Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1871-11-17
Ihirty-Seven Days Of Peril.

Oh 17s Asc.
TAirty-seven Days ofPeril.
,eny from N-riiar', .HgaHIg for Nc
ultG, ll Truman C. Everts thrilling story
Obj. e.rible adventures while wand.nnz
,lsa 'he YELLOWSTONE country. In this art
aG- Eyeris gives more elatcrately and 81
l7ie laug.h the story Of his wanderiaes
F--l were originally given IN the pages Of the
EH Press. 1t is story Of suffering, priystion,
q strange adventure, Of alternate hone AID des-
1.r which the reader can not easily forget
have read with great satisfaction the ex-
client descriptive articles on the wonders of
,le Jpper Yellowstone, in the May and June
numbers Of your magazine. Having myself
.een one Of the party who participated ia
many Of the pleasures, and suffered all the
leri.s Of that expedition, | can not only bear
.-stimJny 70 the fidelity Of the narrative. but
Trl1a1.y add some facts of experience which
will not detrac5 from the general intere,: it
-a, excited
A desire TO visit this remarkable region, oi
which, during several years residence in
Montana, | had often heard the most marvel
0ls accounts, led me 60 unite in the expedi-
u9n Of August last. The general character
H the stupendous scenery Of the Rocky
Mountains prepared my mind for giving
credit 70 all the strange stories told of the
Yellowstone, and felt quite as certain Of the
existence of the physical phenomena of that
country, on the morning that our company
from Nl1Inrrs rrrf.a I O.
'eheld it. ! engaged in the enterprise with
enthusiasm, feeling that all the hardships
and exposures Of a month horseback travel
through an uuexTl1red region would be more
,han compensated by the grandeur and novel
" of the natural objects with which it WAS
ulwici. Ofcourse, the idea Of being lost 10
it, without any of the ordinary means Of sub
si-,cnae, and of wandering FOR days and weeks.
20 finishing condition, alone, in an unire-
ggcnei wilderness. formed DO part Of my
contemplation. I had dwclt too long amid the
mountains not TO know that such a thought.
had 1t occurred, would have been instantly
rejected as improbable; nevertheless. man
proposes and tod dispOses. a truism which
found new and ample illustration in my
wanderings through the Upper Yellowstone
region
Ny friend Langford has 80 well described
tle scenery and physical eccentricities of the
country. that | should fee that any attemp.
o. ampiIty it would be to
Gid refined gold and paint the lily"
Wy narrative must, therefore, be strictly PER
-0laL
On the day that found myself separated
from the company, and for several days PIE
Vlus, our course had been impeded by the
dense growth Of the pine forest, and occasion
al large tracts Of fallen timber, frequently
rendering our progress almost impossible.
Whenever We came to one Of these immense
wIndialls, each man engaged % the pursuit
% passage through it, and it was while thus
employed und with the idea that ! had found
one, that ! strayed on. OF sight and hearing
OF my comrades. We had a toisome day. it
was quite late 10 the afternoon A. separl-
tens ike this had frequently occurred, itgaye
me no alarm, and rode on, fully confident
Of soon rei0ining the company. or Of fnding
their camp. ] came up with the pack horse,
which Mr. Langl0Td afterwards recovered and
tried 10 drive him al NJ. bus failing ID do SO.
and my eyesight being detective, | spurred
forward, intending 70 return with assistance
from the party. This incident tended 10 Gc-
ceierate my speed. rode on in the direction
which | supposed bad been taken, until dark
ness overlook me In the dense forest. This
was disagreeable enough, but caused me no
alarm. had no doubt Of being with the
PARTY at breakfast the next morning. re-
Ieoted a spot for comfortable resposc, pickc,sd
my horse. built a fire, and went 70 sleep.
The next morning / lose at early dawn,
,addled and mounted my horse, and took my
curse in the supposed direction Of the camp.
0lr ride of the previous day had been up
PENINSULA iutting into the lake, for the shore
Hi which started, with the expectation Of
finding my friends camped on the beach. The
forest was quite dark, and the trees so thick.
that it was only by a slow process could get
through them at all. In searching for the
n I'll / became somewhat confused. The fall
Iug .'oliage of the pines had obliterated every
race E travel. | was obliged frequently 10
iismount. and examine the ground for the
iain,est in, 'ications. Coming TO an opening,
from which could see several vistas, dis
mounted for IL g purpose Of selecting one
les8ino in the di. 'ection / bad chosen. and
l..vinrT nv horse L uhitched. rs had always
been NV custoIn wa ked few rods into the
forest. While surveyiI 9 the ground my horse
took fright. and | turnt around in time to
see him disaupearing at lull speed among the
trees. That was the lasT ! ever saw Of him.
d was vet quite dark. Ny blankets, gun,
pistols. fishing tackle. matches-everything'
ezceEthe clothing on my person. a couple
4 knives, and small opera-glass were at
1a'aei to the saddle.
DID not vet realize the possibility OF per
Ianent SEPARATION from the company. In
stead Of Glowing up the pursuit OF their
camp, ! engaged in an effort to recover my
LlT,e. Half a davis search convinced me Of
is impTacticability. | wrote and posted in
tn open space several notices, which, If my
ilends should chance to sec, would inform
them Of my condition and the route had
i4Atn, and then struck out into the forest IN
The supposed direction Of their camp As the
day wore on without any discovery, alarm
took the place of anxiety at the prospect Of
another night alone in the wilderness, and
this time without food or fire. But even this
dismal foreboding was cheered 10y the hope
that should soon rejOin my companions, who
would laugh at my adventure, and lneorpo-
rate it as a thrilling episode into the journal
o' cur trip. The bright side Of n misfortune,
a. found by experience, even under the
worst possible circumstances, always prasents
zone features Of encouragement. When
5egan to realize that my condition was one
Of actual peril, ! banished from my mind all
fear Of an unfavorable result. Seating myself
On a leg, recalled every foot of the way |
had trave led since the separation from my
friends, and the most probable opinion
NNaanH
they had, by course but little different from
mine, passed by the spot where | had posted
the notices, learned of my disaster, and were
waiting forme to rejOin them there, or search
ING for me in that vicinity. A night must be
spent amid the prostrate trunks before my
return cOnld be accomplished At no time
during my period of exile did / experience 50
much mental suffering from the cravings Of
hunger as.when, exhausted with this long day
oi fruitless search, | resigned myself to a
conch of pine foliage in the pitehv darkness