The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-08-13
EBENSBURG. PA, FRIDAY, AUGUST 13. 1S

from my feet, and rolled me, crying and
shouting far down the canyon side, until
great bowlder 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 1 had dragged my
broken, bruised body into crevice of the
rock-ledge before me had died where 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 darkness crept up from the east, my last
friend, my dog, who all day had lain at my
feet, deserted me, speeding away through the
shadows and snow. l was alone.
And so, faint, wounded, cold, despairing
as the moments grew life fiickered, and when
at last midnight broke my lamp went out
Again lay unconscious.
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, l 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 a 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 matteTed naught to me. When my
eyes opened they beheld nothing, when my
hands were Outstretched they touched only
the stone and the snow, when my tongue
cried out no ear listened. Again l was en-
tOmbed, and this time by an enemy more re-
lentless than Black Dan even, by hands more
stern and pitiless than his. Fate and the
storms of the mountain had combined against
me. | was buried second time, but now
with death for a companion
| 1 knew that l could not escape, and the
very thought quieted me.
There was no struggle, no moaning no ag-
Ony; only a dull recklessnesS and want of
care for life that betOkened the depth of my
/ despair, | was dying. Slowly the moments
/ passed. My thoughts were few and simple
/ 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 weariIy wrapping
itself in the cloak of aunihlation, and my
body was fast sinking toward 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 stiIl more,
and then light began to gleam, and 1 heard
the hurrying scrape of feet mingled with low
whining.
/ Don had returned and was digging me out.
The revulsion of feeling was terrific a mo-
ment before l had laid passive iE a tomb,
longing for death; now fought and tore at
the loosening snow like a madman, wild with
the thought of life.
/ Nearer and nearer came the rescuing feet,
deeper grew the pile of snow beneath me,
brighter the light above. The whining was
mingled with growls now. Don had friends
to aid him. The barrier was just three feet
thick-two-one, it was gone and, even as
l breathed the free air of heaven and my
heart leaped within me and my lips uttered a
glad cry, dozen pairs of great hollow eyes
buried into mine, a dozen gaunt forms
crouched before me gnashing their cleaning
fangs-I had been rescued by a pack of
mountain wolves.
For single instant surveyed my enemies;
1 weak, wounded and unarmed they strong,
hungry and ferocious, a dozen to one, and
then with yell / sprang into their midst.
1t was the act of madman, but ! was mad.
Death should tear me limb from limb now,
and, with bare hands, l clutched at the first
gray monster before me, and gTasped his
shaggy throat as with hands of Steel seeking
to throttle him.
Then the entire pack with demoniaca
hOwls hurled themselves upon ME.
The struggle was short, l 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 suddenly 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 pisto
shots and heavy blows, broke upon my
ears, the red blood of my assaiants dyed the
spotless snow their hideous eyes faded from
before me, and, falling backward, felt my
self caught by strong arms, and the well
known voice of old johnson cried, Saved
thank God -
Aye, saved and this time for life. Ny
trusty dog had found the ranch and arousnc
the men by his strange actions they had fol
lowed 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 Criminal Court in Pueblo, and
had the satisfaction of hearing sentence
passed upon him, while he tTem6led as ht
stared at the man whom he had buried among
the peaks of the RockeYs.
Neither duty nor pleasure will ever agair
call me along the canyon of the Platte.