The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1888-02-02

er the best we could. The other family
was pore like US an had gin most what they
had to the cause. The man had never ben
stout an now he got worst. He had two
little children in his cart, an his pore wife
who pushed what she could behind had Q
little baby on her breast. It was awful to
SEQ 'em worlin' with the shaders Of death
acomin' an agoin' in their eyes. But we
wasn't much better of, on'yI was stouter,
AM Catherine, who was thin an white 60
paper an with eyes loolfin' big an wild like
some animal that sees it's agoin' to be killed,
worked day after day mos like o person
that's insane. She mover said nothin', only
Jest worked an fit fer life. ] think II was
amostly fer me though, an our little sick
darter alayin' up there in the cart
"Well, about them days it fell to freezin'
at night, ON, whereas we could sleep an
rest some afore, now in the mornin' we
was crowd Of dazed, shiverin', half-dead
people. About o hundred had died up to
that time, an thcre was five hundred Of US
strugglin' an fghtin' ahead toards tho
darkness.
1.-THE mon in our other family could see
KEEP stiddily failin', an one mornin' wien
we started it skeert me, he looked 80 like
corpse, an his wife looked nearly like i'm;
but they kep at it all day, staggerin' an
tuggin' an draggin' their feet erlong. But
all that day they was a-dyin', my friend, all
that day they was a-dyin'! fer wen we
stopped that night the man sunk down in
side Of the handles with his face betwixt his
knees an never moved sgin. The wife fell
onto her side along side tho cart, but got
'er up an, after getting their tent set up,
laid Ter In 1t am fixed Ter the best could.
In the mornin' she was dead, though, froze
cold am stiff, with the child dead, too, on Ter
breast. There was six corpses in camp that
mornin'. What days them wasl an, God
in Heaven, what nightsi We hadn't ben
lowed but seventeen pounds Of clothes an
beddin' apiece, an we jest laid an shivered
In spasms Of cold. s'pose amost Of US d
died in our tracks on'y fer our faith, fer
we did hang onter the belief that the word
Of the Lords servants would come true.
But 1t didn't; they made o mistake some
how, though it wasn't the Lords fault.
winter come on earlier 'en common, ON
there we was amongst the mountings,
wadin' rivers, haulin' the carts up hills an
down through rocky gulches, with our shoes
an boots wore of'en our feet, er cut up to
make boxen fer the axles, long string Of
haggard, corpse-lilze men an wimmen an
children stumblin' an fghtin' forred to-
ards the bitter end.
'Then at last it got so there wasn't source
ly strenth left to put up the tents at night,
an every mornin' from six to ten corpses
had to be buried; an some got stupid, an
some got savage an lost their minds. My
Catherine Jest at on'ard like tiger. She
never gin back. She 'peared to me like she
was all eyes an'-ieaders; there was nothin'
Of her much, an fer the last week Of it she
never slep ner ct that seed. was one of
the stoutest in the band-wy, when was
young could take q OK by the horns am
throw 'imi-but couldn't nigh keep up
with 'er. My Catherine was insane was the
reasoni hadn't no heart In me after that,
and staggered Ikea drunk man from weak
ness, but 1T forred with Ter. We had our
one little thing an the two children Of our
dead friends in the cart, and she thought
they was oil our'n, the two from the
| little graves In Tennessee alive again,
an she KEEP 'em hvered up an fed an tuck
care of 'em, an at times she'd seem happy
Jest like child an stop an play pickin'
flowers along the way, an laugh, an talk Of
the thousans an thousans OF miles we'd
come an Of the thousaas an thousans Of
miles we'd hev TO 60 yit afore we got to
Heaven, an ia Jest lay my head down on
the cart an CRY, it broke my heart 80.
"At last the storm came In earnest II
begun TO snow an blow turrible, but we
| stumbled on'ard biind-like all day. We
seemed plum crazy to get out OF danger an
| our misery, but was runnin' furder into Il
every step. What we suffered could never
be put In language. ] ken mind one pore
| gal with awful look on her face ahangin'
an half draggin' oil day at the cart next Ia
our'n. She now lives near Salt Lalkc Z
pore helpless cripple, fer both her limbi
was frose that day an had TO be cut OF
fro BH coNTiNUED.l
..no yeu thiak young man." DO .aid