Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-02-27
Lost in the snow.
[From the Greeley (Col.) Tribune.


Tuesday, the 28J of January, 1872, will long
he remembered by the people of Northern Colo
RADIO. Snow covered the ground, vet the weather
was pleasant, and the mountains stood ont
grandly in the sunlight. On the afternoon of
this day, jeremiah Fisk left the HioIey coal
mine with load of coal for his home IN Gree
lev The distance is fourteen miles Two teams
had gone before him, and Others were OH their
way 10 the mine. A little after four o'clock
when in sight Of town, he passed two of his
nelghhors cutting ice in a lake seven miles north
west of Greeley The Cache la Pondre river Law
at the foot of the slope, about two miles due
solth OF him, and the road leads almost directly
down to the river, and follows it to the town
limits.
Not long after leaving the lake he heard
noise like the roaring of great water. spout.
lnstinctvely he turned toward the mountlins.
they were calm aud beautiful as in the morning
but northward where the Black hills rise from
tue plains, lie saw vast wall of cloud approach.
ing with the speed Of whirlwInd The roar
lnE increased At this instant the frozen tidal
wave touched the foothills and chased the sun
beams from the mountains like an avalanche
The horses rushed forward in terror and a sec
ond later they were in darkness the storm
sweeping over them with resistlesS fury Snow.
liner than the finest -four, filled the air so that
was impossible to see a hundred feet in any
direction. Fisk wrapped buffalo robe around
his neck and shoulders, and uraed is TREMBLING
I'll.
in short time the plain was as trackless as the
sea.
After the horses had left the beaten way they
could scarcely walk, and il was not long before
they refused to move. The darkness increased.
and the mercury was rapidly running down TO
zero. No time must be lost. The traces were
unhltched, and, mounting the strongest horse.
FISK attempted to urge him forward: bur he
would not 70. Then he led them for n fine.
put hndlng that 1t took all his strength 10
Keep the buffalo robe from blowing away, he
leltthe team and pushed on before the wind FIR
the wind was his only compass The storm in
creased in violence every moment, and il soon
became dark and intensely cold In many
places the snow was deep, and more than twenty
tlines the strong man was hurled into the
drifts, SO terrible was the storm
BY eight O'Clock the mercury stood Mt ton do
grees below zero The snow blew from all
points OF the compass, and penetrated every
stitch Of his clothing that was not projected nv
the buffalo robe. He knew that several houses
were near but how could he find a single one of
them, when on that very night the engineers on
the railroad were unable to lind the water.fank
AT Pierce station in the darkness The man
knew hat death was on his trail. His strength
was failing rapidly, and the cold increasing with
the fury Of the storm. All his garments were
| frozen stiil and bis eye-lashes coated with ice
IL seems he crossed the river a few hundred
| feet below Boyd's rancho, but he has onlv n
| lalnt recollection of stumbling down n hank
and OF dreaming that he might possibly be near
| a house. N''
| He felt that his time had almost come. tn on
on was madness, yet he could not stop, except
| 20 brush away the frozen tears for a wife. win
her babes, waiting and praying, not three miles
| away from his sinking heart. lie managed In
| walk an hour longer, when a dizziness came on
| and his brain reeled like the storm, Then IN,
began digging hole in the deepest drift he
| could mud IL was like digging his own grave
| Tor he knew not how soon he might sink with
exhaustion. After working a long time the
ground was reached, aud drawing the robe over
his head he waited for the snow to bury him
The wind did its work well, and in an hour
eighteen inches of snow covered his roof of fur
Never did a man long to sleep more than he did
but he knew il he closed his eyes il would be
forever He fought with his senses like Bum.
vans Christian pilgrim, and kept awake. Burn.
Ing pains shot through his limbs and his lens
eramped as IL ON the rack, and finally something
like nettles pricked in his boots Then he knew
that bis feet were freezing. Was he to die after
all the hours of agony2 No, he would keep his
muscles moving, and he did so long after his
toes were frozen stiff. Hour after hour this
man from the Green mountains fought with
his head
AT daylight he crawled out Houses were
near Then he staggered and fell rot no
again, and dragged his frozen limbs toward the
limits Of the town. After walking an hour he
reached Coope's ranche-the summer residence
OF our town clerk and pushed In the back door.
Another hour was consum in making q fire,