The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1888-03-10
W All the fends Of hell seemed to be

sS AAs VIC uctAun VI AClI OoCIuCu " ~
in that storm. I have seer many a
gale at sea, been shipwrecked twice,
but nothing in my experience APP
proaches the terrible violence Of that
night. l felt my feet freezing. then
they grew very numb. and at last it
seemed as II ] were walking or wooden
sticks.
Pains began to shoot up toward my
body. my head felt as it would burst,
and then suddenly looking out, or try.
ing to look into the blackness Of the
night, ! saw the sitting-room at home
with q roaring fire in the stove, the
children seated around it and my wife
anxiously looking at the clock.
Then all became black and | remem-
Der only that the dogs were on my
neck. When l awoke it was broad
daylight. Where l was l had no idea.
For a moment l seemed to be in n
room; but, arousing myself, l saw a
patch of blue sky through a little hole
which l found vas in the snow. On
each side Of me were the dogs. Rails
ing myself up on my elbow, | discov-
cred that l was buried in snow, and,
digging around a little, l presently
found the driver fast asleep. He, too.
was covered with snow. l attempted
to pull him out, but my feet were
frozen so that l could not stand. The
dogs howled piteously as they scratched
away the snow from the driver until
they awoke him. He opened his eyes
and said in a solemn, husky voice:
"Glad to see you, old man; l knew we
would come out all right"
With great difficulty he made me I'M
derstand that we had fallen into one OF
the deserted dugouts on a ranch near
the town where a ranchman had for.
merly kept his potatoes. The door had
been left open, and VIC had stumbled in.
Where the horses were l could not see.
The which had driftcd into the
dugout kept us from freezing to death.
The entrance to the dugout was not
large enough for the horses to get into,
and, besides, they had undoubtedly
scented danger and kept away. After
several attempts at thawing myself out
by the heat Of the dogs, l got hold of a
cottonwood stake that had been left in
the cellar and raised myself up SO that
lcould look out. 1t was a clear, beau
tiful day, but the snow was blowing
about like sand, and the temperature
was many degrees colder than it was
during the night. l knew that the tenn
perature was still going down. II we
escaped alive we must get out. Then
l tried to raise up the driver. He could
not move. His feet were frozen and one
Of his hands looked like CHASTITY white
wax when Ipulled down his glove. He
told me to leave him with the dogs and
see If there was not Il house near by.
had on two pairs of heavy gloves, and,
wrapping II half-frozen buffalo robe
around me, with great difficulty
crawled out into the open air. 1t was
indescribably cold. About two miles
away / could see thin lines of blue
smoke curling from some houses, which
l took to be the village. l was in no
condition to see any thing or scarcely
use my eyes at all. so great was my
pain. Turning my stiff neck l discov-
cred the top Of another dugout. with a
little chimney rising above the snow.
1t was tho summer residence of the
%ranchman who had moved away. He
lived in town during the winter. II
was not more than five or six rods to
the dugout, but it took me a long time
to reach it, for l had to crawl through
the deep now on my hands and knees.
With my cottonwood stake knocked
in the door, and, to my joy, found a
pair of discarded rubber boots with
holes in them standing in the corner of
the dugout and a pair of canvas over
all hanging by the Fireplace. They
seemed like the garments of a Prince.
l found some matches in the pockets,
and, taking some straw from Il misera-
Bile bed in the corner, tried to light a
fire.
It was so cold it seemed to me that
the fire would not burn the straw,
However, l got II fire started at last,
and, with an old axe which was under
the bed. I%'chopped up the rude cotton
wood bed rails. made some kindling
wood and soon had n roaring fire. But
there was not enough wood in the place
to keep the fire going more than an
hour. No time was to be lost. l
crawled back again to the driver to get
him in. pulled at him. but he was
fast asleep, The dogs scratched Mt the
snow which covered his feet and tried
to get him out Of the place. He opened
his eyes and family muttered: "Old
man. we're all right. When You get
back to town tell the boss at the stable
that l."
The man closed his eyes and said no
more. He was dead.
1t was no time for delay or weak
ness. The man had done his duty-I
must do mine. ! crawled back to the
dugout and called the dogs after me; |
heated some water in IN old cracked
baking pan and filled it nearly full Of
snow, and in the icy water l managed