The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1880-04-03
FRONTIER SOLDIER LIFE.
A rerrible Night in the Snow.

Third Cavalry, to his father, the Rev.
DIR. McCauley, of Reading, Pa, and
published in the Daily Times of that
city, depicts the peculiar hardships and
dangers of frontier life:
From the building of the stations
was ordered north by General Crook to
survey a new road from Fort Steele, six
teen miles east of Rawlins, on the
Union Pacific Railroad, to cross Snake
River and connect with the new road
to the south-the object being to make
Steele, where are large Government
warehouses, the depot of supplies, in
stead of Rawlins, for White River.
Between Steele and Snake River hes
the continental divide of the Rocky
Mountains, the trend being here north
west and southeast, all water on the
eastern side going into the Platte and
the Missouri, while Snake River and its
tributaries belong to the waters OF the
Gulf of California. 1t was on this sur
yey that we encountered one OF the
most terrible snow-storms l ever saw
in thousands of miles of travel in the
Rocky Mountains. During eight days
there was a daily storm, which was only
milder one day to gather strength appar-
emily for the next. One day we made but
three miles; and another, latter going one
and half miles, the storm broke upon
us and compelled us to return to the
camp we had left; and SO each day we
attempted progress, but with varying
success. About twenty miles up the
Platte to the south from Steele crosses
the old emigraut road, running east
ward, the great highway in early days of
the coaches and the celebrated Pony
Express, and still the route of emigrant
travel to the west and northwest. Hav-
ing sent courier back to Steele for a
pack-train, all our wagons having brok-
en- down, concluded, while awaiting
that and supplies, to go westward from
the crossing of the emigrant road and
measure the distance by the Rawlins
road to Snake River, the junction of
which is at Sulphur Spring or Hum
phrey's Ranch, q station on the courier
line.
With the odometers in the "buck-
board "a light vehicle for mountain
travel-in company with Judge Hugus,
wealthy merchant at Fort Steele, IN
terested in the new road, left camp on
horseback Saturday morning, and start
ed west over the emigrant road-which
is, by the way, one of the finest natural
roads of the West. We reached Pine
Grove, or Errett's Ranch, thirteen miles,
about one O'Clock in the afternoon, find
ing but little snow on the way. All the
hollows on the road and the banks of
dry streams had drifted full of snow
from two to four feet deep; and these
we passed by trampiDg a way for the
mules, or, when that was futile, in get
ting. them over, first drawing over the
blackboard with ropes fastened to the
double-tree on the opposite side. At
Pine Gaove the road skirts the base of
the mountains, and thence the road
begins to cross the Great Divide by the
Bridger Pass, so-called after Jim
Bridger, the celebrated Rocky Noun
tain scout of olden days. Six miles
from Errett's is the summit of the Pass,
which we reached at sunset-the tongue
of the blackboard breaking on the way
in getting it over one of the many drifts
that we encountered, deeper and deep
-er as cur ascent was greater. From the
summit the outlook was more gloomy
as the snow was observed deeper to the
west. The road was covered from one
to three feet, while here and there it
was bare from the winds that blow al
most necessarily at these high attitudes.
We had our bedding with us and q
lunch, as our cooking utensils we had
left behind in camp for the use of our
guide, who during our absence was to
hunt the easiest point of passage over
the range directly to the south in a
direct line from Steele to the other road
at Snake River. At Humphreys or
Sulphur Spring, a fine ranch, was
sure of welcome, having always
stopped there whenever going north
and south, and therefore we pressed on
ward. Three miles descent found the
snow deeper and deeper, with drifts
near the road as high as twenty to thir-
ty feet.
At one place, where for but twenty
feet the road, crossing a ravine, was
blocked by drift in the deepest part
ten feet, we were compelled to make a
detour of quarter of a mile, up the
hillside, through the snow that was
nearly two feet deep-our horses at
times sinking to their bellies And so
for three hours we pushed on in our
descent, when, darkness coming on, and
our stock being tired out, determined
to stop and remain there till daylight,
when we could finish the remaining nine
miles of the Pass. Noticing to the right,
some $50 yards, gulch in the hillside,
rode up to it through the snow, two
feet deep, and found some clumps of
box-elder which would answer for fire.
wood; and thither we proceeded. The
Judge, however, by this time had be-
come alarmed, and. fearing a heavy
storm, and our being showed in during
the night, called me back and advised .
return to Everett's at once. We held a
council of war. To return was nine
miles, ahead the same. The latter way
we knew nothing of the roads or the
drifts, and so, as the skies and the ris-
ing temperature indicated a storm, we
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