Yellowstone Jack: Trappers of the Enchanted Ground — page 5: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

at ' rE se -< they - elt \ 4r "2 : 1s oa - of ah, a 4 - - ¥ . ’ a | . r’ deel, * | . . ‘ : * re Spat . » Ji | in de te 1, aes ath Fr: vk May ard, the youn, man whom afel ee ; hose aa the “ ‘demo- ‘lara? was" tide: in advance, mounted “ur Jon Re horse. The blast struck him, % bom h aa as little resistance as a blade of "grass gives to the foot that rests upon it! pia @ 0 cupants of the democrat were "pros strated upon the seats, and the wind ee burst eet oilskin curtains from A tt ie Ss... c in st VO. aoe first, and to this fact is , the waggon was lifted up oe | ist albasy around, so that it y; a 38 me irmly against the rock. wall of “ the p 0 SS. ‘The horses were ‘thrown from - their feet ee sume moment, and half- ii ‘oll ed, balf-dragged over and over, until ae eit hea ads were pointing in the direction ® ei the . trail. The foremost waggon as § served even worse. The mules, stag- ar ies pg beneath the first shock, whirled ly to the right, “cramping” the 3 - gon as it turned broadside tot bur- ine; lifting a wheel clear off the ground. crashing of wood, there arose a shriek agony. Somebody- —at least one human I tom had been stricken down by tbe Bae waggon. X ret orses, and cattle were over- ‘Men were carried from their fash ond then dashed violently to the pate or against the jagged boulders, mye ane away. ‘Fragments of rock began i tales gra ants with new peril. : 3 ~_ Snow and sleet and hailstones—the as 1 er I rough and ragged, as though com- | ; of several smaller ones, frozen to- pethe r as they came in contact, forming — mass es of i ice as large asa man’s clenched fist*—were driven with frightful force. Beg hic ee tres, a arty was cought in a similar hailstorm wh see utting hay on the Kansas prairies, in We saved ourselves by crawling beneath ie heif-loaded wacson. Two of our horses are killed by the hailstones. A man and his horse were found dead; his skull was frac- tured. After the storm, we picked up hail- mes larger than a man’s clenched Beh —- 162. W. LY m aM ‘xy hi THE 12 POUDEREE, ent aoe a fia’ Ay og , swallo red up the emigrants. _ Its effects, | thor ough arppaphanecns much. be described ‘both horse. and rider to the 16 one upon the left rowed what followed. Instead of. ne | thus the huge mass was prostrated. ‘Byen above the roar of the tornado, | thunder down the series of gigantic , threatening the unfortunate emi- Kostanate indeed was it that these masses of ice were only carried upon the front of the tornado. before the tornado. Yet in that single moment the bewil- dered horses that were attached to the democrat strugg led to their feet, bruised and bleedin ‘half mad, start Sageed: Terence McCarthy forcibly from the seat upon which he was lying. even in that dire confusion tightly clutching the reins. He was hurled head- long beneath the fore wheels. Then the fierce wind again Somiade through the pass with renewed vigour. It struck the democrat, forcing the light vehicie against the trembling animals’ PaunChes. With a mad scream in unison, they bounded forward, by what seemed a miracle, passing over the struggling pile — of mules attached to the overturned wag- gon, and then disappeared in the stor. Only one human eye had seen them dash by. being crushed beneath his falling horse. He managed to scramble to his feet dur-— ing the momentary lull. It was more than the love of life that inspired him. He was thinking of others—or rather of another—of Minnie Warren. With a desperate wrench he half-lifted his confused animal erect, and leaped into the saddle as he saw the democrat ancl its priceless freight dash past him. And then, as the renewed blast struck him, he plunged his spurs more deep into his horse’s flanks, and darted for- ward. All this ratersead with the raaicaee of thought. Scarce ten seconds had elapsed from the first striking of the the strange chase was hidden im the storm-cloud of snow and hail, of twisted boughs and shattered rock. It was a wild reckless chase; one tha no really sane man could have attem ea with any hopes of success. Yet Maynard never once gave thought to his own dan- ser, He only knew that his more than life was threatened with death, and ke pled spurs and bridle reins, hoarsel v shouting to his horse, that, mad with terror, plunged blindly forward, stumb-— ling over boulders and limbs of trees, slipping upon the haalst ones, yet, through some strange providence keeping its feet. Surely ‘twas neither its own activity noz + A single moment —then there came a brief lull; the halt | The sudden — Frank Maynard had beeir hurled from the saddle, and thus escaped ouderce till — EOMMICOOOKS (C(O)