Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1880-09-30


painting, my life half gone.
As thought Black Dan must have
followed and ambushed me, then, sup
posing me slain, he had the grace tn
seek to bury me. 1t was owing to his
haste or carelessness that my dog had
been able to paw the loose dirt from my
grave, and save me. If ! could reach
JOhnsOn'S ranch, | might live; if not, |
had been saved but to die Il second time,
for fierce storm was brewing along
the mountain tops above my head. My
horse was gone, my rifle, pistols, knife,
gone; only the dog remained, and, faith.
full to the last, followed as ! slowly and
painfully trod the descending trail to-
ward the river.
Suddenly, amid wild roar of wind
and creaking 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 a great boulder
caught and held me. Then it ragged on.
Fierce and relentless the wild wind
tore through the wilder forest, pitiless
and cold the snow fell, and except |
had dragged my broken, bruised body
into crevasse Of the rock ledge before
me, had died where lay. 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 darkness crept up
from the east, my last friend, my dog,
deserted me, speeding away through
the shadows and snow.
was alone
And so, faint, wounded cold, de,
spairing, as the moments flew life flick
ered and when at last midnight broke.
my lamp went ont. Again I was ln-
conscious.
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 rocks.
sheltered from the touch of the cold
white death and yet beneath it, | lay
motionless; above me the storm had
spread a shroud so thick that no ray of
light penetrated to my tomb. IIalf-fro-
zen, in dreamless, painless sleep, the
the fOrerumer Of swift coming rest.
a mere wreck of a man. was stretched
upon a rock, and the CLINT of the sun
shine among the pines or the tread of
the wild beasts of the forest overhead
mattcred naught to me. When NV ewes
opened they heheld nothing, when nv
hands outstreched they touched onlv
the snow and the stone, when V
tongue cried no ear listened. Again
was entombed, and this time by an ell
emy more relentless than Black Dan
even, by hands more stern and pitiess
than his. Fate and the storms of the
mountains had combined against me.
was buried II second time but now with
death for companion,
knew that could not escape, and
the very thought qucted me.
There was no struggle, no moaning,
no agony; only dull recklessness and
want of care for life that hctoked the
depth of my despair was dying.
Slowly the moments passed. Ny
thoughts Were few and simple
/ thoughts of fire and food. 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
amnihilation, and my body was fast
sinking toward inanition when bit of
snow fell upon my uptrned face.
Had it been fire it could not have
aroused Inc more quickly.
The next instant more fell. and still
more, and the light began to glcam.an
| heard the hurrying scrape of feet
mingled with low whining.
Don had returned, and was digging
me ont.
The revulsiOn Of feeling was terrific.
/ \ moment before had lain passive in
tomb, longing for death; now 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 he
meath me, hrighterthe light above. The
whining was mingled 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 | breathed the
free air OF heaven and my heart leaped
within me, and my lips uttered glad
cry, a dozen pairs of great hollow eyes
looked into mine, a dozen guant forms
crouched before me, gnaShing their
fangs cleaning had been rescued by
a pack of mountain wolves.
For a single instant | surveyed my
enemies, weak, wounded and unarmed !;
they strong, hungry and fcrociOuS. a
dozen to one, and then with u yell
sprang into their midst.
1t was the act Of a mailman, but was
mad. Death should tear me limb from
limb now, and with bare hands clutch
ed at the first gray monster before me,
and grasped his shaggy throat as with
hands of steel, seeking to throttle him.
Then the entire pack, with demoniacal
yells, hurled themselves upon me-
The struggle was short. felt the
hot breath of the brutes in my face,
their red mouths yawned upon me;
Their strong claws tore my buckskin
shirt; their teeth snapped, when sud-
denly great white something was
hurled from the bank of snow above
into the midst of the melee. \ half
dozen dark forms followed. Wild shouts
mingled with pistol shots and the heavy
blows broke upon my ears, the red blood
of my assailants dyed the spotless snow !;
their hidious eye faded from before me-
and falling backward, felt myself
caught by strong arms and the we'll
known voice Of old johnson cried,
"Sayed, thank God" Aye, saved; and
this time for life. My trusty dog had
found the ranch, and arousing the men
by his strange actions, they had follow
ed him in the early morning to where
was hidden, arriving at the spot Just in
the supreme moment of need | was
saved, and five days later confronted
Black Dan before the bar of the Grim
inal Court in Pueblo, and had the salts
faction of hearing sentence passed upon
him, while he trembled as he stared at
| thp man whom hn had biIriod nmnnu