The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-11-08
WINTER ON PIXIES PEAK.
a United States Signal Service
Mans Thrilling Tale.

A United States Signal Service
Mans Thrilling Tale.
had been in the signal service but
little over year, says a writer in the
New York Sun, when 1 was sent to
Pixies Peak, which is considered by the
men in the service as the most disa-
greeable station in the whole country.
In summer it is not so bad, when there
Rre numerous visitors up every day
Sarom Colorado Springs and the weather
is comparatively pleasant. But from
the middle of October until about the
middle of April it is very different
Then it is almost impossible to get
Aither up or down the mountains, and
che only communication with the out
eide world is by wire. One man takes
charge of the station in summer and two
in winter. My duties were to begin
with the winter season. reached the
station the first day of October, where
found my companion for the winter
awaiting me. His name was Harry
Sands. He was good-looking, bright,
3ovial fellow from somewhere down in
Maine. He was fully six feet tall, with
physique that seemed to bid defiance
to fatigue and exposure. If any one
had told me then that he would be the
frst to succumb to the rigors of that
terrible winter should have laughed
at the idea, for was at that time by no
means robust and unaccustomed to hard
ships of any kind.
The station is locat ed just little be-
low the extreme top of the peak. 1t is
O low, one-story log building about
twenty feet square. Around it on three
sides is stacked at that season, almost
as high as the cabin itself, the supply
of wood for the winter. To keep the
roof from being blown off rocks are laid
upon it in different places, and two i'm
mense chains are strung across and fast
ened to the ground at either side. The
interior is divided into two rooms by n
tough board partition. In the larger
one the men eat, sleep and do their
work. The other is used as store
room.
x The weather did not begin to get very
cold that year until about December l.
1t kept getting colder and colder until
one morning between Christmas and
New Years the thermometer registered
sixty degrees below zero-a spirit tber-
mometer, of course. 1t was so cold that
In spite of all we could do the water
would freeze an inch or more in the
cabin every night. So high was the
wind and binding the snow-storms that
often for week at a time we were un-
able to go outside to take observations.
One morning the latter part of Janu-
ary Harry got up looking very pale. He
would not eat any breakfast, and before
dinner-time he was back in bed again,
complaining of terrible headache. By
evening he was in raging fever. So
delirious did he become that at times
it was as much as / could do to hold
him in bed gave him such medicine
as / thought he needed; and many an
hour spent poring over the book OF in
structions accompanying the chest IN
search of proper remedy. But nothing
/ gave him seemed to do him any good
One day early in February / went out
side to remove some sticks of wood the
wind had blown against the door. left
Harry sleeping soundly, and, thought,
more naturally than at any time during
his sickness. Returning few minutes
later, found him sitting in front of
the.telegraph instrument with his hand
upon the key. But the effort had evil
IDENTIFY been too much for him; his head
Law upon his chest, and he was trembling
all over with weakness. / had hardly
got him back to bed when he began to
sink rapidly, and in less than half an
= hour he was dead. AS soon as had re-
covered little from the shock / started
to telegraph the news to Colorado
Springs. gave the customary signal
upon the key, but received no answer;
repeated it, still no answer.
thought it very strange. / knew the
operator at Colorado Springs was al
ways in his Office at that hour Again
and again / tried, but with no better
success. / made careful examination
of the instrument, the batteries and all
connected with it, but could find moth
ing wrong. Then came the awful
thought: "The wire was down or broken
somewhere in the mountains" 1t was
not long before l was compelled to ad'
NIT that such must be the case. Bury
ing my face in my hands, wept like q
child. The prospect certainly was O
terrible one. The probability was
should be cut off from all communities
ton with the world for two full months
or more
The next morning i wrapped uI
Harry's body in a couple of blankets
and buried it few yards from the
cabin, among the rocks in n protected
part of the peak. My loneliness then
began in earnest Such days and nigh t.
as / put in My only diversion was
reading and taking observations. Every
day at the customary hour would try
thb telegraph instrument, hoping tha
communication might possibly have
been re-established. Every day thu
same disappointment My great feal
was that should lose my reason.
One night about three weeks aftel
Harry's death was wakened UP by wha
A6unded like the distant bowling o
some Wild animals. For moment o.
two the sound was lost. Then 1t re
turned louder than ever The next min
utp remembered one OF the men In th'
eervice telling me when he heard wa
<.ntnr, 10, Dtla,o DaoE IN loolf nut for thu