Owyhee bullion. [volume] (Silver City, I.T. [Idaho]) 1866-1867, 1867-01-24

rocky cave, known as the "Ilon's Mouth
some thirty miles from the city. There
they lay hid for several days, until they
judged the heat of the pursuit was over,
and they started out again. Louisa states
that while they lay concealed in the cave
they more than once heard the baying
of the bloodhounds of pursuers. They
struck out across the plain, proposing to
reach some point of civilization on the
other side ofthe mighty desert. Think
of woman and three helpless girls, with
only such food as they could carry in
bundle, with no sufficient knowledge of
the country before them, with no guide
to direct or counsel them, aud with only
the strength of womanhood to defend
them from the multiplied horrors of their
fearful journey, undertaking a passage
that men accomplish only in strong and
thoroughly equipped parties.
These woman undertook this journey.
Oftheir progress and the unimaginable
sufferings they endured, there is only one
who knows anything, and that is Louisa,
the single survivor of the feeble party
She states that when they had been some
three months on their journey, her young
est sister, girl of some thirteen years,
died of starvation and exhaustion. A
week later the elder sister, aged about
fourteen years, also died--starved to
death. Louisa was stronger and more
robust than the others, and the hardships
of the journey made less impression on
her
Leaving the corpses of the dead girls
upon the plain, the mother and her cne
child continued their wearied way of in
creasing terrors. Their little stock of
food had been exhausted in the first few
days, and they could get nothing but
such precarlous subsistence as the prairie
afforded. They had brought plenty of
money with them, but what mines of gold
would it not have taken to purchase a
meal in the midst of that world of desc
lation They had brought bow and
arrows with them, and with these they
killed an occasional bird or gropher,
which they devoured raw. Now and then
also, they encountered some edible roots,
These we've their feasts, with intervels Of
fasting, days in length between. AT
length, some two months after the death
of her children, Mrs Blachman also laid
down and died, first making Louisa prom
ise that she would continue her juorney
and endeavor to reach "the States"
Louisa alone, now continued to follow
the Indian trail, living as heretofore, till
at last she fell in with party of Fox In
dians, who took charge of and clothed
and fed her, treating her with the great
est kindness, and conducting her to a
white settlements about one hundred and
fifty miles this side of the Rocky Noun
tains. This post was ieached by Louisa
some nine months from the time of the
commencement of the horrible journey.
She tarried here, and when she became
strong went to Jefferson City, and last
winter left with her friends there and
traveled-this time with no horrible ac-
companiment-t, Mount jackson, Law
renee county in this State, whore a fam
lily she formerly knew resided, and with
whom she hoped to get employment.
This family had removed, but Louisa
was referred to a family who would prob
ably give her work She reached the
house of this family near evening on a
bitter cold day in January, 1866. The
family on whom she called did not need
help, but directed her to house where
she was sure ofwork. 1t was almost dark,
and binding sleet was driving, but
Louisa declining an invitation to stay all
night, started for this other house. She
had not gone far before she lost her way
The cold benumbed her, and she felt the
drowsiness of freezing people At length
she sat down by a tree and fell asleep.
She slept but did not die. In the morn
ing.she awoke with her limbs so frozen
that she could not move. The sun tbaw-
ed her partially, and she managed to
crawl little way out of the woods into
which she had wandered. She reached
a haystaok on the farm of Mr.. Davidson,