The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-04

Experience of "a Pacific Coast Fish
erman.

Experience of a Pacific Coast Fish
erman.
Portland (Or) Correspondence Baltimore
American.
H. E. Stillwell and James Ingram,
members OF party of four who left
Des MOines, To-, something over
month ago for a hunting ard fishing
trip in the Northwest, arrived here the
other morning and left at night to
visit friends near Harrisburg. from
which point they Will proceed to CAL
tfoTnia. The other two members of the
party met with peculiar misadventures
and are now on their way horne in care
of relatives. One of them is T. A.
Roberts, who is perfectly helpless and
paralyZed from stingS of hornets, and
the other is William Davidson, with a
pistol bullet buried somewhere under
his left shoulder blade, where the doc
tor has not yet been able to find it.
The party, soon after crossing the
Oregon line, fell in with an old trap
per and hunter named Jake Boyd
whom they engaged to take them into
the inaccessible part of the Blue noun
tains to hunt elk and mule deer They
camped on small streams emptying
into DesOlatiOn lake, and for {; week
enjoyed the finest hunting imaginable
and splendid fishing in the lake and
its tributaries.
On the I'd inst. the party, with their
guide, started out to have final hunt
at the head of the lake, as the elk and
deer were beginning to move off down
to the plains and the weather was
getting uncOmfOrtably cool at night
Roberts took along his fishing tackle,
and on the way up the lake decided
to be put out on a small jam of
driftwOod which had collected around
a huge old snag, the bleached roots
OF Which rose above the water about
l. oil IT,
the lake, and around which he had
noticed a great many trout rising as
he had passed up and down the lake.
1t was just sunrise when he was
landed on the Snag, where he proposed
to stay till the return of the hunters
The balance Of tie party proceeded
to the head of the lake, where they
got on the trail of an elk, which, after
stalking for three hours. they killed
near the point they started from. While
they were eating their lunch a flock
of wood ducks came around bend of
the shore, and each of the party seized
his revolver to take shot at them.
Davidson and Boyd, the guide, ran
toward shore to get=a better shot at
the ducks, enE as Boyd took aim Da-
wilson stumbled in front OF him and
the bullet entered Davidson's back
ranging across and remaining buried
in the muscles of the shoulder blade,
uOt1t- lI10 SHOuluSF joint. DdN1OSO1 was
placed in the boat, the flow Of blood
stoppeR as well as possible, and the
party returned to camp.
When they arrived at the Snag where
they left Roberts, theywere Estonished
to find him in the water up to his chin,
holding on to root, While thousands
of vicious big black hhornets were cir
cling about his head. When the boat
approached the snag the inmates were
attacked by the hornets and. quickly
forced to retire. despite the aGonizinss
means and cries of Roberts,, who
seemed almost unconscious.
After considering. what was best to
do; the party rowed to the nearest
shore and secured q long pole, on the
butt end of which a hook was made
by cutting off a limb. A lot of dry
brush and moss was gathered and fas-
tened to the end of another pole, and
the party returned to the snag, taking
the precautiOn to button up their coats,
tie handkerchief over their faces and
pull their hats we'll down over their
ears When they neared the snag the
brush and moss were set on fire and
pushed out ahead on the drift This
drew the attack of the hornets which
rushed into the smoke and flame in
scores, and while this was going on
StillWell managed to fasten the hook
into the clothing of Roberts, and the
1l1V41 az l11S OcIS SOOu Du1lSu ln6I11 all
away to a safe distance, when Roberts
was dragged on board, more dead than
alive, and the boat was headed for
camp.
Roberts was able to explain that he
began fishing soon after he was put
ashore and caught number of fine
trout, but as soon as the sun was up
about an hour and it began to get
warm, hornets by thousands began to
issue from a cavity among the roots
of the Snag and at once assailed him
with great fury. He slid into the water
but, Of course, he could not keep his
head under, and had been stung all
over his head and face until he was
nearly dead, and his head swelled to
nearly twice the natural size. The
stIngs on the back of the neck at the
base of the skull seemed to have af-
fected his spinal cord and the nerve
centerS and rendered him completely
helpless and paralyzed. AS soon as
the camp was reached the guide was
sent out with telegraph dispatches to
the relatives if the injured man and tC
procure a doctor On the way out he
found DR.. Brand, of Boise, in a mining
camp, where he had been called, and
sent him to the lake, where he did all
in his power for the two sufferers. Boyd
proceeded-tO the railroad, sent the dis
patches and received replies that a
brother OF Roberts and one of David
sons family would start West next
morning, and then fastened back tC
the lake, where filters were constructed
from poles and blankets, and Stillwell
Ingraham, the guide and Dr. Brand
started to pack the injured men out
It took them five days to make thirty
miles through country where there
were no trails, and then they were met
by the mems brothers, with q physi
nir Il III r7I,
reached the railroad on Tuesday even
ing, and after seeing their unfortunate
friends off for the East, Messrs. Still
well and Ingraham came on here. The
physician said that Davidson would
probably recover, but his arm would