Activate Javascript or update your browser for the full Digital Library experience.
Previous Page
–
Next Page
OCR
~— — _— —ramemnesee
at . Ses fu ‘ LE?
= we v Fer wre AS e
= z i -) 3 ~~
THE GHIMNEY CORNER, 843
~~ Nn
face, and meet his terrible fate with apparent | to load again rapidly, and, getting as ncar as they! One large cavern leading deep into the moun-| It twas evident that he bed erept into some side-
calmness, alihourh his heart is Sinking within | could, sen the contents of their small barrels | tain stood in particular disrepute, a daring Bash- Passage, or that the cavern had another issue,
him; this species of coura: e, which is the triumph | through his head. ir having ventared into it many ye ‘ars ago, and Ther was ‘odieg for it but te return into the
of intellect over poor humanity, i is the loftiest and is Was our plan of attack; but, like the tac-| never having been heard of n e,, e, after reloading, and furnished with a fresh
rare: si. many great commanders, it underwent] Next day, my shikarti and. . vrith half a dozen toreh, to explore its inmost recesses,
haps what meets with the greatest aa considerat le‘change when the engagement began, Bushkies, set out to renew the hunt. |. ds urdly ten paces from the entrance, behind «
miras ion “from t e unthinking multitude is ths My shikarriand his men commenced 0 perations, e Cossacks, it appears, had had enough of | jutting of rock, 1 found traces of blood,
cool invensibility to fear which will induce a m: saddle, now on foot, but cautions ly | it the previous day, and had already returned to an sod ards further my old eaemy pros-
$10 track one of ‘the wildest and fiercest denizens | hold ding their horses’ bridles, they. swarmed r wod | their vi wre. back toward the fight, 5
of the forest or jungle to his lair, and deal with | the stacks with shouts and cries, to bring frien ‘The carriage had been so puch i on abe way that er astied ian sbarp! Thine barrel, then shook
him there alo: Brui the front. But nota ‘aacele would he | Tleft it behind now, end rode a hi his fur justi He ain bea .
Such was the, temper of that dist tir, er long search, we Gi covers ‘a the pass, Great was the exultation of the Dente when
. dian soldier-state: esman, Sir James Our The Bushkirs grew bolder, and commenced to| situated in a thoroughly wild and romantic re-| they heard, the adversary was slain, and all dread
would follow a lion in Guzerat to Ws ears, ora | pelt the stack wis sticks and bits of rock, Still gion. of the Shaitan’s Cave ws } moment.
tiger in Central Asia to bis la'r, and al {he inhabits nt made no sigt fact, we beganto| On one sido it was closed in by stecy shale A fire waa quickly lighted in tha interior of
aided shoot the brute in darkness, tt ubt whether the lair was. tenanted a all. cks, on {he er by eries of lett hi the den, and the cidreass dragyed forth by our
solely by the glare of his cat-like f clear up the point, I aske ne shikarri | partly’ piled fe unother like ruined fortes | united Srengi
courage of the man | whether he would venture to creep into the den. | walls, Par y protruding trom the mountain side, As soon a3 ail had looked their fill upon the
ated, and which, for | Without a moment's hesitation, he tied bis horse | displaymg rifts, fissures, aud caverns on every mons’ ven, his fur was stripped while the body
the sake of convenience, we will ‘give in the lirst | to a tree, deposited his ercss-spea ind | side.
erson,
It was late in the Autumn, when snow
enh Ohe,
ready begun toctothie th tthe Ural Moun.
tains, that one of my irs * came to me with
the bews that, while, setting traps for martens in
the mountains, he had discovered the lair of a
bear. Not having dared to institute a close ex-
squirrel in the mountains, Wwe immediat
patched a inessenger inviting them to participate
in the hunt,
They ‘cousen ted, and early next morning my
party, augmented by the addition of five Basikirs,
all well mounted upon light horses, were wai ing
=
B
®
z
g
2
3
§
a
g
2
5
a
x the bunter, the
bar
a
dale, through ravines and alon;
recs the wood grew denser, and fant
yed, lay in all directions ‘aroun
We bad difficulty in fetting our: light carriage
forward; and this was the more arduous because
our way’ led constantly upward, and patches of
snow cane in sight, denoting the height we bad
attail
The forest at last got thinner, and-we presently
found ourselves on the bare slope ‘of a plateau,
sinking down at the side to a ep valley, but
€2 bounded opposite by gentle rising hills. Bown
in the vallev, according to our guide, Bruin bad
taken 4 bis abode.
‘ospect was visible from. this
height—a wild dod awful natural
icture.
nto the right lay a prim
and firs, ira pee re
at ged birehes,
with their light-colored leaves and silvery bark ;
d the forest rose the
e Ural, partly
ett, upon the
Asiatic side, the eye rested upon bare hills spotte:
a ow valleys
ups
rou! nally passed beyond
o distant, ‘trecless steppe, shining
on,
uld fxperience * serious
liv vity ; but my Bash-
of descending
of} this region to th
blue
we sho:
check on account of the
4 kirs were equal to that dil Y.
Z The wheels of the carriage were bound round
with willow twigs, one
shafts, and four m the vehicle
bebind, By this means we y Agzagged to the bot-
tom
We lett the carriage at the base of the declivity,
and worked our way forward on foot through tall
dried grass and boulders, the Bashkirs still retain-
- ing their saddles, in which re fur more al
home than on th nd. By degrees the valley
got wider and easier to traverse, and then, atter a
verst or so, displayed a ravine leading off to U
Our uide pointed here to clump of leafless
brustwood, abd whispered that was the place we
Cautions ay roachin the spot, we discovered
a great he: ap of leave and t twigs, stray timber and
I ~ halts decayed trun KS ot trees, presen iting the ap-
a massive wood-stack, The back of
The stack was planted against ® srsigt wall of
rock, but neither i ja in front nor on the top was any
opening to be :
PAL last, upon “the further side, we found the
entrance—a dark, hole, large enough to
admit a man, lea din, De ently into the centre
of the stack—and saw at ace, from the state of
the trampled grass, and other signs intelligible to
, ‘N the experienced hunter, that the bear could only
Fy have gone into Winter quarters.
: * Tue Rechkirs whose actual origin fs wrapped in
considarable obscurity, are of the Mobammeian reli
on, and perk ® Rind of broken Turiish; they call
themeeives Bash-kur,” which, literally, trans aed,
means “hea ‘Terrible au
tocti 01
1734, but were reduce: order; they pay es. bul
in return for the enjoyment of the protection of the
laws and relizious freedom, are subj to mil
to us to
Eanas and
were silent—not one of us moved further
in to eet his arme in readiness for instant use,
Presently we tanciei nery growl,
and saw the intruder’s hecls emerge, followed by
the remainder of bis anatomy, with remarkable
sens
ear is iuside 1” he exclaimed, and betook
bimselt to his weapon,
Juns and spears Were immediately directed
toward the stack, but shiagzy friend still per-
tinaciously declined 10 give b aitle,
e waited a few minutes, and then, retreating,
learned from the shikurri’ that he tad rawled
raight on in darkness some ten or dozen teet
until the passage was interrupted Soy a jutting
joint of roc!
A glimmer ‘of light shone down from the top of
the stack, and enabled him, cautiously peeping
round the rock, to perceive the inbabiant of the
air,
Scenting an intruder, he bad raised his bead te
listen, and emitted a growl,
shikatri considered it advisable to beat’a hasty
renreat
s it is very rarely that a bear refuses to
quit his lair after so much annoyance, I felt con.
ad t
=
nt.
equently found bears who have been
hit in former hunts extremely cautious. Ithought
it very probable 1 should find our bashfa | friend
old acquaintance, ave orders to set fire
the stack, to ty i if we ‘could not make “vis reurest
too warm to agreeable,
The Bashkirs objecting to. this, that it would
damage the bear’s fur, we resolved instead to
kindle a brushwood fire before the opening of the
lair, in the hope of smoking im out,
is expedient proved useless. The wind blew
from the side, and little or no smoke eatered the
aperture.
The Bashkirs renewed their shouts and yells;
one was even ing enough to clamber on to the
top of the stack; but all endeavors to induce the
bear to come out were fruitless,
At last I lost patieuee, and, steppin
opening, fire rel into the sta
ing fosult roused Bruie’s ire.
pearance
entrance, but the fire frig shtened en ack, He
retreated 80 rapidly that I bad not time to take
“The ight of the enemy, however, exercised :
wonderful eflect upon my followers. The
sacks settled the pea-guns upon their iron forks,
My shikarri grasped his spear, and posted himself
behind an adjacent tree.
Thinking I should not have time to reload, I pre-
pared to give our friend my second barrel as soon
as he should reappe:
he aspect of the fire had caused the bear to
select another way of escape. While watching for
him at the opening, we sud lenly saw the stack
begin to heave and. tremble, Heary logs of t
up to the
at the
z
ber were tossed aside and flung over as if they
hnad been touchwood ; the pile eracked and burst,
the bear worked himself free, and mounted to the
top. Here for a minute or two he rested, survey-
ing the number of his foes.
was no time to be lost. I gave the word,
and three barrels soured forth their contents.
Whether the bear fell or slid from the stack, I
ould not see on account of the gmoke, but down
e came, and was in the {midst of ur
dropped my gun, zed my cre 338+ Spear, al
charged. Before 1 could reach the enemy, he had
rushed off like a whirlwind in hot pursuit of one
of the Basl es
3
EES
&
aly just time” to fling himself
upon his rightened orse, and breuk at a gallop
e valley.
eneral 1 confusion followed. The horses were
panic-stricken. My shikarri’s steed, indeed, broke
is halter, and coursed olf to the place where we
cts the ‘age.
ea time, ‘the ror gill followed the Behkie
ai is flying steed ; some delay occurred, but al
length we galloped in al ‘haste a up the bil
Arrived at the spot where the bear had bal ited,
we found considerable marks of blood in the dry
grass, and hurried on to the wood in which be had
disa
“Alter foll following up the trail fora a short distance, | he
I tound it impossible to get ith the carriage
any further, Tod, as dusk w ein ning to setin,
solved to postpone the rence of the hunt
io “the following day.
My shikarri and a of his men remained
behind, with orders to fol oe the track, but notto
arouse the bear, and to report progress in the
course of the eveni
Suddenly I heard-a shout, and proceeding to
the spot whence the sound proceeded, found one
of ie Basbkirs; his gun had been ‘discharge
and he was helpless, with the bear on the point
of charging bim.
I fired, and the animal on receiving the ball,
whicl took eflect, left his prey, and made hi
escape.
We followed, and tracked the bear for a con-
u
steep gypsum hills, fall of
ollows, clefts, and carers, Tere all tra
disappeared, ‘ost probable the fugitive
had found refuge ia " mountain vave.
‘xamine whe-
je having stated,
d fact, tbat Sbaitsn (the evil spirit)
, and guard the Ural line in company w.th Com
sack troops against the wild Kirghiz,
4. Des
a ve
wy v
hed taken up ‘his abode in these hills.
rape,
wa
‘ound the pass, and high above the masses of | I took the opportuni of examining bis hits,
rock, towered spinous tr : my bi the previous day
while a few aged thorns Hourished among the | bad Shattered their shoutder-blaad,
clefts, whence their crests, byw ind and One of the s was imbedded in
age, spread themselves pieturesquety over the / a rib, vie other was not to be scen,
ins, e iwo bullets. I ad sent. him had pene-
My Basbkirs had brought some fanote aft trated the chest, inflict Stee eh n
residous wood, and I bad lueiters 1a my hunt
0 zs tha
ci 3 and. Cossacks wien ihe
bear a dozen ties, and related some storics,
irilling if nott
it are the
c and my Bus!
We collected some tovigs, and kindled a large
fire, both for the sake of warmth, and to deter
4 eae from approaching the horses.
bore men then dispersed to seek the enemy in
lefts of rock, for th
sl ightest chance of lighting: upon hi
the heaps of boulders, chelk,
The Oldest Fossil Buttery.
Tax ris engray
is trail umong
and gypsum which
¢ meantime, com-
menced examining a cavern in the rock’ which
gaped before us like a vast arch,
We looked cautiously into
crmey, but could not find the slightest trace of
the ruvaw:
Leaving the ¢ cavern, we returned to the fire to
await the result of the Basbkir’s scarel t
ine by one fhe tm men straggled in, att with the
same story—n:
The only supposition that remained was, {hat
the animal b ein the S|
the extreme end of the bass, into which
no Washi could be induced to e:
our horses by the ire hdr the care
of one of ae rty, for ‘ound was too | by its
roken to seep t © saddle, and sf out on foot for
tie Shaitan’s
found ita caksow opening in the rock some this
si inte eet high, leaning obliquely inward, and van-
ishing in a lon| assaze, mazon, and
fired a barrel into the cavern, , with no result i
but that of Troducing a series of echoes which 1
ought would nev Mr. Arhur B
@ Bashkirs held aloof in timid alarm, and
9
sect, paturalists tell us, by the form of the wing;
but its colors ai
cout. not be prevailed upon to approach the | pial iis strange enowsh that t
spot. My shikarri was as nervous as the rest. | und ale
Ile declared that, though, as 1 well knew, he | showing that wh
was not afraid of the bear, yet no consideration World is a comparatively modern institution beside
should induce him to euter the care He advised | our continent,
>
The Sergeant’s Story.
me to abstain also.
There were plenty of bears in the Ural, and, as
the Shaitan must already have taken possession
of the one we sought, the quest was as dangerous | -
as useles Ox the night of the 2 27-Sth ot June, 1862, T wad
Now, although it may readily be supposed that | in cha icket line ibefore
the dreaded Shaitan possessed no terrors for me, Hiehmeod, rein then a captain io the ——th Ne
hot weil dispense with assistance,” S oluntecrs, wy eominand consisting
One hand would be occupied by my gun; in the atte campanie
other I pet take my spear; but I wanted an aide| I shall never forget that beautifal but awful
in tor
ight. The air was so still that not a leaf mored,
nud, though the stars and waning moon were
i ¢ haze, there was a solemn light
all around that made each braneh and shrub quite
aistinet in its exaggerated outline,
out midnight iTreturned from a Stealthy ine
s and commands alike were fruitless,
the snpershtious terror of the Bashkirs were in”
Vincible; so, tucking my spear beneath my arm,
ith the gan in ay Tight band and a torch in my
left, L entered the cave alooe
‘ssoon as Thad. advanced about twenty paces spection of the pickets to the “reserve,” to’ ti
T found ithe narrow gallery open out and turn be- the e poor fellows not immediately required for
neath the hills, fast asleep. They bad been watching,
The white walls glittered weirdly in the torch- mmavcbing and fighting for the past forty. eight
z Upon the spars and interstices | hours.
of the roof, and fell with a g rot ike drip, drip, Seating myself on the trank ot a fallen tree,
drip, into httle pools collected on the loon my back toward the enemy, I ca my
ing warily round, I might vhave penetrated | pipe, and gave myself up to reile tion.
some fifty paces further into the cave, when,| The spirit of the hour was exceedingly impres-
scarcely two yards in advance of me, 1 saw the | sive, but bi fally so, On our side
ear, knew that w
‘At first ke was crouching in a corner; but, a
zlcd by ‘the Hickering of the torch, and what must | dista
have been nexpec ted appearance, he now | whoop is o
rose upon tis hind-legs, and glared at me with | was passing away to
red, blinking eyes. ediate opponent:
Encum! pered as I was, it was a difficult task to wi
level my gun,
In the barry the toreb slipped from my hand, ly by da narrow belt
I upon thé damp ground, and sputtered out, | of trees. “The moi ould, therefore, in all
leaving me in on darkness, probabil, wi witness oe unequal aud fierce com-
ood fortune, the b a8 probably so} bat betwei
much Startle d by the sudden transition that he| While thus, musing, aslight noise on the right
uever stirred. attracte:
Eager as should have been under other cirenm-
stances to ‘0 close quarters with the enemy,
the notion of @ ‘hi tin this condition was any-
thing but agreeable,
The bear and I maintained our mutual positions
for several minu’ tes; the only sounds audible be-
ing the frip, , drip of the water, and the low growl-
ing oe the tos
my piece leveled, fay determined not
‘ fire. until the muzzle touched his chest; but, as
did not move, 1 hit upon another plan of at mould mile age, and of or
woul
gata ban x of lucifers from
x, vy took a ended together, kindled thei
a rapid stroke on the wall, and tound m:
sbogay f friend still sitting on end and blinking at
the [i
igttto Fowing ¢ the gun across my leit arm, and tak.
<
a
»
2
3
74
2
a
=
=
3
* He dressed also
exceedingly punctilie
ing ray gare im both barrels at once, le, and though be ith n
The whole thing ardly occupied two seconds, often ynoticed hat he was not only te
Bet e roar of the double report had died spected, but liked by ne comrades,
As much
away, the e growls of the bear told me he was hit.
nly just ti ime to squeeze mayselt as flat
et wall, when his rough coat
oj then, finding all still, kiudled
resh tight ands oxankiad ‘tb
he stains in the covaer on ‘alon ng the passage| “I thought fp were esl.” I said.
ba aly burt; and, slip- e not slept for several
ping m made the best of | nights,” he etly replied. “My mind is too
eau with the help of ny ‘lucifers, to the light mich oceupied. Captain, may lask you a ques.
extreme surprise, I found my shikarri] “Ce tainly, gbundred if you please,”
‘n drawn up in attle array, with spears “Do resentiments?’?
‘
‘o shake’ off the gloom which was fast
AGES : $ $
advanced befor ore the car a slight laugh, ad
They assured me that the bea heard bi able if ofa sn
but had seen nothing of the e my shot, 28 them
Salo
wy
ue
tie oni iba