The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1893-02-25
UNITED IN DEATH.



..Thsts Dead Mans Cove right before
your eyes," said the old man as he
pointed to recess Of half ap. acre in
extent in the southern face Of 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 five human bodies lying dead
in that wagon. Me and my pard we
dug big grave and buried 'em all to-
gether back agin that cliff, there whar'
the rocks is We piled the rocks that
way so that the wolves couldn't git at
the dead.
.sBut there is no headboard--no
Names" protested al rode closer to
the spot pointed out.
'sCouldn't be no names, cause we
couldn't find any," he replied, "and
them rocks is gravestun' as will last
forever. Well git of and sit down fur
smoke and I'll gin We the full par
ticklers I've passed here a hundred
times in the past few years, and it allus
gives me the heartache. Poor husband
poor wife-poor children!
'Tt was this way he continued after
his pipe was alight. ME and pard had
our shanty down the valley about
mile. Plenty of emigrants in Their
kivered wagons used to come by this
trail and turn south into Wyoming, or
keep west into Idaho. They'd come
five or six families at time, or they'd
come singly. Some of 'em would take
SIGH chances of Injuns, sickness, land
slides, starvashun and death as would
make your har' stand on end to think
OF. No man kin begin to guess how
many graves thar be of men, women
and children between the Dakota line
and the west branch of the Missouri
river. I've counted q hundred in days
ride.
"Wall, one December mornin' me and
pard woke up to feel that thar was a
blizzard maxim ready to bust on us. 1t
had been coolish but pleasant up to
that time. We could tell by the feel of
things what was comm. and began to
git ready fur it. 1t was jest arter noon
when woman walked into our shanty.
She was an emigrant. Right here in
this cove she had left her husband and
four children to try and find some help
He had bin sick for three weeks, and
was little better than dead man, and
she had bin drivin' the team an takin'
keer of things gener'ly. She orter to
hev turned back long before, but some
fool of doctor had told the man he'd
get we'll if they kept on. They had got
separated from the party they started
with and had made the last hundred
miles alone. They war out o grub,
hadn't match left to build fire, and
the woman knowed change for the
wuss was blown up. She was frail.
lcetle woman, and she had gone through
with huff to down a man, but she
hadn't lost all her pluck VT. As soon
as she told us the story we got ready to
go back with her an bring in the out
fit We made start, but we never got
thar"
1.-THE blizzard prevented, eh?"
| ssShe did. She came swoopin' down
all of sudden, like some great bird
droppin' from the sky. A fine snow be
gun to fall, the wind started right in to
blow a livin' gale and / believe the
thermometer went from forty-five de.
grees above to ten degrees below inside
of half an hour. We hadn't any with
us, but the change was sudden an
amazin'. You couldn't face that gale
to save your life. 1t jest stopped III
and turned us around before we had
a IL 1,o how Ac
| the cold, it jest paralyzed YOU We had
/ to go back, and arter takin' big drink
O. whisky all around and putin or
more clothes we tired it agin. Me and
Sam was tough as bars them DAYS anc
could hev laid down in pond of water
and let it freeze up with US, but W.
couldn't buck agin that blizzard
When we made the second start we go
about half way up here, the ittl'
woman leadin' the way all the time
Then we had to stop You couldn't Sc,
three foot from your nose. and all OF Vi
was freezin' to death by inches.
sAnd you went back?"
1--WE did. The woman was deter
mined to push on, and we jest had t
pick her up and carry her back. |
was only by the Lords hand pintin
the way that we ever reached our cabil
agin. We had our ears, noses and fin
gers friz, and an hour arter we go
back water froze solid in our cabi
within five feet of a roariu' fire. TIL
woman prayed to God and appealed t
us, but we knowed it was no use. Tha
was the blizzard of 'S1, and I've hear
men say it went down to forty-two d.
grees below zero in this valley tina
night. 1t fritz thirty-thousand head 9
cattle to death in the Gallatin valley
the west, and the ice in the Missoul
river was solid from top to bottom
See that rock split in half? Wall, tn
cold did that at that time. We had loi
of wood and big FIRE, but II was q clu
shave that we didn't friz to death. TIL
| woman got nipped wuss than we dit
but her mind was on the family bac
here. She was bound to come bac
alone, but we stood her of till abot
dark. Then she made bolt fur It an
e got away"
Eli 'And went to her death?"
''Jest as sartin as if she had jumpe
of that cliff. The blizzard shet us
fur three days. When we got out "
4 found her within twenty rods of Il
s cabin. She had friz to death goin' thi