Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-03-15
.sSNOW-SHOE THOMSON
The Experience of California Noun
taineer.
From the San Francisco Bulletin.

Ahe experience OF Il CaIOfn1a NOUN
taineer.
From the San Francisco Bulletin.
Everybody in this state has heard of
"Snow-Shoe Thompson" the man who
has carried the United States mails over
the Sierra through the storms and snow
drifts of twenty winters when the noun
tain passes were only to be traversed by
a strong man on snow-shoes, but very
few probably know his history or the
difficulties and dangers he has met in
the government service.
John A. ThOmpson-for such is his
real name-was born at Upper Tins,
Prestijeld, Norway, in 1927, and is, con-
ssequently, forty-nine years of age. His
height is nearly six feet, his weight one
hundred and eighty pounds, while he
has the blonde hair and beard peculiar
to natives of northern climes, and a
peculiarly piercing eye. He came to this
country when ten years of age, and set
tied In Illinois with his father, and in
1851 he he crossed the plains to Califor-
MIA, living first at Placerville as miner,
and then engaging in ranching at Pu-
tab Creek, Sacramento Valley, during
1854 and 1869. During the early win
ter of 1856 heard of the difficulties ex-
perienced in carrying the mails over
the mountains, and the early remem-
orance of the snow-shoes used in his
own country suggested to him that they
could perhaps be utilized here. He ac-
cordingly constructed pair ten feet
long and four inches wide, upon which
he crossed the mountains to Placerville
then the principal town on the road over
which the mail was carried.
made in January, 1856, when he went
from Placerville to Carson Valley, a
distance of ninety miles, carrying the
mail-bags strapped upon his back, and
gliding on his long Norwegian snow
shoes over fields of snow from ten to
fifty feet deep. Having successfully
made the trip and returned, he contin-
ued to carry the mails between the two
points all that winter, the weight of the
bags being generally from sixty to
eighty pounds, but sometimes more
than one hundred pounds, The dis
lance between the two places
miles-he traversed in two days on his
return, but required three days in
going, owing to the great amount of up
hill travel. On his trip he seldom saw
human being, as there was nota house
on the route and the entire country was
a perfect Siberia of snow. He never
carried blankets or wore an overcoat,
while all his food was prepared SO that
he could eat it as he ran. For his
drink he would scoop up a handful of
snow or take draugh from some
mountain stream. He camped at night
wherever darkness overlook him, keep
ing warm through the dreary hours by
blazing fire at his feet, and sleeping
peacefully upon couch of hemlock
boughs, and with his head pillowed upon
the mailbags. When able, he camped
under shelving rocks, and at place six
miles from Strawberry Valley he had
cavern in the shape of an oven in which
he slept as often as possible, with fire
blazing at it's mouth.
About Christmas Of 1856 he saved the
life Of James Sisson, who had'lain in an
old deserted cabin in Lake Valley
twelve days, with his feet frozen, sub
sisting on flour all that time, and drew
him to Genoa on a hand-sled where
both his feet were amputated. Before
the operation, Thompson walked to
Sacramento for chloroform. Thomp-
son seemed to be proof against cold and
exposure: he never had his feet or even
his fingers frozen, and though camping
out several nights without fire, he never
suffered any inconvenience, but slept as
well as usual
He is now thinking of retiring from
the fatiguing business, and a petition is
being circulated by his friends asking
the government to pay him $1,000 for
his past services.