Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1873-12-18
A NoRTHeR ON THE PLAINS.
One Man Frozen to beatl and Eaten by
Wolves - The Remainder Reach the
Kansas Pacific Railway in PitiabIe
Condition.

One Man Frozen to Deaf! and Eaten by
Wolves = The Remainder Reach the
Kansas Pacific Railway in PitiabIe
Condition.
The Kansas Pacific brought to
Kansas City on the evening of the
2Sth two of the members of a party
os herders, who were caught in the
recent terrible norther, which swept
oyer the plains during the past week.
a Times reporter waited upon them
at the Laclede Hotel, and from them
obtained the following particulars
concerning their journey from Plum
Creek, Nebraska, to Ellsworth Kans-
as:
The party consisted of five, includ-
ing Prof. L. p. Cooke, of Woolhamp-
ton, r. l., Col. Sam. James, of Los
Angels, and three herders, named
James Lloyd, H. n. Grespy, and
Sayers. The party left the Platte
Valley, near its junction with Plum
Creek, for the purpose of striking
across the country towardsEllsworth
from which point it was intended to
proceed to Texas. They started out
with one wagon, drawn by two mules
Lloyd and Sayers being mounted on
ponies.
Nothing transpired worthy ofmen-
ton until last Wednesday night. The
party had reached the North Fork
of the Solomon River, and were en-
camped in q ravine on the southern
side of that stream, when the severe
snow storm and hurricane of last
Wednesday night struck them. Prof.
Cooke describes the storm as one of
the most terrific he ever experienced
The wind and snow commenced to
pelt down early in the evening, the
air became dark and murky as early
as four O'Clock in the afternoon, ,and
before che party succeeded in reach
ing the timber, they found it impos-
sibie to proceed farther, the trail was
lost in the drifting snow, and sud
denly darkness coming upon them
they went into camp beneath the
shelter of a rocky bluff An attempt
was made to kindle a fire with few
weeds and dead willows, but the
force of the wind was so strong that
1t was found impossible to keep fire
enough together to boil coffee. The
party resolved to wrap up in their
blankets and robes and go to sleep,
if such a thing were possible. The
mules and horses were left to shift
for themselves. Toward midnight
the storm increased to violence, snow
mingled with sleet pelted down, the
wagon-cover was blown from the
bows, and the five men huddled to-
gether in the wagon found them
selves freezing with cold, while the
robes and bedding was becoming a
winding sheet OF ice.
1t was finally resolved to save life
to get up and build fire, and, to do
this, the bed of the wagon was TAX
en- off and propped up as shelter
from the pelting slcet, while a few
blows from the axe made lirewood |
of the wheels. A fire was made af-
ter some difficulty, and all crouched |
around it with blankets and robes
drawn around to shelter it from be |
ing blown away by the terrible blasts
sweeping over the plains. Mr.. Cooke
states that the cold was so severe
that it was found impossible to keep
warm without scorching the clothing
from the body. He describes the
nights sufierings as the most horri-
BILE he ever experienced. Towards
the wind moderated, and
daylight dawned upon scene drea-
ry and uninviting. The party sue
ceeded in cooking a breakfast at the
expense of their wagon bed, while
Lloyd and Sayers started out to
search for the missing horses and J
mules, which had been left to seek
shelter from the storm as best they
might.
1t was agreed that all the party
should rendezvous on the south fork
of the Solomon, whether the stock
was found or not. A fair distribu
tion of food and whisky was made,
and Messrs. Cooke, Col. James and
Grespy started over the snowy waste
toward South Fork. This separation
was fatal to Savers; he was never
seen again alive. Lloyd states that
they got upon the trail of the ami
mails, which led them down among
the rocky bluffs of the North Solo
mon, when they became separated,
and both, became lost. Lloyd made
a fire in the creek bottom, and spent
the following night, and next morn
ing came upon the mules, grazing
upon the edge of 4 small bottom,
which was comparatively sheltered
from the storm. He made search for
Sayers, but finding no traces of him,
started across the divide for the
South Fork. He discovered, about
wv " SOuIu vi GuC w
appeared to be the remains of a man
the bones were entirely clean, and
scattered over the drifted snow. Ow
ing to the extreme cold he was OBJ
hged to abandon one of the mules,
but the animal followed its mate to
the rendezvous on South Solomon,
where the balance Of the party was
found in comfortable camp. The
four reached the Kansas and Pacific
at Ellsworth, in salty. They were
badly frostbitten,a and made all haste
to this city and Lawrence, two of the
party stopping there on business.
Prof. Cooke describes the "nor-
ther" which has been sweeping over
the plains for the past four or five
days as very severe. 1t is impossi-
BILE for animal life to exist out of
shelter. Nothing could induce him
to again peril his life in an overland
trip between the two Pacific roads,
Kansas Times.