Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-12-07
.CARLIN PARTY SAFE
IT'S MEMBERS FINALLY REACH
KENDRICK. IDAHO.
ING EXPERIENCES
Terrible Sufferings of the Lost Hunters
in Their Wanderings in the Bitter
Root Mountains-CookC Colgate Aban>
doned to His Fate.-Guide Spencer's
Story.

Story.
Missouri, Mont, Dec. 2-After days
Of indescribable hardShips, the Carlin
party, consisting Of W. Z. Carlin, W
l., II. Himmelwright and j. Harvey
Pierce, of New York; Martin Spencer
guide, and William Kelley, trapper
arrived at Kendrick, Idaho, yesterday
under the care and guidance Lieuten
ant Elhotts relief party, which more
than three weeks ago started into the
mountains to save them and but for
whose energy and bravery they would
now be lying dead in the snowdrifts
with the winds of the Bitter Root
Whisting / requiem over their re
mains.
The party was met few miles from
Kendrick by General Carlin, who had
been there for q week awaiting their
arrival. The meeting of father and
son cannot be described. Although
Worn and fatigued, the party were in
comparatively good condition, having
been carefully nursed by Lieutenant
Elliott.
AS anticipated, Cook Colgate was
abandoned, and is by this time dead,
every effort to save him proving un-
awaiting. He was unable to walk. and
it being impossible to carry him the
pitiful parting was necessitated that
the lives of the remainder might be
saved. A more pathetic story of part
ing has never been related and not
one of the little band can recount ii
without bursting into tears.
COlgate's home is at Post Falls Ida
no, Where he has a wife and for
children, Whose only hopes now arc
that his bleached bones may be found
in the spring and given decent inter
uncnt.
THE GUIDES STORY.
In talking of the hardships encount-
cred by the party from the time they
attempted to get out of what promised
to be at one time their snowy tomb,
Guide Spencer says:
I'VE arrived ut VAIN Springs,
which is on the North Fork of the Mid,
die Fork of the Clearwater sixty
miles from the mountains, on SeptCnt-
Der %. We had been here but four
days When | began to see snow at 4
distance on the mountains, and l at
once advised the party that we had
| better start back, but they declined,
having been there SO short true and
killed scarcely any game. 1t was their
desire to stay longer, so we stayed
until Oct 10. when we started ahead
to find the trail After going fifteen
miles we came to four feet of snow.
| Colgate then became unable to walk
and as we could not use our snow
shoes we went back and struck The
river. Our predicament now fully
daWned upon us, and while we did
, not yet lose courage we readily rcaliz
! ed the fact that only the greatest OF
luck could pull us out of tha noun
tains alive. We spent four days III
constructing two RATS and loading
everything possible on tfcm.
! I'VE started with Carlin, Hemmel
wright, Pierce and Colgate on the first
raft and Kelley and myself on the
second. Kelley is Il trapper whom We
engaged to accompany us down. W.
brought all the provisions he had, anC
but for those provisions we would
have all persisted, Kelley included, and
the self sacrifice that the noble ole
man made in giving us all of his sup
riies and risking his life for us we shal
remember with gratitude to our dying
day. We had gone cut about half {
mile when the first raft sWIInped
striking a rock, and throwing Pierce
and Colgate into The river. and it was
only by the most peri1ous efforts thai
either was saved. We finally straight
ened up the RATS and started again
! We worked without much food CT slecI
for five days and got twenty mile
! further, when we struck swift rapids
which we could not possibly get
| through. Here we landed our RATS
with great difficulty, but on the wrong
| side Of the river This forced rs ia
fell Il large tree, five feet through
across the river, and finally we fcrried
! ourselves across.
During all this time Colgate was
getting worse. His limbs were sc
badly swollen that he could not walk
and he had been deliriOus for some
time. After getting across the river
we knew we could do nothing more fOl
| him, and it meant death to stay with
him longer. Fixing him as comfort
ably as possible and dividing our pro
visions equally with him, which con.
sisted Of forty pounds of flour, ten
| pounds of beans and three pounds OF
| bacon, with plenty of tea, we kneIt
beside him and in fervent prayer we
! babe him good-by. The snow fell pitt.
lessly and the weather was becoming
extremely cold. We made fire
placed wood within his reach and came
away, Colgate moaning and, amid sobs
making us promise to tell his family
! that he died like a man. He begged
of us that we should go and save our.
selves. And SO we left. Ills was
on Nov. -. We resumed our journey
abandoning RATS and going overland
The trip was as perilous as one on
water, for we constantly came in con
tact with boulders and jagged rocks
and the embankments were so abrupt
often from two to three hundred feet
above the river-that to miss our foot
ing meant sure death. One of the
hardest days travel we had we accom-
| plished only one mile.
TllIIr Ill