Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1892-12-27
UNITED AT THE LAST.
PlTIFUL TALE OF AN EMlo8ANT
FAIRLY THAT persisted.

Some abf f,s Victims a whole Family
which Froze 20 Death IN Dead Mans
Covo-Heroio Enorts OF Mother.
"Thats Dead Mans cove right before
your eyes, said the old man as he point.
ed to a recess of half an acre in extent
in the southern face of the Little Rocky
mountains. "That's Dead Mans cove,
and you kin see tho iron work Of the
wagon lyin about when ye git closer,
When I first looked in here thar was
five human bodies lying dead in that
wagon. Mo an my pard we dug o big
grave and buried 'em all together back
agin that cliff, thar whar the rocks Is.
We piled the rocks that way so the
wolves couldn't git at tho dead"
"But thcre Is no hea1hoard -- no
names," protested as ] rode closer to
the spot pointed out.
Couldn't be no names, cause we
couldn't find any, he replied, "and them
rocks is n gravestun as will last forever,
Wen git off and sit down fur smoke,
and I'll gin ye the full particklors. I've
passed here n hundred times in the last
three years. and it allus gives me the
heartache. Poor husband-poor wife
poor childrenl
"It was this way" he continued after
his pipe was Glight. "AIe and nard had
our shanty down the valley about a
mile. Plenty of emigrants in Their xiv
cred wagons used to come by this trail
and turn south into Wyomin, or keep
west into Idaho. They'd come five or
six families mt time, and they'd come
singly. Some of 'em would take sich
chances of Injuns, sickness, laudslides,
starvashun and death as would make
your ha'r stand on end to think Of No
man kin begin toguess how many graves
thar be Of men, women and children be-
tween the Dakota line and the west
branch Of the Missouri river. I've
counted hundred in days ride.
"Waal, one December mornin mo and
pard woke up to feel that thar was a
blizzard maxim ready to bust on US. It
had been coolish but pleasant up to that
time. We could tell by the feel Of things
what was comm, and began to git ready
fur it. 1t was jest arter noon when n
woman walked into our shanty. She
was an emigrant. Right here in this
cove she had left her husband and four
children to try and find some help. He
had bin sick fur three weeks and was
little better than a dead man, and she
had bin drivin tho team an takin keer OF
things generly. She orter to hev turned
back long before, but some fool Of a
doctor had told the man he'd get well if
they kept on.
"rhoy had got separated from the
party they started with, and had made
the last hundred miles alone. They
war out o. grub, hadn't match left to
build n fire, and the woman knowcd a
change fur the wuss was BLOWN up
She was a frail, leetle woman, and she
had gone through with nuf to down n
man, but she hadn't lost all her pluck
yit. As soon as she told us tho story we
got ready to go back with her an bring
in the outfit. We made a start, but we
never got thar"
The blizzard prevented. eh"
"She did. She came swoopin down all
Of a sudden, like some great bird droppin
from the sky. a fine snow begun to
fall, the wind started right in to blow a
liyin gale, and | believe the thermom-
eter went from IS degs. above to 10 degs.
below inside of half an hour. We hadn't
any with us, but the change was sudden
an amazin. You couldn't face that gale
to save your life. 1t jest stopped us and
turned MS around before we had got fif-
teen rods from the house. AS to the
cold, it jest paralyzed you. We had to
go back, and arter takin big drink o
whisky all around and putin on moro
clothes we tried it agin.
"Me and Sam was as tough as bars
them days aud could hev laid down in a
pond of water and let il freeze up with
MS, but we couldn't buck asin that bliz-
zard. When we made the second start
we got about half way up here, the little
woman leadin the way all the time.
Then we had 10 stop. You couldn't see
three foot from your nose, and all Of us
was freezin TO death by inches"
"And yol went bacl,;"
I'VE did. Tho woman was deter
mined to push on, and we jest had to
pick her up and carry her back. 1t was
only by the Lords hand pintin the way
that we ever reached our cabin agin.
We had our ears, noses and fingers friz,
and an hour arter we got bacl, water
friz solid in our cabin within five foot
Of a roarin fire. The woman prayed 70
God and appealed TO us, but we lSnowed
it was no use. That was the blizzard 0i
1891. aud I've heard men say it was 42
degs. below zero in this valley tha,
night.
The woman got nipped wuss than we
did, but her mind was on the family
back here. She was bound to come hack
alone, but we stood her Off till about
dark. Then she made bolt fur it and
got away"
"And went to her deathf'
"Jest as eartin as IL she had jumped
of that cliff. The blizzard shet us in
fur three days. When we got out We
found her within twenty rods Of the
cabin. She had friz to death goin thai
fur. OF course we knowed how il would
be up here. The horses had been on
hitched and turned out. They lay ovei
by that tree. The folks in the wagor
had crowded together and kivered NJ
with all the blankets, but all war stur
dead and as hard as rocks. They neyel
saw that fust night come down.
"Me and pard overhauled the wagon
but we couldn't find anythln givin tn,
name Of tho family, and 70, like hun
dreds OF others out in this kentry O
mountain and valley, Injun and wole
we ldvered 'em IN to sleep till the Lor,
gifts ready TO call 'em fur Judgment
Seems awful that a hull family shoul,
Ee wiped out that way, bnt they al