Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1860-03-10
A Thrilling Story.

Onc otUflcS 1t is rounded upon an occur
! renee Which actually took place i'll Vermont
! some gory years ago. The facts arc almost
! literally related, as follows
| My brother lIemon liked the business OF
carrying the mail better than | did; and so j
wont to, work in a new clearing had com
mepced, about a mile and ii half from home,
and not.quitc 50 far from the house of broth
erin law [ usel to stay as often at one
place us the other 1t was bad arrange
mcnt as in case of accident neither family
would be alarmed or so to look for me if /
should not come home. | felt the force of
this in the course of the winter, as you will
sec directly.
Northern New York SHOWS, crustcd over hard
enough to bear man. | was getting on fa-
mously with my clearing, getting ready to
build Il house in the spring, was ambitious,
and worked carly and late, going without my
dinner some days, when the piece Of bread
and meat [ had brought in my pocket was
frozen so hard that | could not moStouto it
without taking up too much 4Hs my time
One day it was Intensely cold, with the pros
peot of storm, tIat might hinder my work
the next Jay, and so worked on us long as |
could see, and after twilight | felcd tree,
which, in its descent lodged against another.
could not bear the idea of leaving the Job
half finished, and mounted the almost pros
trate body to cut away limb to let it down.
The whole of the tree forked, about forty
feet up, into two equal parts, with large pro
iecting limbs from both 1t was one of these
had to cut away to bring it to the ground.
In my haste, perhaps [ was not so careful as
should have been, at any rate, the first blows
sod ilO lp.lr Al, Al. 1
settle, and was just going to Jump of, when
the fork split, and as it did so, one foot drop
ped into the space so that | could not extri,
cate it for the moment, but | felt no alarm,
Tor | knew that | could cut away the tree in a
minute, or perhaps draw my foot out of the
| boot, as the pressure was not severe At the
first blow of the axe, the tree took another
st, rt, rolled over, and the spit closed with all
the force of its giant strength, crushing my
foot till my very bones were fattoncd, and
| there | hung suspended, Just able to touch
the tips of my fingers in the snow, with moth
ing to rest upon for momcnt--the air Mt zero
and growing coldcr-no prospect of any one
coming that way that night-tho nearest
house mile away---no friends to feel alarmed
at my absence for one would suppose me safe
with the other.
My axe in its fall rested upon the snow
crust, about ten feet off If could only cot
that | might yet save myself / did not
think how | WAS to cut myself loose from the
body of that great tree, suspended as | was,
head down, and suffering with the rushing
current of disordcrcd blood, but Thought in
! that keen blade my only hope of life was fixed.
just forward of me grew slim bush, which
thought if could obtain | could form into
a hook by twisting the limbs together, and
draw the axe within my reach.
Although the bush was out of my reach,
at last succeeded in getting hold of it by
means of loop by tying my ST ,penders to-
| gethcr. drcw it towards me and cut it Oh
with my pocket. knite-one of that sort 50
long known as Barlow knives" having a
single blade about two and half inches long
and three -cigths of an inch wide, with equal
width all its length, set in handle of pccu-
liar form, half its length iron and half horn
or Done. succeeded admirably in fashioning
my hook and almost felt the handle of the
axe within my grasp, so certain was of sue
cess. From the tree that imprisoned me to
the ground, descended rapidly for a dozen
rods or more to litue creek. My axe lay
upon the brow OF the hill. The first move
meut made towards twisting the loop of my
stick around the handle, 50 as to draw itwthin
my reach, looScnod it from its icy rest, and
away it went down the hill crushing through
the little frost brittle bushes, down upon the
ice of the creek, down to Il little fall few
rods below and over that into the unflozen
| poo, with surGing sound MS it fell into the
water, that seemed TO send Its icy chill through
every vein and artery in my whole body.
still had my knife. True, it was rough
surgical instrument, but hope and the love OF
life gave me strength to climb up by my
Fastened leg and to cut away the boot and
stocking, and then with tInat,knfe l uniointcd
my anclc and fell to the grouud--ny left leg
a tootlcss, bleeding stump. The intensity OF
the cold saved me from bleeding to death ]
tore off part of my coat, and with my hand
kcrchief and suspcndcrs managed to bind up
my leg with handful of snow, and started
to crawl home; | succeeded in reaching with
in sight of the house, and then my strength
utterly failed me.
tried my voice in vain, but could make
no one hear eXertcd myself once more,
aud S?;;w!cG toward the road that knew lIc-
manmust come. 1t was painful task, for
beside my exhaustion, | was rerishing With
cold. just then ! heard the sound of my
brothers stage horn, and the jingle of the
bells coming down the hill strained my
voice to the utmost pitch, but he did not
could not hear; but there was another friend
who did hear Old Hunter, the noble old
dog, had insisted upon accompanying him
this trip, and brother said, Let him 60
who knows what good may come of itp'--
! Good did come of if for his cor Nos f,uiekn,