The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1892-08-19
TALE OF LONELY GULCII.
TRUE STORY OF TWO GRAVES IN THE
ROCKY MOUNTAINS.


Separation between Man and wife.
"Over The Range from Miners Cabin
In North Park.
al noticed few weeks ago in your
paper a description of lonely graves in
the mountains Of Colorado" remarked
gentleman to the writer Monday. "At
the time | read it l was travelling in the
southern portion of the state, and it re-
called to mind two lonely graves that
know of which lie hidden in the recesses
of the mountains in Routt county. OF
course, there is n 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 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 have
no idea of the many difficulties that one
has to contend with in q new country
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 ali 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 n 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.
THE TWO VISITORS.
zone day when | returnd from work
| found two strangers, man and wife,
had taken possession of my house, and
was a little astonishcd at first TO zee q
woman in that part of the country.
They asked permission to remain there a
few days. and it was readily granted.
| was indeed glad to see strange faces,
and welcomed them 10 my humble
abode. From the very first | noticed
that the woman was not strong, and
this aroused my curiosity, as | could not
! figure out why q woman in delicate
health should be in such wild part of
the country. She had been very pretty
] at.of111t1 p9ano bt,f nopgt,,,,v,4;O,, ,,,nI
] ady from which she was suffering. had
robbed her of most of her beauty. She
had a sweet temper, that won for her
! friends wherever she went. She was
also perfectly resigned to the inevitable,
and knew that her pilgrimage on earth
was short. But she bore up with the
greatest fortitude.
They had been at tho cabin about @
week, and everything about it had been
! changed. Alice-that was the wOmau's
name-had remodeled the place, and all
things showed the touch of 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. lie
stated that after Icing married in the
east for two years. his wife had shown
unnistakable signs of consumption, and
the doctors had advised him to take her
TO California, and, if possible to go across
the plains by wagon, Us he would find
that journeyiny that way she would gain
strength. They found party of emil
grants at n small town in Nebraska, who
were going TO the coast and engaged
their passage. For the first week out
Alice gained strength. but one evening
she caught cold and this malady in
! creased with awful rapidity. When
/ Laramie City was reached she could 20
no farther and the trip led to he Gban-
| dOned. At that town they were adj
vised to go into the mountains, as the
fresh air ladened with the perfume Of
4 pine was beneficial TO consunptives. "A
wagon was procured that took them TO
North Park, and by easy stages on horse
llack they had reached my cabin. IL
was by the merest chance that they
found it, and was glad they cid.
TIE LAST FAREWELL.
IA month passed. the happicst in my
life. but saw that gradually Alice was
sinking, and that she would never leave
the gulch. Her husband noticed the
change and was unconsolable. lie adj
ministered tohere every want, which were
not many, and realized what an awful
change it would be when she was taken
from him. One night the end came. Sho
called me into the little room that had