, 1890-02-23
A TALE OF LONELY GULCH.
TRUE STORY OF TWO GRAVES IN THE
ROCKY MOUNTAINS.


'tovsr the Range" from = Miner. Cabin
In North Park.
IT noticed q few weeks ago in you
paper a description Of lonely graves in
the mountains of Colorado" remarked
a gentleman to the writer Monday. "At
the time i read it I was travelling in the
southern portion of the state, and it re-
called to mind two lonely graves that l
know of which lie hidden in the receeses
of the mountains in Routt county. OF
course, there is a history attached to
them, and if you have time ! will spin
the yarn"
Being informed by the scribe that he
always had time to listen to a good story,
the gentleman said:
I'm the year 1879 l was prospecting in
the neighborhood Of Hans Peak and the
Rabbit Ear range, and at that time very
little was known of the rich silver veins
which traversed that portion of the state,
There were other prospectors in the coun-
try and the few of us felt elated over the
finding Of several leads that contained
gray copper, and we went to work with
a will to open the veins up. You nave
no idea Of the many difficulties that one
AA08 (OntCn0 Will III q aCW COuIlLEI
and the privations one has to suffer. But
the excitement attending the life Of a
prospector that some day he will strike
it and be recompensed for all his trouble
buoys him up, and he endures all hard
ships and privations with good grace.
The country at that time was well
stocked with game, and we never had
any difficulty in procuring all the fresh
meat that was needed. l had built a
rude cabin at the head of a small gulch
and not far from my claims. 1t was a
lovely spot, with groves of quaking as
pen trees surrounding the cabin, and
about fifty yards from the door stood
two majestic pines that / named the
sentinels.
n w VISITORS.
Zone day when l returnd from work
l found two strangers, man and wife,
had taken possession of my house, and
was = little astonished at first to see a
woman in that part of the country.
They asked permission to remain there a
few days, and it was readily granted.
i was indeed glad to zee strange faces,
and welcomed them to my humble
abode. From the very first l noticed
that the woman was not strong, and
this aroused my curiosity, as l could not
figure out why q woman In delicate
health should be- in such . wild part Of
the country. She had been q very pretty
woman once, but consumption, the NAL
ady from which she was suffering, had
robbed her OF most of her beauty. She
had q sweet temper, that won for her
friends wherever she went. She was
-I~~ ~o~fo,<v .os-z~l A. 49, s---ss-AI-
and knew that her pilgrimage on earth
WA short. But h bore up with the
greatest fortitude.
"They had been at the cabin about a
week, and everything about it had been
changed. Alice-that was the woman's
name-had remodeled the place, and all
things showed the touch of a woman's
hand. Well, one evening after supper
we were sitting in front of the cabin,
enjoying the beauties of an August even
ing, when the husband, Alfred, told me
what brought him to that section of
Colorado. His story was brief. He
stated that after being married in the
east for two years, his wife had shown
unmistakable signs Of consumption, and
the doctors had advised him to take her
to California, and, If possible to go across
the plains by wagon, as he would find
that j~ourneying that way she would gain
strength. They found a party OF emf.
grants at a small town In Nebraska, who
were going to the coast and engaged
their passage. For the first week GU
Alice gained strength, but one evening
she caught cold and this malady In
creased with awful rapidity. When
Laramie City was reached she could &c
no farther and the trip had to be aban-
doned. At that town they were adj
vised t go into the mountains, as the
fresh air ladened with the perfume OF
pine was beneficial to consumptives. "A
wagon was procured that too them to
North Park, and by easy stages on horse
back they had reached my -cabin. II
was by the merest chance that they
found it, and was glad they did.
THE AsT FAREWELL
IA month passed, the happiest in my
life, but l saw that gradually Alice was
sinking, and that she would never leave
the gulch. Her husband noticed the
change and was unconsolable. He ad-
ministered toher every want, which were
not many, and realized what an awful
change 1t would be when she wa taken
from him. One night the end came. She
called me into the little room that 1 had
partitioned off for their use, and in a
feeble voice thanked me for all my kind
ness to her, and hoped that when my time
came to cross the mysterious river that
she would meet me in that land where
sorrow Is unknown. She told Alfred it
was hard to leave him, but that he must
b strong and bear the affection that a
wise master had in his just wisdom sent
him to carry, and that all things were
done for the best. 1t was . scene the like
Of which I wish never to witness again,
the feeble girl. full Of hope for the future,
bidding good-by to the man she loved,
and the strong, powerful man, bowed
down with grief at the thought Of losing
her who was the only tie which bound
him to this world. The end came; with
her head piIlowed on the breast Of her
protector. her spirit winged its flight to
eternal rest. Underneath one of the pine
trees We laid her, and carved her name
and the date Of her death on its trunk.
Alfred was broken hearted, and wan
dsrsd about the hills like one lost. He
had no purpose in life, 90 I used to AK
him to do the chores about the place TO
--- IL. -suA wyskh soxnofbfrr m.