On the Trail of Geronimo — page 44: what you’re looking at

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

DO ON THE TRAIL OF GERONIMO. near enough to observe the whole thing ; “1t serves him right for not jumping as I did. For all that, I’m sorry for him, for he was a likely fellow, and it’s worse than being shot by Apaches or Nava- Jos.” As has been said, no creature could survive such a tumble as the stage took down the gorge. It was fully three hundred feet to the bottom, which was composed of solid rock, against which a can- non ball would have been shattered from the con- cussion. But the descent was not sheer perpendicular. There were projecting rocks, stunted pines, and bits of bushes, none of them sufficient to check the headlong flight of a such a body as a stage coach, but enough to give an active person a chance for life. In that frightful moment, when the lheutenant saw that the stage was certain to go over, he did what he ought to have done before, and sprang from the seat toward the level ground above. Despite his peril, he was as cool of head as when sitting in the vehicle talking with his friend. He knew better than to jump to the right, for that would have been certain to bring the heavy body COMmicoooks (CO) im