The Northern Pacific farmer., 1880-06-24
oss of; ;desire knowledge fled second

time.
And then it was the tongue of my
dog which awakened me. Don dug me
out and Tapped me back to life again.
ingdawned, with means dragged my
stittened limbs from their narrow bed,
and crept tremblingly down the little
trail toward the river, the blood oozing
from the rifle wounds in my head, my
eyes wild and fierce, my life half gone.
ASH thought Black Dan must have
followed and ambushed me, then sup
posing me slain, he had the grace to
seek to bury me. 1t was owing to his
haste or his carelssness that my dog
had been able to paw the loose dirt
from my grave and save me. If I
could reach Johnson's ranch might
live; If not I had been saved but to die
a second time, for fierce storm was
brewing along the mountain tops above
my head. My horse was gone, my
rifle, pistols and knife, gone; onl y the
dog remained, and, faithful to the last,
followed as | slowly and painfully trod
the descending trail toward the river.
Suddenly, amid wild roar Of wind
and cracking of trees and whirl Of
freezing snow, the storm burst, and in
its fury swept me from my feet, and
rolled me, crying and shouting, far
down the canyon side, until great
Fierce and relentless the wild wind
tore through the wilder forest,
pltiless and cold the snow fell, and ex-
cept had dragged my broken, bruised
body into a crevasse, of the rock-ledge
before me had died where I laid.
Then even blacker than ever fell the
storm, and ragged increasingly through
all the slow hours of the day, until
night came a second time to cast its
pail upon the scene. And as the dark
ness crept up from the east, my last
friend: my dog, speeding away through
the shadows and snow. was alone.
And SO, faint, wounded, cold, despair
bowlder caught and held me. Then it
ragged or,
ing, the moments grew ;,s life hickered,
and when at last midnight broke my
lamp went out. Again 1 lay uncon-
scious.
All night the gale continued, and not
until the dawn of the second day did it
cease: when the newly-fallen snow lay
deep and white over all.
Within the crevasse of the rock, shelf
cred from the touch of the cold white
death and yet beneath it, I lay motion
less; above me the storm had spread a
shroud so thick that no ray of light pen
etrated to my tomb. Half frozen, in a
drearnless, painless sleep,the forerunner
ola swift coming rest, a mere wreck of
a man, was stretched upon rock, and
the CLINT of the sunshine among the
pines or the tread of the wild beasts of
the forest overhead mattered naught of
me. When my eyes opened they be-
held nothing, when my hands were
outstretched they touched only the
stone and the snow, when my tongue
cried out no ear listened. Again I was
intombed, and this time by an enemy
more relentless than Black Dan even,
by hands more stern and pitiless than
his. Fate and the storms of the mount
ain had combined against me. I was
buried second time, but now with
death for Il companion
I knew that I could not escape, and
the very thought quietcd me-
There was no struggle, no moaning,
no agony; only dull recklessness and
want Of care for life that betokened the
depth Of my despair. I was dying.
Slowly the moments passed. Ny
thoughts were few anG sim Thoughts
of fire and wood, thoughts of home
and friends and comfort, thoughts Of
things warm and bright, but even these
were fading and my mind was wearily
wrapping itself in the cloak Of annihila-
ton, and my body was fast sinking to-
ward inanition when a bit of snow fell
upon my upturned face
Had it been fire it could not have
aroused me more quickly.
The next instant more fell, and still
more, and then light began to gleam,
and I heard the hurrying scrape Of feet
mingled with low winning.
Don had returned and was digging
me out.
The revulsion Of feeling was terrific;
a moment before had laid passive in
q tomb, longing for death; now I fought
and tore at the loosening snow like a
mailman, wild with the thought of
life.
Nearer and nearer came the rescuing
feet, deeper grew the pile of snow be-
meath me, brighter. the Ii ght above. The
whining was mingl led with growls now.
Don had friends to aid him. The bar
rier was but three feet thick-two-one
it was gone! and, even as I Ibreathed
the free air of heaven and my heart
leaped within me and my lips uttered a
glad cry, a dozen pairs of great hollow
eyes buried into mine, dozen gaunt
forms crouched before me gnashing
their cleaning fangs-I had been res
cued by pack of mountain wolves.
For a, single instant I surveyed my ene-
mics, I weak wounded and unarmed;
they strong, hungry and ferocious. a