News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1883-01-18
AN OFFICERS SAD DEATH.
Lost in the Mountains of Arizona, He Sue
cumbs TO Cold and Hunger.


The particulars of the sad fate of Lieu
tenant Jordan, of the United States
Army, are as follows Being an excel
lent shot and fond of hunting, he joined
party of officers and soldiers which left
Fort Whitfen to 90 to the summit of the
MOgollOn range or Black Mesa. This
range, about sixty miles east of Prescott,
Is noted for the numbers of wild turkey,
deer and bears to be found in its forests
and canyons. Not one of the party was
in such high spirits or in such apparently
excellent health as poor Jordan. On the
night of December 10th, ne arose from
his blankets in a fit of sOmnambulism or
temporary alteration and wandered
away from the camp. He is said by
officers who knew him when a cadet to
have once or twice walked in his sleep at
the Military Academy, and the concur
renee of evidence and belief is that some
such calamity befell him on the present
occasion. The precise hour Of his de-
parture is not known, but it must have
been some time between one and three
in the morning, the herder on duty at
the first named hour having seen HIM in
his blankets, and the one who went on
guard over the animals at three reporting
that his bed was empty, circumstance
which gave him no uneasiness, rs he
presumed the lieutenant was only tenn
porarily absent. Camp was aroused for
the work of the day shortly after four
o'clock, and it was then discovered that
Lieutenant Jordan was missing, and that
his boots, coat and vest had been left on
his blankets. The alarm was at once
given, and the camp "circled" to ''cUt''
his trail In the darkness this was hard
to find, and when struck, doubled and
twisted in a way to confuse the most ex-
perienced woodsmen, and to assure them
that the comrade of whom they were in
pursuit had travelled with great rapidity.
The country in that vicinity is so fear
fully broken, cut up with deep canyons
and covered with so much rock, that the
human foot makes little or no impress,
and consequently, notwithstanding the
energy and intelligence with which the
pursuit was maintained, three days
elapsed before the unfortunate officer
was found-dead- Il small ravine,
some seven or eight miles from the
canyon of Clear Greek, one Of the deep
est and most rugged i'll America. He
was lying face downward on a ledge of
rock, his only clothing the mdersuit
worn at the time of his retiring for the
night, and his pantaloons, in the pockets
of which was a silver box containing
thirty matches. From a careful exami- |
nation of his trail it was seen that he had |
been walking and running about day and |
night During the day his trail avoided |
all rocks, thorns and bushes, whereas in
his night travel he had stumbled over |
stumps and fallen down the little rayines |
IN his course. His feet were badly torn |
md cut by Jagged rocks, and his face
bore marks Of severe bruises received in !
lis falls. The nail of the little finger of |
he left hand was completely torn of,
md deep scratches on his hands and .
wrists showed the effects OF a fearful
struggle in climbing up or down steep
edges. That he never regained posses
ion of his faculties is highly probable.
Certainly the first thing to be done by
nan i'll his right mind, under the circrm-
tances, would have been to kindle fire.
The country is thicBly wooded, and to
me so perfectly able to look out for him
elf as Jordan was, the lIindIng of a big
blaze would have been the work of a few
econds only. By this he could have
Kept himself tolerahlywarm and signalled
lis whereabouts 10 the comrades from
whom he had wandered. Be this as it
nay, the event remains as one of the
addest and most shocking in the mill
airy annals of Arizona. Many brave
,f1icers and soldiers have given up their
ives on the field of battle; others have
uccumbed to the insidious approaches
If disease; but it may be questioned
whether any loss has occasioned such q
shock as that of Lieutenant Jordan-so
7oung, 50 bright, SO promising, meeting
lis fate III q manner so dreadful.