post,«f espial, I rejoined 

 Bob, aud stole softly down to the i rail b$low, He followed, 

 -lipping as gingerly as a. cut, evidently judging, from mv 

 own s.t.-aiihy progress, that quiet was the order of the day. 



Halting within Iwentv yards of the trail, i mounted and 

 rode quietly down. As we left the thick bed oi pihon 

 needles, where, our footsteps had been muffled, as though 

 we had been shod with wool, the ring of ftob's iron shoe on 

 the black trachyte of the trail, attracted, as l expected it 

 would, the attention of the crouching assassins, Look 



bai-k over mv shoulder, I s:iw thein, as the sound struck 



their ears, wheel suddenly, gaze a moment in sullen stup 

 faction, and then, with a' shrill veil of hate, plunge flow 

 ward to their horses, fling themselves into the saddles-, aud 

 come- cluttering down (he trail after us. A touch of the 

 spur in Roh's side, a shake of l lie reins, and we wen- off, 

 with o lead of a good Pour hundred yards, The swing of Ids 

 long gallop scarce Mirivd me in mv seal, an-1 1 knew, iron 

 the play of his mighty muscles, ihe throb in his gn-at heart, 

 and his powerful, easy breathing, that, he bad within him a 

 reserve of fire and energy on which a run r might safelv 

 stake his life. At the end of i lie first mile Our positions 

 were relatively unchanged, at Ihe end of the second the pur- 

 suers were evidently a little nearer, while at the end of 

 the fourth they had narrowed the gap by a hundred yards, 

 But their horses were on the dead run. under CfUii i and 

 spur, w bile Rob was still swinging along in his easy gallop, 

 untouched l.v thong or steel. Under mv km-e his heaii 

 kept upilseven. rhythmic stroke, and the rise and fall of Ilia 

 heaving flank wag as quiet and gentle as though he Btood 

 knee deep in the luscious gramma grass, cropping his fill, 

 N»t a taint of sweat marred the glossy sheen of hi- velvety 

 coal, and each ringing hoof struck the ground with a firni, 

 elastic "ping "that told. of well-braced sinews am! muscles 

 yet unlireil. 



"Every few minutes the proud head is ihrown impatiently 

 Up.Warfl, and ihe hell, and chains of the gavlv ornamented 

 Mexican bridle ring out like, silver castanets. lb- is- just 

 growing warm to his work, and his whole body lifts and 

 writhes under me with a sense of repressed power thai tin- 

 gles in every drop pf the generous icliorthat tills his veins, 

 lie does not like those cluttering hoof-heals in his rear -he 

 who has always heretofore been the pursuer, not thepur- 

 siK.-d. Take afirm clutch of tbatflowing man--, lean for- 

 ward, and whisper in his ear. in his beloved Navajo— a long, 

 sibilant whisper— ''lBsissa seata|" and to! the red-roan 

 whirlwind is set free. Ah! the glow and glon of that ar- 

 rowy rush: Doubling his lithe legs beneath 'him, hugging 

 Ih.-grouadas lliough he loved it, small ears laid back, lissome 



hoad-and lean nock stretched out aakhouaji he smeUs tin- 

 way, onward he flies like the Lightning Express, gathering 

 inonien, nm al every leap. The pifions lino lb„- , ],, road 

 whirl by in a di/./.\ wall/.; the litUe gullies w hicb intersect 

 the trail every few yards, and which he takes without pause 



in bis long stride, twinkle athwart our pathway no 



meiil, ami the in-xl an- far behind : ti„- pebbles struck by his 

 twinkling feet spin out with a whi/. Ilk ■ rill- balls, and 

 Ihe foam-flakes shaken off from his black mu/./.k Hash past 

 like the spume of ihe breaker living before the hurricane. 

 The air, cleft asunder in our swift flight, hums like ihe hum- 

 ming of the gale m the )c<- shrouds, and the plume in my 

 sombrero streams backward likglhe living hair of a comet. 

 Here, on (his stretch of geiillv sloping ground, the pace 

 become- terrific. The whirlwind becomes a hurricane; the 

 express (rain has developed iulo a rcd-roan lightning bolt. 

 The pihons can no longer be individualize.) ; Tne pebbles tlv 

 like the belching of a Catling gun. ami the humming in Ihe 

 lee shroud- has swelled to the wild whistle pf the norther or 

 the "Skerry of Shrieks.' The breath is beaten back into the 

 tcclh in (hat dhsy.y swoop, and ihe baffled assassins are left 

 hopelessly behind. As the trail begins to slope upward to 

 Cahalo Creek, lean forward again, and coo sofllv inlo his car 

 '•Eyahleyah! helm balglutlie!" The whirlwind drops to a 

 gentle breeze, the express train slackens -.peed, and we 

 gallop sedately inlo camp, breathing peacefully, with not a 

 hair turned, and hardly an estra beat of the heart to shew 

 for that fierce buret of speed along a mountain trail. 



A Re 



HOLLYWOOD MANOR. 



niniscence of the Devonshire Coast. 



White H-.i:i-:t in Missouri, — Jefferson, Wis., Dec 11 

 L882, — EfiitQ)- fflo-toi and Btrwiu The following note was 

 sent m< by vv. B, Haker, of Kohoka, Mo, Eouis 



fully. W. W. t'ooKl-:: 1 obtained last July a line sDeeim. n 



of the white egret or snowy beron (Qartctia com 



H had been .-hot by a tanner and a whig- broken ai the tip! 

 He brought the bird to me and I kepi it Hi a l age for ttbou.1 

 three weeks. Il became very lame. I fed it on beefsteak, 

 which il would take put of my hand, If let out of the Cage 

 when I was ai the table, il woidd conic to nu to be fed, and 

 if I did not feed il. ii would try to lake Bomethinj oul of 

 my plate. 1 gave the bird to a little girl, living eigtil miles 

 from he-e. h ho clipped !he leathers on one n i-'g and turned 

 it loose in ihe yard. It would nol leave the house for some 

 time, and tin n n.,1 unli! she took it to a stock pond .one- 

 Ihrec hundred yards from ihe house, after which il made a 

 trip every day to the pond io catch crawfish, and returned 

 ai night to roost in ;i tree, into which ii climbed on a ladder 

 leaning against the tree. W-heucver-tihe weather tinned cold 

 ould start oil' in a southerly direction, wandering several 

 es, and then return to he fed. It was finally kilted by a 

 farmer who mistook it fora wild bird. 



NowYpv.i.s.-Mai-ieUa. <).. l>,v. 11, Lg82. -Aveiylnrge 

 w i.v, I w.e, killed in Wood county, W 7a., Saturday, 

 brought over to me. Can you trace Ihcm any further 

 south than Ihisv — Gkohuic K. Jkwky. 



BV JOHN AXDERGnOVK. 



MAN Vw-ai--; ago mv liii-nd Wi-lou an-1 I. having locked 

 up our books and papers, determined to loava our 

 London chambers with their more immovable appurtenances 

 to the sole guardianship oi Wes. Miggles, and take a run 

 into our native Devon for a winter vacation. 



Mrs. Wiggles reigned over some twelve or fourteen con- 

 tiguous seis of apartments bvthe swayof the broom, N'evur. 

 perhaps, hail mini bewilderment lulled the brandishing of 

 her Bceptre and p >ised a wide area of thin on the end of its 

 handle wilh inoi-i- genuine ell'ect than on lids occasion. Il 

 had hitherto been the undeviating experience of Mrs. Miggles 

 thai young nw-u take rather ldndly to hibernating in Lon- 

 don. A legion of instances occurred lo her where a devoted 

 pursuit of sludy had restrained its votaries from Hie solace 

 of the country until Christmas poultry had graced the 

 kitchen dressers, and the village churches were bedecked 

 with evergreens, cut to depart a fortnight in advance of 

 Ciu-isimas Eve appeared to her to he evidence of new aspira- 

 tion in Ihe yearnings of metropolitan bachelordom. 



There is no English county, however, more dear lo nel- 

 sons thuu Devonshire, and neither of us felt auyspirii of 

 sacrifice when we thought of realizing some of Ihe memories 

 inspired by hu- hills and valleys. Oi course wc were sports- 

 men; gor.-e and heather, pool and stream, echoes of Un- 

 cover and glimpses of (he marshes cam-: trooping along be- 

 side vision- of iw-clad ruifls, towers boatwith age and 

 blythc with "merrie belfries" of broad good w ill. o: grand 

 Old houses with halls of oak and breathing of niisllcioe aud 

 Sir Roger de Coverley, of hearths and homes nestling in the 

 quiet i'l the 'eoombcs" and secure behind the beetling 

 grandeur of the cliffs, 



W-e were bound on a visit lo an old friend of my family. 

 Mr. Bichard Bowman, commonly known as Squire Dick, 

 ■mid a good fellow. 1 had rarely met- him, however, as 

 Hollywood Manor is situated in a distant part of the 

 county from my uaiive lown. My ideas concerning Squire 

 Dick were indeed chiefly aasooiated with a certain silver 

 cup which he had bestowed on me through -a proxy at my 

 olui-.cuing, a vessel peculiarly typical of the baptismal 

 goiiie-, it b, ing much too small" for appreciable beer, .and a 

 little too large, were the bottom knocked out. for a napkin 

 ring, I refer to this matter 119 possibly connected with my 

 invitation lo Hollywood, and certainly nor as m anyway 

 reflecting on thetasrto or liheraliiy .a Squire Dick, who 



in- rely iib-erved Ihe cherished traditions of his country as a 



staunch Conservative should. 



We readied Seaford, the nearest village lo the Manor, a 



few -lays ahead, as we desired a little indepi-iidi nl rest and 

 ohseivalion; we were glad therefore lo hear that Squire 

 i)i-k aud his family were from home, and that thev wei, 

 not expected until we wen-. 



The time passed pleasantly enough in rabbit-snooting in 

 the under dills, in quiet pipes with the coast guardsman, in 

 lounging with Ihe li-heruieii an d hearing of their luck 

 through the starry nights in Ihe channel, and iii yarn-spin- 

 ning ef an evening with buttered old salts. whi--e gnarled 

 and furrowed figure-heads would light up with enthusiasm 

 as the charmed atmosphere of the "Golden Lion," loosened 

 theirtongues with records of local prowess in war, with 

 legends of the press gang, and the tales of peril, .of skilled 



adventure and law lis. bravery, which haunt ihe ani ;i|s of 

 Lha.1 audacious spirit of smuggling which had filled tie- 

 in ighb.iihood with its wild romance, 



Although the palmy days of smuggling were over— for 

 bun's built and ..((nipped for ihe trade, .-'.rmed expeditions 

 ei.iiilieis win, revenue cutters, and midnight encounters 

 wiin ridin; "i|i. -,•!■- -e, inland c nmmoHfl were things ",' the 



past 9lill there were vestiges enough remaining to satisfy 

 any trustworthy gentleman as to the quality oi white 

 brandy, and lo tiirnish food for reflection on ingenuity 

 which often baflled the coastguard. It was by no means 



Impossible theuti -, t men who, wearying ot douieBtie 



industry, song! v.ov existence bv a cohtiaband flirtation 



with Madame Cherbourg, There was -,|,| Amis, for 

 instance.; now ■ verybody itnew thai a feu lobster-pots and 

 a share in a seine and n boat or two could never have placed 



old Sam in possessil u of Ami-.s Terrai e. " and •••lasmine 



Villa," and "HoueysuckJi I ottage," all of them baited 

 wiih the newest ji:init and severest stucco, and awaiting the 

 nibbles of fagged humanity when it should -hun ihe cities 

 tor the healing air of Seaford. 1 lis own collage, half wav 

 between the village and Hollywood, was a snuggerv in it's 

 way, hiding in a nook by the road on the cliff, and -facing : 

 cleft down which a sleep dangerous path zigzagged '-.» the 

 rocks on the bonch. 



Then ih. re was Agnes, il,,- o!.l man's daughter, who h«d 

 bed] - in to a boarding school aud had inspired manv a 

 swain wilb aspirations to Inioism. JBeauliful Agnes, as 

 thev called her. 1 fully admit that Agnes was a comely 

 girl; from personal observation I remember that billows of 

 brown iiair, In-sses natural and exuberant, and free from 

 shaggy whisps and lusty ends, foi nicd the background to 

 pli.-a-ing features lit up by the tints of health ami Hashes of 

 vivacity which the surroundings of her home were likely to 

 diffuse, Yei i in- beauty Of this breezy nvmph became "irk- 

 some- to me. U'csiouwa- enslaved, and nol content with 

 trying to Olitsigh Ihe surf during prolonged and violent ex- 

 ercise in the hope ol seeing his enchantress, be m iced aviary 

 opportunity- for descanting on her charms.; he had assured 

 me that die was "a poem incarnate born of a goddess in a 

 grotto," SO it was unnecessary for him to he always tinker- 

 ing the young woman's flesh and blood into the common- 

 place mosaics of shell-like ears and ruby lips, of teeth of 

 pearl and coral tints. 



Shortly, however, the return of Squire Dick brought us io 

 Bollywood, The open approach to Ihe house was thiough 

 an avenue, ,f fine old lingering tree-, who,,- skeletons tapered 

 into ancient characters written against the winter sky, as 

 (hough describing weird title deeds, on which the nigged 

 ni st~ of rooks seemed set like ghostly seals ( arvi d figures. 

 gray with moss, quadrupeds whoso chws were clipped and 

 features blurred with the wear of centuries were- coucbanj, 



on the sturdy pillars of the gateway, and se, iied i,, he 

 winking the remiianls of Ihcir eyes ai shadows down the 

 corridors of Time. What an elv-'ium for hats lurked about 

 the crannies by the chimneys and the sables and the angles 

 of the rooling-what a paradise for owl-, among the nooks 

 and hollows of the ivy-hooded Windows. The past charged 

 ■ in scene, un i fancy forced the pavement toi l.-ti, i with the 

 hoofs of phantom palfreys and the covets to echo with the 

 tongues of -|" ■ Me hounds. 



Now through an inleival in the trees we had a view of 

 Ihe vallcy-~a sight to charm the sportsman's .■■■oul. Down 



