The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1880-09-09
fed a second time.

again.
As the dull gray of the winters
morning dawned, with groans l drag
ged my stifened limbs from the mar
row bed, and crept trembling down
the little trail toward the river, the
blood oozing from the rife wounds
in my head, my eyes wild and fierce,
my heart painting, my life half gone.
As / thought Black Dan must
have followed and ambushed me,
then, supposing me slain, he had the
grace to seek to bury me. 1t was
owing to his haste or his careless
ness that my dog had been able to
paw the loose dirt from my grave,
and save me. III could reach
Johnson's ranch [ might live; if not
I had been saved but to die a second
time, for a fierce storm was brewing
along the mountain tops above my
head. My horse was gone, my rife,
pistols, knife, gone; only 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 creaking oftrees 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 canyonside,
until a great boulder caught and
held me. Then it ragged on.
Fierce and relentless the wild wind
tore through the wild forests, pitt
less and cold the snow fell, and ex-
cept l had dragged my broken,
bruised body into a crevice of the
rock ledge before me, [ had died
where | laid. There even blacker
than ever fell the storm, and ragged
increasingly through all the slow
hours of the day, until night came
second time to cast its pail upon
the scene. And as the darkness
crept up from the east, my last
friend, my dog, who always had
laid at my feet, deserted me, speed
ing away through the shadows and
snow. | was alone.
And so, faint, wounded, cold and
despairing, as the mountain grew
life fiickered, and when at last mid
night broke, my lamp went OUT
Again | lay unconcious.
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 crevice of the rock,
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.
Half frozen in dreamless, painless
sleep, the forerunner of swift COM
ing rest, a mere wreck of a man, |
was stretched upon a rock, and the
CLINT of the sunshine among the pin
es or the tread of the wild beasts of
the forests overhead matter naught
to me. When my eyes opened they
beheld nothing, when my hands
were outstretched they touched or ly
the stone and the snow, when my
tongue cried out no ears listened.-|
Again | was entombed, and this
time by an enemy more relentless
than Black Dan even, by hands
more stern and pitiless than his
Fate and the storm of the mountains
combined against me. [ was buried
a second time, but not with death
for companion!
| knew that | could not escape,
and the very thought Quilted me-
There was no struggle, no moan
ing, no agony; only dull reckless
ness and want of care for life that
betoken the depth of my despair
| was dying. Slowly the moments
passed. My thoughts Were few and
simple-though of fire and food,
thoughts of home and friends and
comfort, thoughts of things warm
and bright, but even these were fad
ing and my mind was wearily wrap
ping itself in the cloak of annihila-
ton, my body was fast sinking to-
ward inanition when a bit of snow
fell upon my upturned face.
Had it been fire it would not have
aroused me more quickly.
The next instant more fell, and
then more, and then light began to
CLEAN and 1 heard the hurrying
scrape of feet mingled with low whin-
ming.
Don had returned and was dig
ging me out.
The revulsion of feeling was ter
rife, moment before | had lain
passive in a tomb longing for death,
and new | fought and tore at the
loosening snow like madman, wild
with thought of life.
Nearer and nearer came tie res
cuing feet, deeper grew the pile Of
snow beneath me, brighter The light
above. The whining was mingled
with growls now. Now Don had
friends to aid him. The barrier
was but three feet thick-two-one.
it was gone, and even as treathed
the free ..is OF heaven and my heart
leaped within me and my lips utter
ed a glad cry, dozen pairs of great
hollow eyes glared into mine. !. dos-
en- gaunt ferms crouched before me
gnashing their cleaning fangs,-I