Rensselaer Union and Jasper Republican, Volume 8, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 March 1876 — “CHISPA.” [ARTICLE]

“CHISPA.”

CHAPTER I. THE MYSTERIOUS NOTE. Iu 1865 I was working on the south fork of the north forkot the Yuba, at a point two or three utiles below Sierra City. I was at work alone in a ravine malting down into the river. Half a dozen other miners had cabins not far from mine, and were at work in gulches or on bars in the rivers. All of our cabins were on the south side of the river, and mine was at least half a mile further south than any of the others, which carried it well up toward the main ridge or range of hills walling in the stream. One day at noon I went Jrome to get my dinner, and on opening the door of my cabin saw In the middle of the floor a small scrap of white paper folded in the form of a note. 1 thought this not a little curious, as my door was secured with a padlock of peculiar construction, and no man could have entered unless through the “ cat-hole” at the bottom of the door. As 1 took up the note 1 saw that there were two or three spots of blood on it. The note alone was sufficient to startle me, but when I saw the blood a chill ran through my veins, and I said; “ Here is some villiany afoot! Somebody has been murdered, perhaps!” My next thought was that some of the boys might be playing a trick on me. Instead of at once opening the note to read it I began looking into all corners of the room; even stooped; aqd peeped under my bed. No one was to be seen. My cat, old “ Chispa,” was the only living thing in the place. He came purring about my legs, as was his habit when I came home; though often he was out on his own hook, humming and prospecting about,for he was not one of your home-staying, lazy kind of cats. After speaking a kind word or two to old 44 Chispa” I opened the note, and as I read began to open my eyes. The little note—merely the folded leaf of an ordinary memorandum book—read as follows: June 9, 1865. This ll to inform the person into whose hands It nmy come that 1 am iu the old Maldanado shaft. By the breaking of a ladder I fell to the bottom of the shaft about three days ago. I ain almost starved. For God’s sake come to my assistance at once. Jacob Pbitcuard. When t had read the note—scrawled with a very dull lead pencil—l hardly knew what to think. My brain was in a whirl, and I made no headway in trying to think. As I turned the paper in my fingers I observed that the blood came oti it and stained my hand; I saw, in fact, that it was quite fresh. This astonished me not a little, “ for,” thought I, “ if he fell into the shaft three days ago and hurt himself, how does it happen that the blood on this note is still fresh and almost warm ?” My next thought was this: “If he is in the bottom oT the Maldanado shaft—more than a hundred s:et below the surface —as he says, how could he leave me this note?” Clearly the thing was improbable, and I could make neither head nor tail of the business. Who Jacob Pritchard was I did not know. I did not remember having ever heard his name.” I sat down on a stool and tr ied to think. 41 Here," thought I, “is a man in the bottom of a shaft, where he has been for three days, and where he is now supposed to be starving, who leaves a note on my cabin floor asking me to come and get him out. There is blood—fresn bloodon this note, which makes tilings still worse!” I sat and thought an I thought till things got so mixed up in my head that I was no more capable of forming an opinion in regard to the business than a born idiot. I talked to the cat—to old “Chispa”— about it, and the old fellow seemed willing to assist me, and he got upon my knee and snuffed at the note as though he knew that the cause of my trouble lay in that. He then jumped down and running to the corner of the room brought me the remains of a little crippled squirrel which he had lately caught, as I could see, just as if he thought I might be in trouble on the grub question, and as much as to say: “ Here, old. paged, eat and he merry!’.’ _ “Chispa, old fellow, you mean well”' said I but your kind of grub is not to my mind.” “ Chiafia” looked disappointed when he found that I could see nothing in the “ wreck" of the little squirrel. He seemed to be df the opinion that this ought to bring all my troubles and doubts to an end.

The more I pondered on the matter the Tfiorwit puzzled me. Being unable to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion in regard to the mysterious affair, I made up my mind to see Some of the “buys’’ on the river and lay the mutter before them. Having got four or live of my neigh - hors together, I produced the note, told them where I found if, and asked what they thought of the “business.” They all said at once that the note was an “ infernal lie on its face.” Said they: “If the man is in the shaft how is he able to leave a note on your floor telling you so?” This was nothings more than! had liiysell thought of fn the atari. After much talk, we all concluded that there was in it a tricic of some kind; however, we would see it out. We determined to visit the shaft named, the whereabouts of which wag well known to us all, we having seen it scores of times. It was decided that each man should be armed with a six-shooter and that we should take with us three or four candles and a long rope; also a canteen of water and some brandy, though these last-named articles were mainly intended for our own comfort and sustenance. Happen what might, we would thoroughly examine the shaft. About three o’clock in the afternoon all was fn readiness and we set out —set out on what seemed one of die wildest of wildgoose chases. The Maldanado shaft is situated on the sharp ridge Of a high and steep hill, nearly a mile south of the south fork of the notth fork of the Yuba; it was about half a mile above where my cabin stood. The shaft was sunk by Gabriel Maldanado, a man well known to all the early silver miners of the Comstock lode, but now somS years dead. It was sunk alter the old Mexican fashion, and was about eight feet by fourteen in and in it ladders of notched polds were used instead of rope and windlass or other hoisting apparatus, die miners walking up and down the poles and carrying the ore poised on their heads in rawhide sacks. These poles '-’-•'it'

were placed In'the sh&fl in soph a position that they formed a zigzag line, like a worm fenco, from top to bottom, there being a little platform on which rested the foot of one ladder and the top of the nett below. Thus, in descending the shaft, one passed from plhtform to platform, and from side to side of the opening until the bottom was reached. When die news of the discovery of silver in Washoe reached Maldanado, he abandoned this mine—which was hardly paying- expenses at the time—and all of his Mexican followers lelt Sierra County, Cal., and the gold mine there was completely deserted, the buildings at and about the shaft were crushed in by the heavy falls of snow which occur in that elevated region, and soon all about that place went to ruin. Such was the old Maldanado shall at the time I found the note on my cabinSoor—nothing was left at the place but a few shakes about the old blacksmith’s forge and a section of a shake roof that had fallen across and covered about half the mouth of the shaft. It was a lonesome, dreary old place.

CHAPTER 11. AT THE SHAFT. Arrived at the top of the hill and at the mouth of the shaft, one of the men said: “Well, here we are! Now to make known our presence to the man in the shaft—to Jacob Pritchard!” “ Well, call down to him," said another, laughing; for, now that we stood at the mouth of the shaft, we felt quite silly, and half expected to see some one peep out from behind a tree or rock and “ raise the laugh” on us. Tho man who had first spoken stooped over the shall and shouted: “Jacob, are you down there ?” Almost instantly there came up from the shaft a faint cry that was half moan, half shout. We all heard it, and were thrilled and startled.

Most of the faces about the shaft suddenly grew pale. We all stood silent for some seconds, when some one said: “Sure as fate there is a-man down there!” “ Who are you? Who is down there?” again called out our men, stooping down close to the dark mouth of the shah. “Jacob Pritchard!” was the answer that came up the shaft. The name was so distinctly uttered that all heard it, and hearing it all turned a shade paler than before, i . . “It beats the dickens!” said oae of the men. “ That was the name signed to the note, aud here is the fellow still in the shaft!" “ Ask him about the note,” said one of our party. “ Did you—write a note —and send it out—asking for help?” cried our spokesman, stooping over the shaft and sending the message down in sections, much as the sailors on ri7ers call to each other from vessel to vessel. * “ I did," was the prompt response from the bottom of the shaft, and again we all gazed at one another In amazement. “ It is either the devil himself or the biggest liar in the mountains!” said Bill Wallace. “How—could you—send out—a letter?” asked Bill. Get me out. I can’t tell now!" came from the dark in a vexed and grasping voice.

“He is right,” said Bill; “we ought to be ashamed to stand here questioning the poor fellow when there are enough of us to eat him up without either salt or pepper! Light a couple of candles and get the rope ready. Two of us Will go down and see how he dhn be got out. Some of the bottom ladders must be broken, or he could come out himself—that is, if his legs are both sound. Mike Murphy, you are stout and active, come with me and we’ll go and see that fellow.” “ B—but li—how could he bring up the letter?” stammered Mike, shaking his head, and looking anything but ready to descend the shall. . “Blow the letter!” said Bill, “he’ll tell us all about that when we get him out. Are we to keep the poor fellow there all day while we stand here parleying like cowards?” >1 “ I—l’m not afraid to go down there, av course,” said Mike, '‘ but we all know that this here is a quare kind of business, from first to last—that is, as far as we’ve got in it.” > “ Well, then, Mike,you and I will go,” said Bill. “Just drop the end of the rope into the shaft, and we’ll work it along to the bottom as we coon it down the ladders. Take your candle, Mike." Mike took the candle into rather an unsteady hand, and then waiting until Bill was down a few feet, got upon the top of the notched pole ana began descending backwards, as a crawfish travels. As his head was descending below the level of the shaft he halted and cast a lingering look on all the bright world he was leaving. He looked like a man whose hours on earth are numbered. His pride carried him where his legsdid notwant to go. Slowly and steadily the two men descended the shaft, sliping from notch to notch in the long slender poles. As we stood at the edge of the wide opening and eagerly gazed down into it we could distinctly see our two companions and mark their slow descent bv.the flickering light of their candles. They toilsomely zigzagged their way down, the light of their candles growing smaller and smaller till all we saw resembled two little stars. finally the two twinkling stars went over to the west side of the shaft and stopped side by side; A murmuring, as Of the voices of persons in conversation, then came up the shaft. “Pay out more rope!” shouted Bill from somewhere far down iu the bowels of the earth.

The rope was slowly run out. “All right! That’s enough!” cried Bill. Again a hum of voices was heard; then came the order from Bill: “Haul up; haul slowly and carefully! Slowly—slowly—slowly! Hold! Hold on now! That will do!” There was more buzzing of voices, then Bill called out: “ Hello, up there!” “ Hello!” cried we. “I am going to—bring him up—the ladders,” said Bill, sending his message up in sections, so that it would not become tangled on the way. “ I shall leave —the rope around him. Keep the slack hauled up—but don’t pull hard Do you understand?” “All right!” cried I. “We know how it is.” . .’b They then started up the ladders. They nalted to rest at each platform. Finally, as they approached the top, we were able to catch occasional glimpses (over Bill’s shoulders) of a pale face and a black bushy beard. Then, when they reached the last ladder, sloping up toward us, there was added to the picture a pair of black and eager-looking eyes—hungrylooking is probably the better expression. The man was at last safely landed at the top of the shaft. He was a stranger to ns all. A tall young follow, apparently about twenty-six years of age—stood before us. He wore a black felt hat and ordinary miner’s garb. The man was weak, and tottered as he opened the noose at the end of the rope, dropped it to his feet, and stepped out of it, Suddenly he sank upon his knees. : We were about to go to his assistance, thinking he had fainted, when he raised his hands, and we saw, by the motion of his lips, that he was doing a thing we did not often see done in the mines. - We took off our hats and stood by in silence. ■ When the young man attempted to rise from his knees he fell over on his side, and came near Tolling Into the shaft again,

for he had fainted. Some water from the canteen revived hlrm and a spoonful of brandy soon gave him strength to stand, and even walk slowly, supported on either side by one of our men. We were all dying of curiosity, and as we moved down the side of the mountain toward my cabin we could not refrain front asking a few questions, weak and Mirk as the young man looked. “Tour name Is Jacob Pritchard ?" asked one of-the men. “ It is," said the stranger. V “ Did you write this note?” said I, ex hibiting the scrap of writing I had found. “ I did," said the man; “ but there is blood on it! How came that? .lam not hurt!” “It U as I found it on my cabin floor, where you left it,” said I. “ Where I left it! How could I?” said the young man, giving me a reproachful look. “ Well,” said I, “ that is what I want to know—and you all the time in the shaft!” “ Was it really brought to your cabin?” “Of course; how else would I have got it?” said I. “It is a miracle!” cried the youug man. “ But how could you send the note up out of the shaft, asked one of the men. “ The story is too long to be told now; besides, what you most want to know is so simple—l might say so silly—that you will be Inclined to laugh at me wher I tell you. But when I am rested I will tellyouall.” This was gasped out a little at a time, and so feebly that we all saw that the young man was in no condition to tell a long story, such as his promised to be. Bill, who felt proud of his part iu the business of the rescue, swore that the man should not say a word until he had swallowed something in the shape of food and till he felt himself able to talk. As the two men assisted the stranger down the steep face of the mountain—much of the time almost carrying him—some of us fell behind to discuss the words he had let fall, But we could make nothing out of anything he had said. After we had reached my cabin, and after the stranger had partaken of such food as we thought suitable for him in his weak state, we asked him to tell us his story. “I ought to ask you to tell me your story,” said he, “as there are things that puzzle me not a little, and which you ought to be able to explain. I think yon have said you found my note here on the floor of your cabin ?” “ I have said so,” I replied, “ and cannot understand how it was left there.” “ The circumstance cannot astonish you more than it does me,” said the young man. “ The hand of God is in it! When you shall have heard my story you will probably be able to tell me how the note was brought to you; indeed, that is a mystery which it will remain with you to explain—it is what Ido not understand.” “Then it will never be explained,” said L “ We don’t know that,” said the young man. “ But I will tell you all I know about this curious business.” “Good! Let us have it!” said all hands.

CHAPTER 111. THE STRANGER’S STORY. “ Well,” said the young man, “to begin: I have been mining about Downieviile—up the river along Sailor Ravine and off that way—for some months, making little more than grub. I had often heard of the shaft abandoned by Maldanado at the time of the Washoe silver excitement, and I thought that where so much gold had been found some must have been left. 1 managed to get a description of the location of the shaft from a man who had not the slightest idea of the use I intended making of the information he was giving me. Three days ago I stole out of Downievillo and came up here alone, determined to descend the shaft and examine the vein for myself. • " ~ “ I was provided with a candle and matches, and when I found the shaft, after a long search, I unhesitatingly entered it and began to descend by means of the notched poles. I never once thought it possible that any accident could happen to me. “All went well till I was on the last ladder from the bottom. I was about the middle of the pole or ladder when, without the least warning, it broke in the center and I fell, a distance of about ten feet, to the bottom of the shaft. I was not at all hurt. The upper part of the ladder fell across my thighs but did not hurt me. I felt at once that I was completely trapped. The pole had become quite rotten, besides the middle notch had by accident been cut a little too deep. “In falling my candle was extinguished, but I had a good supply of matches, and soon lighted it again. Holding the candle aloft I found to my dismay mat to the first platform and to the foot of the nearest ladder the distance was nearly twenty feet. To this height on all sides I vas shut in by a smooth and solid wall of rock. “ I next looked about the bottom of the shaft. The space was about eight feet in width by fourteen in length—it having been excavated in this shape in order to give room-for planting the ladders at a proper angle. Only half the bottom was dry ground. The east side of the shaft, into which the vein dippea, had been sunk about three feet lower titan the west side, and contained over two feet of water. “ When I had made these observations I again looked aloft and carefully examined the walls on all sides. They afforded not a chink by means of which I could hope to climb to the platform above. I planted two pieces bf the broken ladder against the wal), climbed to their top, and again looked for chinks in the rock in which I might gain a hold for my fingers and toes. All was solid and smooth. against the wall, aud, carrying the other, climbed up and tried to plant it upon the first section. I could not make it stand, and tp have attempted to climb it, even though it had stood, would have been folly, as it was quite vertical. I tried planting its base in Some of the notches in my first sections, but they were not deep enougli, and I could not make it stand. When I stood my first section against the shaft at a smaller angle I could plant my second in the notches, but then it would not reach higher than within six or eight fqet'of the platform I wished to gain.

“ All this time my candle was stuck into a bit of clay at the bottom of the shaft. It was fast being consumed, which 1 could not afford, therefore 1 blew it out and sat down in the dark. My feelings may, perhaps, fce imagined, but 1 cannot describe them. I wanted to think —to do some good strong thinking—but my thoughts and nfy brain seemed to spin around in a circle, and all 1 did was to repeat over and over the one word: ‘Lost! lost! lost!* Lost was all I could say—all I could get my brain to comprehend. »: “ I lay down and rocked myself to and fro on the ground, not remaining still for a moment, save when I occasionally paused to gaze at the little square of light that marked the top of the shaft. Once in thus tossing about I struck my v head against the wall of the shaft. This gave me an idea that I stopped for a moment to consider; it was that I might at last dash Out my brains against the rock when there seemed to be nothing else left to do. “ This aid me some good, and I began to think again, ft appeared to me that I had seen; something floating in the water in the other part of the shaft during the time my caudle was burning. 1 tried to • •• * ■' • , / J... •»

remember what It was. There wpre several objects. They were not hits of wood or bark, but something else—just what I could not recollect. This bothered me so much that I determined to light my candle and see what was m the water, i found two dead rabbits—all bloated and green—three or four small striped squirrels, one tolerably large gray squirrel ol a burrowing kfiifl, and hall a dozen mice. ______ 44 AH these wciwinore or teas decayed; but I considered that it might yet become necessary for me to eat them; therefore I fished them out and placed them in a corner of (lie dry part ot the shaft, where I could find them if my candle was all gone when the time came that I must eat them. This done I blew out my candle and again lay down to roll ana toss, to gaze at the speck of day far above me and groan. “ Borne one might pass that way and hear me. The moment this thought came into my head 1 arose, and, leaning against the wall and looking upward, I began shouting. Hour after 1 did nothing but shout. I shouted till hoarse and tilll could hardly stand. Finally, completely exhausted, I fell asleep. “ When I awoke it was all dark above, and I said it is now dark, no use of shouting. When daylight came again I resumed my shouting, ana kept it up until I became very hoarse ana weak, when I gave It up as worse than useless*, “ I studied all manner of combinations to be made with my two pieces of ladder, and two or three times lighted my candle to look at them, but soon blew it out again, as I saw that they could not be made any longer than they actually were. The bit of daylight above did not reach me, and did me no good except to let me know when it was day and when I* was night. > . “It is useless to prolong this part of my story. I soon suffered the pangs of hunger and thirst. It was not hard to bring myself to crawl to the water and drink of it, foul as it was, but it was hard to undertake to eat of the dead animals. Several times I attempted it, but gave it up, feeling that the time had not yet arrived. “I found myself taking naps at all times of the day and night. On waking from one of these short naps I thought I heard something on the bottom of the shaft—there was a slight rattling of the little quartz pebbles or broken fragments Of rook. T listened for soihe time, "and finally became satisfied that there was something moving about in the shaft. I struck a match and lighted my bit of a candle, when I saw near me a little striped squirrel. I was delighted to find that I had some live thing in the shaft with me. I advanced and took up the little animal, which hardly made an attempt to escape. As I held it in my hands I could feel its heart beating so rapidly that the pulsations could not be counted. 4 Here,’ thought I, 4 are a few mouthfuls of food that may be eaten without loathing.’ As I held the squirrel iu my hand, thinking whether to kill and eat it then, or to await a. still more dire extremity, I happened to cast my eyes upward toward the ladders, when ‘Now,’ thought 1, 4 if this were a carrier-pigeon, a sparrow, or a bird of auy kind, it might be the means of saving me.’ Then it occurred to mi that I might make a better use of the squirrel than to eat it. 44 Taking out my memorandum book I wrote the note you found on your cabin floor, wrapped it about the body of the squirrel, and tied it there with a bit of thread drawn from my handkerchief, and wound many times around the little animal. I then tossed it up to the platform which I longed so much to reach. I saw it land on the platform, and then saw it make its way up the first ladder above, after which I saw nothing more of ic. I prayed most earnestly *that something might come of this silly-looking experiment, then fell asleep, and awoke and prayed again. 44 All seemed ot no use, however, and I was on the point of trying once more to eat one of the disgusting dead squirrels iu the shaft, when a voice—it seemed from Heaven—said: ‘Jacob, are you there?’ and you came and found me.” “ All is now clear as day,” said I. “ The squirrel with your note tied upon his body wandered down the side of the mountain, was seen by my old cat 4 Chispa’—the greatest hunter in the State—who pounced upon bim and brought him home to show him to me; fooled with him about the cabin and finally killed him, when the note was dislodged and fell upon the floor where it was found by me. Yes, and old 4 Chispa’ even had the, sense to bring me remains of the squirrel when he found me wdndering about the note —as much as to say, 4 1 found it stuck upon this fellow.’ ” 44 Why, that’s the simplest thing in the world, after all,” said Jacob Pritchard, and all hands said, “It is no mystery, after all.” —Dan De QuiUe, in Virginia City Enterprise.