Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-01-12
IN THE SHOWDRIFTS.
THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF BRAVE
NEVADA SNOWSHOERs.
Five Men Make a Perilous Journey Over
the Mountains to Recover
Comrades Body.

In the RECORD UNION telegraphic col
umns there appeared yesterday brief &C.
count of hazardous journey made over
the mountains of Nevada county by five
brave snowshoers bent on recovering the
body of Malcolm F. Mcleod, a mail carrier
who had persisted in the snowdrifs while
on duty. The Nevada Transcript of yester.
day gives the following account of the
undertaking;
The detail Of snowshoers sent out last
Tuesday by Company C, n G. O., to bring
from Washington the remains of Private
Malcolm f. Mcleod, who persisted last
Monday morning while carrying mail with
John Grissell from North Bloomfield to
Washington, arrived here shortly after IL
o'clock Friday morning. The funeral will
| Company C's auspices at 10 o'clock Sunday
morning.
The relief party was commanded by
| Corporal Nicholson and consisted Of Pri-
vate McCambridge, Chris Gailbraith, Thos.
! Jones and NJ. A. Baugh, all good snow
shoers.
-Four of them left this city at 10 O'Clock
Tuesday morning, and travelled along les-
nrely till they were overtaken by Mr..
Jones, who did not get away till an hour
later. They made one stop TO psr,ake Of
the lunch they carried along, then resumed
their journey and reached the Central
House, eight miles ont, at 5 o'clock in the
afternoon. There they remained over
night.
At FIVE o'clock Wednesday morning they
proceeded. and were then able to make
good Roadway as The snow was hard AMI
smooth owing tn the nights free ze 1t is
: b )ut zen miles from the Central House 10
Washington, and they made that distance
in little over four hours. TIE last three
miles is down hill. Three of the party
d, scended the long grade in about Ten
minutes. Gailbraith had to be careful of
one of his legs which he injured last spring.
so Corporal Nicholson remained back with
him and they went down the hill at
slower gait.
Word had been sent in by the Relief Hill
trail that the detail were on the road. The
citizens of Washington had before their ar
rival laid out the corpse at Millericks
Hotel.
Wednesday was devoted by the party to
resting and preparing for the return trip.
Two oak snowshoes seven feet long were
placed parallel two and half feet apart.
70 each of these snowshoes iron standards
were attached and upon the standards were
placed thin boards. Thus was constructed
sled with floor six feet long and two and
half feet wide. Private McLeod's body
was sewed up in a sack and dashed TO the
sled
Thursday morning at ten minutes to S
the detail of five men from the county
seat, supplemented by seven citizens of
Washington, started down with the body.
They had long and hard pull up the
mil 80 ~
They travelled four abreast till they reached
the summit of the ridge, where the snow is
eight feet deep, and was becoming soft and
sticky from the moderating OF the tempera-
ture and the sunshine. One of the Wash
lngton volunteers then left them and all
the others came along to the Central House,
which they reached between 6and clock
in the evening. Here they found good
supper awaiting them, Mr.. Jones having
been sent or ahead from White Cloud Hill,
three miles above, to order it.
Two more ofthe Washington men were
released at that point, four of them remain
ing with the squad from the county seat.
These nine left the Central House at 6
o'clock Friday morning to complete the
last stage of their sad journey. At the Snow
Mountain Ditch, two and half miles
above here, G. W. Jones met them with
team and sleigh, and the body was trans
ferred to the latter, in which it was brought
the remainder of the distance. Captain
Nihell, First Lieutenant Simopds, Corporal
Bowerman and Private Locklin went out
in another sleigh, and, meeting the party
above the Texas mine took them aboard
On the way the passenger sleigh tipped
over and spilled out the mllitismen and
snow-shoers. but they quickly righted the
conveyance, and, climbing in again, got to
town in good shape.
The snow-shoers were thoroughly tired
out upon their arrival, but none of them
suffered any hardships on the trip, which
was comparatively uneventful.