The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-10-05
OFF THE TRAIL.
Ghast1y Work of a Blizzard in the Noun
tains of Nevada.

by ana by we came out on b uff
from which we could look down into
the long and narrow valley Two miles
/ to the north and on the far side of the
j valley we caught sight of three or four
white-topped wagons, while nunlbe
, of horses were grazing on the rich
| pasturage.
| Dayton's wagon train had got off the
overland trail and been lost among the
mountains of Nevada-eight wagons
and thirty-seven men, women and
| children. 1t was September when they
We're last seen on the trail; it was now
June of the following year. Every
valley and pass in the eastern portion
of the wild territory was being inspect
ed by men sent Quito solve the mystery.
| One day they had turned off the trail
to ind shorter and better route. No
word had come from them since. 1t had
been terribly hard winter, but there
was hope of finding at least part OF
them alive.
We made our way along the bluffs
until spot was found where we could
descend into the valley We were
hardly down before the horses came
running up, and their every action
showed that they were overjoyed at
sight of human beings They were hol-
low eyed and poor in flesh, as the grass
had only just begun to furnish pastur-
age. We fired off our guns as signal
to the people in camp that help was at
hand, but no one appeared in sight.
We had looked for the smoke of camp
fires from the bluff, but not the faint.
est trace could be seen. As we adj
vanced upon the wagons the horses
kept us company, following at olSr heels
like dogs, and their action prepared us
in measure for what was to come.
When within half mile of the camp
we could count the wagons-eight.
The covers still remained, but faded
and mildewed. Each was backed up
against the steep hillside and the
| fronts of all were closed. In front of
the wagons were four blackened spots
on which the grass would not grow.
These had been the campfres of the
emigrants. At distance of two hun
dred feet we halted and raised cheer
and two of the men discharged their
! rifles, but not sound came from the
| grim-looking wagons. We stood there
for three or four minutes, hoping that
some one would appear, and yet feeling
| that we had come too late, when the
| old hunter who had acted as our guide
| solemnly observed:
eff thar's anythin' livin' in this camp
| it's too sick and feeble to move!
Some of you had better take a look
into the wagons
For time everyone hung back
| There were the horses and wagons,
but where were the thirty-seven men,
women and children? Between the
wagons, which were about ten feet
apart, the grass was thickest and
greenest, but the horses had not fed
there. AS we started forward after
our last halt they did not follow us,
but stood with heads up and ears
pointed forward and seemed inclined
to run away.
cts got to be DONE" said the lieu
tenant, but hope they all got away.
Now, then, each man to a wagon. You
needn't stop at the covers, but take
| your knives and cut the fronts away
and let the sunlight and daylight in"
! sprang up on the front of wagon
and cut and tore the cover away, but
| did not look in. A cry from the man on
my left warned me of the sight | should
| behold. The guide beckoned to me,
and together we went up the valley
| about twelve rods to the spot where
they had obtained most of their fire.
wood. Lying on his face on the ground,
with arms still clasped about a bundle
of limbs was a dead man. Sitting
! down, with his back to a small tree
and hands over his face, was another,
while an AK lay beside him. There was
no odor, no ghastliness. As you looked
at them they seemed to be sleeping.
"Thar's another-and another said
the guide as he pointed up the valley.
"lt's easy to see how it came about"
In the wagons they found twenty
eight dead. The four we found made
thirty-two. Five of the men had left
the camp, perhaps in midwinter, and
had started up or down the valley in
hopes to find a way out or bring relief.
When they persisted no man has ever
found out 1t may have been on the
very day they started that the blizzard
came. The horses must have found a
sheltered nook somewhere and huddled
together A gale had screamed up and
down that valley two or three days, it's
breath as cruel as the edge of knife.
and bringing with it such fall of
snow that it still lay solid as ice in the
shady spots. The men had made a
brave effort to keep the fires going.
but human flesh and blood could not
stand against an enemy which drove
its frosty breath deep into fiinty rocks
and split them in twain. Some Law
under their blankets-some sat with
bowed heads and arms folded across
their breasts. The cold had not tor
tured them. Death had come as sleep
comes to us at night-quietly and
gratefully. Side by side in one long
trench we laid them and covered them
in, and there they rest to-day, forgot
ten to the world as if they had never
eXisted.-M. Quad, in Chicago Times.
The Facetious Young Man Turned Down.
He was very facetious young man,
and he was showing bright young
woman, upon whom his affections were