The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-20

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| miles, but that fifteen miles seemed to
/ stretch out to eternity. In that distance
weatb eroh h al the agonies OF nell The
Ter from snow blindness. Only those who
| nave been similarly afflicted can appreciate
what agony that means. There was no tim
| Der or wood of any description TO make a
! fire. At night we would pack down the
| snow and melt a hole. In this would
| With our feet together. we would draw the
remaining parts of the blanket over our
beadS TO shelter us from the piercing wind
Every day our blankets grew smaller
Those around our feet would out,
and we were obliged to tear off new strips
10 protect them. God only knows how We
suffered down in those holes in the snow.
sleep was out of the question except for
few minutes at a time.
Through the day we went staggering
on, limping and toilfng, and growing weak
there was ever word of regret for hav-
ing started on this mission to do or die.
We Began to chew the Isafer Of o,,r nif
scabbards as we staggered on. When these
We're ta,,, gone we began on our belts.
There was no game in sight. although
we stu carried our guns. During those ter
rible days, while crossing this fifteen miles
OF snow, our one thought was to get to the
river where we pictured game in plenty.
When we We're within about a quarter of a
mile of the water King STOPPED and said:
tired out, and will sit here until rested
When 1 am little rested 1 will follow
LEFT TO DIE ALONE.
we uiSeu the poor Fellow to make one
more effort, offering to assist him, and tell
ing him that when we reached the river the
worst part of the journey would be over
and we should find plenty of game. Know
ing that he was starving. we tried to slim
ulate him with the hope of a good meal 1t
was of no use. He was even then too far
gone 10 hope. Poor King! He was about
to cross that other river, from whose
bourne no traveller returns. Sadly we left
MIN lying in the trail to rest as he said,
put put at, at rest would more properly convey
the IDEA OF our feeling.
IL required two hours to traverse that
quarter of a mile. We suffered the greatest
rived at the river about o'clock in the
AFTERNOON, and, setting fire to a large heap
" We uf con rT0od, Rugged it close for warmth
kreutzfeldt volunteered to go back and
help hlm into camp. Williams declared the
exertion would be useless. He knew King !
was dead even before we had reached the
river. | asked him why, and learned that
while we were toiling through the snow he
had looked back and had seen "a raven i
ciiS over. the place where we. had left
Smaller and smaer untf ie the h hrd g IF 1
the snow where King lay This was a sign
or death, which Williams declared he had
was determined to go.
=, When he returned. after some hours.
the position of the body evidently had not
moved after we left him. kreutzfeIdt now
became very respondent. His mind seemed
When he had approached King he thought
the latter was asleep. and much
startled at finding his old companion dead
| could see that the shock was affecting
his mind. He could talk of nothing else
In the morning we broke camp and
started down the river, not caring if we
We're not alive by night AS at this time
b was a the b 5tr9ngest of the party went
kreutzfeldt played out entirely. and, lying |
down, refused to go further Before we
in, e H.
mad been agreed that if any Of our party
gave out no time should be wasted on him
fate.
WILLIAMS and I concluded that Kreutz-
we could do him no good by staying 1t
was very trying time: Williams being |
the older man, | was willing to do he
down the river. and in the course of time
f AZ would nd ZIP quietly away from Kreuta
Il started Oh sorrowfuly. SO weak that
| could walk but few steps at a time !
my hands and knees until it was a relief
10 70 w, walk again; After going shcrt dis |
look over the mesa, in the hope that / /
might see some kind of game Putting |
some snow to my eyes to cool them so
tiously above the bank and saw distinctly |
five deer but a few yards away, stand
Il have been in many trying situations
IN my life, and in many places where |
uedtn stared me IN the race, but there was |
more excitement. crowded into that mo-
ment than in all the other years of my |
Il life put put together There they stood What
that t shot. Usually I had plenty Of nerve:
nearly blinded, l had scarcely strength to
lift my rife. When 1 did so I could not
realized that # missed that fne ehot Bill
Williams and, Tom Breckenridge would
never We r,d leaY re-, the Rio Grande valley:
there came to the thought of poor
kreutzfeldt in the snow. dying; If I
would be saved. My nerves were steady
on the instant. would shoot, and shoot
and pushing the rifle up over the bank,
pointed it in the direction of the deer and
thg could Ia nof So w wgak
crawled out on the bank. To my mex
de fa one degr was down
in my teeth. / was afraid he would get
up and elude my grasp in some way. 1t
momentarily insane with joy. / cut the
deer open, and, tearing out its liver, de-
voured it as ravenously as have seen
hungry wolves devour the flesh of a buff
falo 1t was the sweetest morsel 1 ever
ate.
with my knife I cut off a piece and
started back stronger, a hundred times
stronger than when / crawled up the
lost hope. but now it was supreme within
me- | was new man I could have
poor, mutilated feet.
RELIEF AT LAST
IT fastened up the river where I had
left Kreutzfedt by the fire. carrying the
venison with me. Williams was the hap
pest man l ever saw when his eyes fell
upon my bun den. He came and took the
meat in his long, bonys hands, and began
tearing off great mouthfuls of the raw
flesh, like a savage animal. I hurried on
to Kreutzfeldt Poor fellow, There was
but little life left. After awhile he reused
up to ask if he had not heard the report
of a gun. I held the meat to his mouth.
The change Instantaneous. 1t put
All at once it seemed to occur to him that
we were saved He sprang to his feet and
Rugged and kissed me, calling me his sa-
vior and preserver, and exhibiting more
strength than one would expect in man
who had laid down to die. Moving our
camp nearer the spot where the deer was
killed, we built another fire. Kreutzfeldt
was eated after his meal of raw meat
cass of the deer, a piece at time-en-
trails and ALL We felt that we might have
use for everything.
THAT night we were three of the happi-
est men on earth We sat up and cooked
and ate veniSon until midnight, then
turned into our remnants of blankets. We
cooked and ate deer meat all the next day.