The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1875-11-03
"CABRIEL CQNROYn

serial III OCTlOWeT LOT November, ana
opens with the following description of
the Sierras in winter:
Snow. Everywhere. AS far as the
eye could reach--filty miles, looking
southwark from the highest white peak.
Filling ravines and gulchcs, and dropping
from the walls Of canons in white shroud-
like drifts. fashioning the dividing ridge
into the likeness Of a monstrous grave,
hiding the bases of giant pines, and COM
pletely covering young trees and larches,
trimming with porcelain the bowl.like
edges OF still, cold lakes, and undulaling
in motionless white pillows to the edge OF
the distant horizon. Snow lying every
where over the California Sierras on the
18th day Of March, 1913, and still fall
ing.
It had been showing for ten days;
showing in finely granuated powder, in
damp, spongy fakes, in thin, feathery
plumcs; showing from lcaden sky steadi-
ly, showing terce]y, shaken out of purple
black clouds IN white, Hoccnlent masses,
or dropping in long. level lines like white
lances from the tuubled and broken
heavens. But always silently! The
woods we're so choked with it, the
branches were so laden with it, it had 50
pcrmeated. filled and possessed earth and
sky; it had so cushioned and muf1led the
ringing rocks and cchoing hills that all
sound was deadened. The strongest gust,
the ficrcest blast awoke no sigh or COM
plant from the snow-packed, rigid files
of forest. There was no cracking of
bough nor craclllc Of underbrush the
overladen branches Of pine and fir yielded
and gave way without sound. The
silence was vast, measurcless, complete
N or could it be said that any outward
sign Of life or motion changed the fixed
outlines Of this stricken landscape. Above
there was no play of light or shadow, only
tho-occasional deepening of storm or
night. Below, no bird winged its flight
across the white expansc, no beast
haunted the confines Of the black woods;
whatever Of brute nature might have
once inhabited these solitudes had
long since flown to the low lands.
There was no track or Imprint; what
ever foot might have left its mark upon
this waste, each succeeding snowfall OBJ
liberated all trace or record. Every
morning the solitude was virgin and un-
broken; a million tiny feet had stepped
into the track and filled it up. And yet,
in the center of this desolation, in the
very stronghold of this grim fort1 ess,
there was the mark Of human toll.
A few trees had been felled at the en-.
trance of the canon, and the freshly cut
chips were but lightly covered with snow.
They served perhaps to indicate another
tree, ''blazed'' with an axe, and bearing
a rudcly shaped wooden ettigy Of human
hand, pointing to the canon. Below the
hand Was a square strip of canvas, Sc
curely nailed against the bark, and bear
ing the following inscription: =
"NOTICE.
Captain Conroy' $ party of emigrants are lost
in the snow, and camped up in this canon
Out of provisions and starving!
;; Left St. 10 October Sth, 1S47
Lett Salt Lake January lst, 1843.
- Arrived here March list, l84S.
Lost half our Sock on the Platte.
Abandoned our wagons February Goth. =
HELP!
Joel Mccormick, Jane Bracket
. Peter Dumphy, Gabriei Conroy,
= Paul Devarges, John Walker,
Trace iionroy, Henry March.
Olympia CoIroy, Philip Ashley,
Mary Dumphy: -.
Crhen in smaller letters, in pencl:)
- Mamie died November 9Th, Sweetwater
Minnie died, December 1t, Echo Canon.
Jane died January I'd, Salt Lake. , =.
" James Bracket, lost February Sd
5. " Z; =: ~. HELP!" !. -.
:. The language of suffering is not apt to
be artistic OF studied, but l think that
rhetoric could not improve this actual re.
cord. So let it stand, even asst stood
this 18th day Of March, 1913, half hid
den by thin film of damp snow, the
snow-whitened hand 4stiffened and point