The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1893-04-29
UNITED AT THE LAST.
PiTIFuL TALE or An EMloRAN1
FAMILY THAT PERSISTED.

In.
:" D@Aa MANS
'"'''' o' Mofhsr'
THAT'S Dead Mans cove right before
your eyes," said the old man as he point
ed to 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 the iron work OF the
wagon lyin about when We git closer.
When / first looked in here thar was
i've human bodies lying dead in that
wagon. Me an my pard we dug a big
grave and buried 'em all together back
sgin that cliff. thar whar the rocks Is.
We piled the rocks that way so the
wolves couldn't git at the dead"
But there Is no headboard 80 no
Names" protested as I rode closer to
the spot pointed out.
Couldn't be no names, cause we
couldn't lind any, he replied, "and them
rocks Is gravestun as viii last forever.
Well git OF and sit down fur smoke.
and III gin ye the full particklers. I've
passed here hundred times in the last
three years. and II allus gives me the
heartache. Poor husband-poor wife
poor children!
ut was this way" he continued after
his pipe was alight. Me and pard had
our shanty down thu valley about a
mile. Plenty Of emigranis in Their Xiv
cred wagons used to come by this trail
and turn sonth into Wyoinin, or keep
west into Idaho. They'd come Ave or
six families at time, and they'd come
singly. Some of 'em would take sch
chances Of injuns. sickness. lapdslides
starvashun and death as would make
your ha'r stand on end to think Of. No
man kin begin 10 guess how many graves
thar lie Of men. women and children ha.
tween the Dakota line and the west
branch Of the Missouri river. I'VE
counted a hundred in a DAYS ride.
WAL. one December mornin me and
pard woke up 10 feel that thar WAS !.
blizzard maxim ready 10 bus, on us. II
had been coolish but pleasant nm 10 tina,
time. We could tell by the feel of things
what was comm, and began to git ready
fur il. /, WAS jest arter noon when a
woman walked into our ehan,y. She
was an emigrant. Right her. in this
cove che had lief, her husband and fonr
children 20 try aud find some helm. He
had bin sick fur three weeks and WAS
little better than IA dead man, and she
had bin driyin the team an takin keer Of
things generly. She or,er to hey turned
back long before. but some fool Of .
doctor had told the man he'd re, we'll IL
they KEEP. on.
They had got separated from the
party they started with, aud had made
the last hundred miles alone. They
war out o grub. hadn', match lief, 10
build Ere. and the woman knowed "A
change fur the wuss was BLOWN uu.
She WAS frsii. lteile woman. and she
had gone through with nuff T. down a
man. but she hadn't lost all her pinck
yit As soon as she told us the story we
60; ready TO go hack with her an bring
In tho outfit We made start. but we
never got thar"
The blizzard prevented. .hy-
'She did She came swoopin down all
Of Sudden. like some great bird droppin
from the sky. A tine snow begun to
fail. the wind started right in to blow
Twin gale, and ] believe the ,herinom.
eier went from ~ dcgs above 20 10 dogs.
below inside Of half All hour. We hadn';
an. with us. bat the change was sudden
an atnazin. You couldn't face that gale
10 save your life. /, Jest stopped us aud
turned us around before we had 60, If
teen rods from the house As 10 the
cold. i, ies; paralyzed YOU. We Ind 10
go back. and arier takin big drink o.
whisky all around and putin on more
clothes ". tried i, agin.
Me and sam was as tough as bars
them days and could hey laid down in a
pond Of water and le, i, freeze up with
ns. bu, we couldn't buck ayin tina, bl,z.
sar,i. When We made tho second star,
We got abont half way up here. the little
woman lcaa,n the way all the tim.
Then we had to stop. You couldn't see
three foo, from your nose. and all Of us
was frcczin TO death by inches
And YOU went back
We did. The woman WAS deter.
mined 10 push on. and we lest had 10
pick her up aud carry her back. 1, WAS
only by the Lords hand pintin the way
,ha, we ever reached our cabin agin.
We bad our cars. noses and fingers friz.
and an hour, aricr we GO, back water
friz solid in our cabin within five foot
If roarin fire. The woman prayed to
God and appealed 10 us, bu, we knowed
Il was no use. Tha, WAS the blizzard o:
1881. and I've heard men say i, was a.
legs. below zero in this valley that
night.
The woman got nippcd wass than we