Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-16
A stupendous chaos of whites and browns

A stupendous chaos of whites and browns
canopied by boundless armament of lead
A rocky mountain solitude, majestic in
its awesome desolation, with the lev wind.
bowling, whistling, roaring through the
gorges and the canons, and dashing itself
with frenzied fury against the mighty
rocks that rose on all sides, sheer, and
steep, and black, save where the flying
snow had found a ledge or a tree stem on
which to fasten its ghostly pail A noun.
tain torrent, finging itself headlong into
space from dizzy height of hundreds OF
yards, had become a monstrous fantastic
sheet of grayish ice, against which the
patches of snow which it bore stood out g
dazzling white. The forest giants bent and
cracked beneath the force of the tempest
and their bare branches, reft from the
mother stems, whirled through the snow.
sodden air, like huge uncanny ravens.
No sound or sign of man, OF beast, or bird
OF the air in the midst of this CHASTITY, vail
ing, raving, storm-monotony, save one
figure that moved slowly and painfully
through the binding hurricane
Where the rough, snow-coyered plateau
inclined prairie-wards, and the mountain
wilderness seemed to stretch gigantic arms
toward the vast plains that lay like white
sea at its feet, barely perceptible through
the thick snowy haze, tall man climbed
across the dangerous broken ground. The
snow lay yard deep everywhere, and every
now and then a treacherous chasm between
the uneven boulders threatened a terrible
death. The hidden tangle OF unseen creep
ers, stripped of all foliage, and the naked
briary network of the underbrush mingled
in snaring pitfalls beneath the covering
snow, like vast web of prick-covered whip
cord, ready to punish each unwarv step.
The man appeared to be accustomed to
the dangers which would nave affrighted
many stanch and stout heart. He seemed
to be fashioned Of iron, with face of glass,
against which the whirling snowf1akes
dashed harmlessly. His long hair clung to
his neck and shoulder like wave of snow,
with here and there a patch of black in the
midst of the white powdering foam. His
beard resembled the frozen waterfall for its
grotesque covering of icicles, and his brown
buckskin clothing was covered with brittle
patches of CLASSY gray. There was naught
visible OF his face save his shining black
eyes, for he had tied red cotton handker-
chief acrose his nose and mouth, and it had
become a frozen sheet, like the rest of his
clothing.
The man climbed on downhill undaunted
Many time he slipped, and staggered, and
fell, but rose again. painting; and now and
then suppresSing low moan that surged to
his throat in spite of him. The rags which
he had tied over his hands showed broad
red stains through their dingy frozen folds
and he limped more and more painfully as
be proceeded on his awful journey. But
not sound escaped him. He might have
been a suffering dumb creature struggling
ior life against the murderous fury of the
elements
AT last the ground sloped more evenly;
the fendish webwork of naked briar and
creeper ceased to impede the foot, and save
tOr the sheet of snow, a yarL, deep, through
which the man had to wade, progress was
easy and unobstructed.
AT sudden turn of the mountain, nestled
- 1li115s a towering spu1~5. the foothiH which
sheltered it from the fury of the wind. and
surrounded by some threescore of leafiess
cotton-woods the traveller espied the low.
suow-coyered root of a human habitation
The smoke curled away Justify from its clay
chimneys, and the warmth of the fire be-
Meath had melted the white shroud which
covered the rest of its slopes. and thus re-
vealed the brownsh- yellow layer of clay
and prairie grass which had served for tiles
in its construction.
1De ual SlTOue Oh, as WIFI new uedTl, as
the near proximity of life and warmth
strengthened his stiffening nerves. His
failing sight grew keener, and he even
thought that sensation of existing pres
ence, painful, yet reassuring, returned to
his nearly frozen hands and arms. The
huge. projecting hillside deadened: to him
the blast of the tempest, which still ragged
and rioted overhead, to waste its now vic
timless fury until, in its widening sweep, it
touched the barren, rolling plain far inland
The desperate journeyer had reached
level ground, and soon 800 or 400 strides
brought him to the log hut that lay so
snugly esconced in the protecting
shadow of the mountain. The wind had
piled small hillock of snow against its
side and no window or opening of any
kind was visible. The man plodded his
weary way around the back of the house
where the warmth of the chimney had
transformed the snowy covering of the
plain into swamp of freezing slush, and
again turning the corner, reached the side /
where the thIcklv clustered cotton woods
had afforded a stanch screen against the
drifting flakes. Here the rough bark
covered logs, and the clay-6lled crevices
were still in pristine greenish brown, save
for few white ridges and lines. The wall
ing wind was denied its playground here.
The daring pioneer had SO cunningly
planned and constructed his house that he
defied the elements to bar ingress or
egress to or from his wild home.
The rough plank door was open when the
shiyering traveller at least reached it, On
threshold stood tall and lean old man,
S grayish pale face surrounded by long
tav beard, and with a veil of sparse silvery
air struggling behind him. On the wrin-
led brow and cheeks the skin lay in fabby
streaks, and the eyes shone with hungry
luster.
When tie old man saw the wanderer, he
stared at him for few heart beats space
with feverish, flashing ewes, and then a
strange little peal of sickly laughter rang
faintly between his barred teeth. He
stretched out a white and bony hand of
welcome, but the newcomer held up his
blood-stained rags and swiftly entered the
house, fiinging his frozen coverings from
him as he walked. Broad red streaks re-
vealed themselves upon his hands and face
as he unwrapped them, like ugly, deep,
newlv-cut gashes. The skin, where 1t was
visible, was of deep purple blue, like dull
tempered steel The old pioneer having
rapidly closed the door, beckoned him to
take a seat by the fire which cracked
cLeeriIy in the clay chimney at the further
end of the room, but the young man shook
his head.
ssIiiye me minnit," he said. 'T guess
I've rot to thaw bit afore / can say an
other word
The old man placed a three-legged stool
by the fireside and sat there tor few
moments in a trembling silence. Then he
rose. writhing his arms in the air, as if un-
able longer to bear the nervous strain.
"Whar are the others?'' he cried.
tsDead." was the hard reply.