The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-04-18


Acute Pain Followed by Very Comfortnbis
Condition of Mind.
Early in January, 1854, left Red
Wing In company with s. j. Willard,
John Day and Albert Olson for place
fourteen miles distant, near where
Vasa Church now stands, for the
purpose OF cutting and hauling logs,
preparatory for our settlement at that
point the following spring. 1t was n
clear, beautiful day, with the ther-
mometer 20 degrees above zero. We
had span of good horses, a sleigh
partly loaded with lumber, forage and
provision for few days.
We arrived at the spot just before
dark, and camped in ravine we'll shell
tered with timber. After making our
selves comfortable with good supper
and blazing log fire. all four laid
down to sleep on a bed made on the
snow, with thin layer of hay on top of
some boards, and were well wrapped
up in blankets. During the night the
temperature changed to terrible cold,
the thermometer falling to 10 degrees
below zero, as we learned afterward.
Had we known this and kept our fire
burning, there would, of course, have
been no danger. But being very COM
Portable we all fell asleep early in the
night, and were unconscious OF the
danger we were in until awakened by
the pain of intense cold, and then we
were already so overcome with the
GOLD that we lacked power or energy
to get up or even to move.
Comparing notes afterward, we
found that all had experienced like
sensation, namely-first an acute pain,
like the point of needle in every pore,
but free from all mental anxiety, ex-
cept O dull conception of something
wrong and desire to get up, but
without sufficient energy to do so.
This feeling, however, did not last
long, and subsidized gradually into one
of rest and quiet satisfaction until con-
seriousness ceased altogether, and with
out any struggle or pain, either bodily
or mental. We had all reached that
stage when, by al accident, the arm
and bare hand of Mr.. Day, who lay on
the outside, fell in the snow. This
started the circulation in his body,
and gave him such intense pain that
he quickly aroused himself and got on
his feet, and of course we were all
saved. 1t took long time before We
could use our limbs sufficiently to re-
build the fire, and during that time we
suffered much more pain than we had
before. / am satisfied from experience
that person perishing in that way
has very easy death, because he sink s
gradually into a stupor, which blunts
his sensibility both to physical pain
and mental agony long before life be-
comes extinct.
1t was about 80 degrees in the morn
ing when we got up; we did not lie
down again or attempt to haul out
building logs, but started in q few
hours on bee line for ravine that
would lead us back to Red Wing. 1t
was struggle of life and death to get
across the rolling prairie. and had the
cold been accompanied by blizzard,
we would not have got across.
10 keep warm, we took turns to
walk or run behind the sleigh, and Mr..
Willard was walking when he was
suddenly missed and the team turned
back, following its tracks q short dis
lance to a hillside, where we found
him sitting down in the snow appar-
emily comfortable and with no desire
to move. He rather censured MS for
coming back after him, claiming that
he was all right, and that he would
have come along when he got ready,
but the fact was that he was already so
stupefed with the cold that he would
never have made any exertion to move.
After drive of ten miles we arrived
at the first and only inhabited house
between Vasa and Red Wing, and it
was high time that we found shelter,
both for ourselves and the horses.
That was the coolest day of that year,
and to me tho coolest day in tho his
tory ofMinnesota.-Mi,apeapolis Tri-
bune.