The free citizen. (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1875-12-04
" Gabriel C0nroy."

| hlct liartcS HrSI mover bcglnS as q
serial i'll Scribner's for November, an,!
opens with the following description of
the Sicrr;ls in winter:
Snow. Everywhere. AS far as the
eye could rcact--flty miles, looking
southwark from the highest white rcak'
rilling ravincs and gulchcs, and drop
ping from the walls of canons in white
shroud-like drifts. Faslioning the divid-
ing ridge into ii likeness of II monstrous
grave, hiding the bases of giant pines
and completely y covering young trees and
larchcs, trimming with porcelain and bowl
like edges of still, cold lakes, and un-
dulating in motiOnlcss white billows To
the edge of the distant horizon. Snow
lying everywhere over the California
Sicrras on the 18th day Of March, 1915,
and still falling.
1t had been showing for ten DAYS:
showing i'll finely granulatcd powder, in
damp, spongy flakes, in thin, feathery
plumcs showing from lcadcn sky stead
lily, showing ficrccly, slakcnout of purple
black clouds in white tlocculent masses,
or dropping i'll long level lines like white
laccs from the tumbled and broken hcav-
ems, but always silently. The woods
were SO clicked with it, the branches were
so laden with it; it had SO pcrmeatcd,
filled and possessed earth and sky it had
SO cushioned and mufllcd the ringing
rocks and echoing hills, that all sound
was deadencd. The strongest gust, the
ticrccst blast awokc no sigh or complaint
from the snow-packed, rigid files of
forest. There was no cracking of bough
nor cracklc of undcrbrush; the over
laden branches of pine and fir yielded
and gave way without Il sound. The
SllnnrH rn1 lat,
Nor could it hc said that any out
ward sign of life or motion changed
the fixed outlines of this stricken land
scapc. Above there was no play Of
light and shadow, only the occasional
deepening of storm and night. Below,
no bird winged its flight across the white
cNpansc, no beast haunted the confines of
the black woods; whatever of the brute
nature might have once inhabited these
solitudcs had long since flown to the low
lands. There was no track or imprint
whatever loot might have left its mark
upon this waste, each succeeding snow
fall obliteratcd all traces or record
Every morning the solitude was virgin
and unbrokcn; q million tiny feet had
stepped into the track and filled it ND.
And yet, in the center of this desolation,
IN thc::Ycry stronghold OF this grim for
trcss, there was the mark of human toll.
A few trees had been fellcd at the ell
trance of the canon, and the freshly cut
chips were but lightly covered with snow.
They served perhaps to Indicate another
tree " blazcd" with an AK, and bearing /,
rudcly shaped etligy of a human hand
pointing to the canon. Below the hand
was Il equarc strip of canvas, securely
nailed against the bark and bearing the
following inscription:
Capt. Conroy's party Of cmigrants are lost
III the snow and camred up this canon Out
of provisions and starvinu!
Left st. Joe October Sth, 1917.
Left Salt Lake January 1St, 1878.
Arrived here Marci, 1St, 1918.
Left half our stock on the Platte
! Abandoned our wagons February Goth
HELP!
Our names are:
Joel Mccormick, Jane Brackctt,
Peter Dumphy, Gabriel Conroy,
Paul DcvargcS, John Walker
Grace Conr"y, Henry March,
l Olympia Conroy Philip Ashley,
Mary Dunlphy.
Clhcn III smaller letters, in pcnciD:
Mamie died November $. Swcctwatcr,
Minnie died December /, Echo Canon.
; Jane died January ., Salt Lake
Jamcs Brackctt, lost February2.
!, The language of suffering is not apt tc
ic artistic Or studied, but ! think ttIIi.i
rhetoric could not improve this actua
record. So let it stand, even as it stoo(
this 10th day of March, 1913, half hdtlcl
by Il thin film of damp snow. the snow
whitcncd hand stiilencd and pointing
1 ,rII I,y ffNf {,1