St. Paul daily globe., 1890-12-21
A WOODMAN's EXPERIENCE
He Wanders Off in a Snow Storm,
HaIf-Clothed, While Crazed by
Liquor.

He Wanders Off in a Snow Storm,
Half-Clothed, While Crazed by
Liquor.
Bangor Special to New York Sun.
Lumberman Con Murphy, who has
just arrived in the city from the scene
of his operations on the West Branch,
tells the story of a woOdman'S terrible
experience and narrow escape from
death while lost in the Northern wilds
during the snow storm of last week.
Robert Pye, provincial laborer, after
protracted spree in Bangor, went to
work about ten days ago in the lumber
camp of Morrison 81 Hunting, on the
west branch of the PenoboscOt. He
was in no condition to work when he
reached the scene of operations, and
one night soon after his arrival, while
crazed from the effects of liquor, he left
the camp and plunged into the deep
woods.
He had on only pair of drawers,
shirt. two pairs of stockings and a pair
of shoes, and in this condition he wan
dered aimlessly about in the wilderness
all night. He has no recollection of
reaching the camp. The first thing he
remembers is being lost in the woods,
nearly frozen, with a black sky over
head and fierce snow storm pelting
down upon his head and shoulders.
There were eight or ten inches of snow
on the ground, and the weather was
bitterly cold, so that the man, weak and
trembling as he was, was obliged to
jump about all night to keep from
freezing.
At daylight, almost completely ex-
hauSted, he struck out in search for
camp, having not the slightest idea of
his whereabouts. All day he tramped,
faint and sick from cold and hunger,
through the dense forest, stopping oc-
casionally to shout for help, but never
receiving all answer Toward sun
down he came across bear trap built
against tree, and eagerly seized the
piece of frozen meat which served as
bait. But the meat, when thawed by
his breath, proved to be tainted. and he
could not eat it; but to his great JOY he
found in an old barrel near by two Or
| three handfulS of moldy crackers, which
7 he devoured eagerly. 1t was evident
| thai no one had visited the bear trap for
7 weeks, and Pye knew that he was still
| far from any help. His shoes had now
/ become so painful to his swollen feet
| that he was obliged to taSe them off :;
his shirt had been partly torn from his
| body by the branches of the under
| growth, so that the snow from the
branches fell directly upon his naked
chest, and his face and ears were al
ready frozen.
| All that right he was forced to dance
! about in the snow. as OH the night be-
fore, to prevent freezing, but when the
| morning came his strength was so ut
! terly gone that he was obliged to give
| up the struggle for his lie. He lay
down wearily III the snow for the last
| sleep, and was all but unconscious when
one Of the choppers from Murphy's
camp, while on his way to work, dis
| covered him, apparently trying to cover
himself up in the drift, then eighteen
| inches deep. The chopper pulled the
man out of his snow bed. and half
dragged, half carried him to the camp.
| When found Pye had on his drawers,
part of a shirt, and the remnant Of one
stocking. His legs, arms, face and ears
were badly frozen, but under the kind
| treatment given him at Murphy'S camp
| he revived rapidly, aud was soon able
to tell his story.
Murphy'S camp is fourteen miles from
Morrison d Hunting'S camp, from which
| Pye started, and it is likely that in his
wanderingS he travelled over twenty
miles through one of the toughest por,
tiOns Of Maine. But for his strong con-
stitutIon Pye would doubtless have paid
for his spree with his life. AS it is, he
| is likely to recover sufficiently to get in
part of a seasons work at the camp
which received him so Hospitality while
| he was in the shadow of death.