The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1888-03-02


perature was still going down. II we
escaped alive we must get out Then
I tried to raise up the driver. He could
not move. His feet were frozenand one
of his hands looked like CHASTITY white
wax when pulled down his glove. He
told me to leave him with the dogs and
see if there was not house near by.
had on two pairs of heavy gloves, and,
wrapping a 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
took to be the village / was in no
condition to see any thing or scarcely
use my eyes at all, so great was my
pain. Turning my stiff neck discoy-
cred the top of another dugout. with
little chimney rising above the snow.
1t was the summer residence of the
ranchman who, had moved away. He
lived in town during the winter. 1t
was not more than five or six rods to
the dugout, but it took me a long time
to reach it. for had to crawl through
inc t1GC StlOW OtA MINUS anu AtGCo-
With my cottonwood stake l 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 pair of canvas over
all hanging by the Fireplace. They
seemed like the garments of Prince.
l found some matches in the pockets,
and, taking some straw from a misera-
BILE bed in the corner, tried to light a
fire.
1t was so cold it seemed to me that
the fire would not burn the straw.
However, l got n fire started at last,
and, with an old axe which was under
the bed, 1 chopped up the rude cotton
wood bed rails, made some kindling
wood and soon had a 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. ]
crawled back again to the driver to get
him in. pulled at him, but he was
fast asleep. The dogs scratched at the
snow which covered his feet and tried
to get him out of the place. He opened
his eyes and family muttered: "Old
|
back to town tell the boss at the stable
that L"
The man closed his eyes and said no
more. He was dead.
It was no time for delay or weak
ness. The man had done his duty
must do mine. crawled back to the
dugout and called the dogs after me; l
| heated some water in an old cracked
baking pan and filled it nearly full of
snow, and in the icy water managed
| to soak my boots until I could cut
them off. My feet were already white
and blistered, as if scalded in steam,
but 1 wrapped a piece of my blanket
around my feet and managed to draw
| the big rubber boots over them. In
half an hour could stand. Then with
| the dogs / started for town. 1t seemed
to me as if l would never reach the
end of my journey. Many times 1 fell
while struggling through the snow.
| My hands and nose froze; my ears
were stiff, my whiskers were covered
with ice and my hair looked like wool.
The dogs themselves were covered with
frost, which stood out in long pow
| derry fiber like cotton.
When 1 had reached the end of the
| first mile of my twO-mile journey it
was three o'clock in the afternoon.
1t must have been about eight
o'clock in the morning when !
first crawled into the dugout and
built the fire. Every body in the town
seemed dead and the houses closed
up, but as drew nearer 1 saw faces at
the windows, but no one came to the
doors. They probably thought 1 was
some ranchman coming for supplies.
| The sun was almost down when ] came
in sight of my house But what a sun
it was, it was almost as white as the
snow. There was no heat in it. The
keen wind whistled shrilly and blew
the snow like burning sand into my
face, cutting like hot razors.
When / reached the front steps OF
my house, where on the previous day
had beheld sunny landscapes, fell
exhausted and almost blind. The
voices of children no longer came
across the fields. The streets were de-
serted and the town as silent as the
grave. lis it possible" I thought,
''that my family, too, are dead? The
dogs by this time were scratching al
the door and barking. l saw the face
of my wife through the window. My
little girl put up her hand and screamed
"Papar'
The door opened and l fell into the
house, saved. 1t was many days be-
fore found myself in bed and heard
the doctor saying: "A narrow escape.
but 1 think his feet are all right and
we can save them.
The driver who saved my life and
lost his own lies in the great American
Desert Cemetery, just over the hill from
our town. He has monument anc
the respect of the Territory.-M T.