Semi-weekly Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1851-1852, 1851-10-17

difficulty, she reganed her lodging place. But
feeling now the dread of passing another h'?E''
in so dcsoiatc place, and summonlng that III
domitable spirit of courage peculiar to her SEX
when in difficulty and danger, and seeing the
sup fast declining, she determined to change
her course, and make one more desperate CT:
fort to gain some settlement. Throwing oil
part of her apparel in order to be less cncuIn-
bcred, she began again to contend with the
snow, rocks and caverns of the mountains, and
at length came to 4 deep, narrow gorge, down
which she could not descend with her child.
She looked up and down, but could see no
place that offered an easier passage than the
one before her. She hesitated moment, butts
having no other alternative, she threw her
child over, and then followed herself. BY taxi
ing hold of the laurel bushes on the opposite
side of the ravine, she managed to crawl up to
the place where her child lighted, which to her
great iov she found uniniured save by a slight
scratch on the face, caused by its falling on the
crust of the snow. Resumng her journey, she
came upon hog, path which led to cleft OF
shelving rocks where these anlm"'s were ac'
customed to sleep. She had now travelled as
was afterwards ascertained-one mile and u
hall. Here she might have remained sheltered
for the night, but fearing the return of the
half.starved hogs, and that herself, her child,
and her dog, might all become sudden prey
to their voraciousness, and her family never
learn their fate, she Immediately resumed her
march, and weary and faint, made her way
about two hundred yards of, to the side OF the
mountain. Finding her stockings entirely cut
IN by the crust of snow, and her limbs and
feet all bleeding, she yielded the struggle, and
under some pine bushes hard by, she obtained
a place to sit down; but the snow sinking be.
meath her, rendered her situation most critical
and desperate.
She took care TO wrap her clothes around
her feet and body as well rs she could, then
clasping her babe warm to her bosom, she COM
mitted herself to God
Her faithful dog had not left her, and this night
would lay down just where she bade him;
sometimes Just on her feet and limbs, and
sometimes just at her back, changing alternately
rs if to keep her from freezing. During the
night she fell asleep, being exhausted with the
labor and want of food. This night it showed
and blew, until the new fall Of snow was ten
inches deep on the top of the former. When
she awoke she heard the chickens Growing on
the tcp of the mountain, and the dogs barking,
so near was she to house; but the wind was
blowing directly from her; which proved ex-
trcmclY unlavorable to her. About the same
time, she thought she heard the people feeding
their cattle. She called as loud and as long as
she could, but no one came to her relief. lhis
morning she found that her feet and limbs bad
ly sweled and the skin in mary places broken.
This discovery went home to her heart, and
she commenced /, make her peace with God,
and gave herself up to die She thought that
if her infant child were dead, she too, conld die
IN peace; but to leave it to perish with cold and
hunger, was a thought more than mothers
heart could bear. She laid the little thing
down to freeze to death before she should dIe
herself, but when it wept she would take 1t up
and clasp i, to her bosom. Despairing at last
to make herself heard, as the wind ontinued to
blow violently in contrary direction, she re.
sorted to another expedient 1t was this: she
pinned the child's bonnet around the dogs neck
and sent him to solicit hel lp. The poor ami
NAL, as if perfectly understanding her meaning
started Off Immediately and was afterwards
tracked to the house nearest to his distressed
MISTRESS, anu l,leU lO al iIIlIlJ Uul DSi' 5AD
bath day, and extremely cold, the dwellings
were all shut up, and no one saw him, and in
an hour or two he returned and took up his
station. When it was coming about feeding
time, she commenced calling again, and man
on the top of a stack Of hay heard her and told
his wife that he heard something on the top OF
the mountain making a noise like some one in
distress; and went to ncighbor and told him
the same thing, to which the latter only replied
al suppose it must be panther" This night
was spent in making her peace with God, ana
she stated to me that if she had persisted that
night, she had no doubt she would have gone
TO heaven. Part of the night was spent in
great anxiety about her child Her faithful
dog, as he had done before kept close to her,
and would lie down precisely where told to:
This circumstance in connection with that OF
being covered with snow, kept her from free
zing to death.
In the morning which was Monday, she com
menced calling the third time for help Her
clothes were frozen to the ground, and kept
her from rising, and her exhaustion was COM
pletc. She called like one yielding to despair;
but the wind being now favorable man who
was feeding his stock heard her voice, as also
did his wife in the house, who was Intimately
acquainted with the distressed heroine OF our
narrative, and who said to her husband, "lt
Polly Bearer was near, | should say II was
her voice" James Smith and }. Mcintyre
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