The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1900-05-08

fulnesS OF the SltuaIlOns-SlFeS o4e au
idea Of the courage required in pros
pecting for gold in Colorado, and the
danger encountered by the hunter in
the lonely mountain places OF the
Southwest. 1t was sent to friends IN
st. Louis by Mr.. Clyde Hitchcock
from the mining camp in Colorado,
where he is wintering with friends.
The story is told in his own language:
"While at Del Norte We procured
enough hickory timber for one pair of
snow shoes and red spruce enough to
make another. The hickory cost
thirty cents per foot. Just think of
it! We wanted one good pair of such
shoes at least, so that we may have no
more accidents such as 1 had on my
way home from our last hunt. But l
haven't told you about that. l re,
mained down at the Halfway House q
day longer than the rest of the party,
as 1 hated to give up without getting
deer. Next morning left the Half
way House at about $50, walked
twelve miles uphill to SummitVille,
arriving there at 2.1O p. M.
'T took two hours rest onl then
started for the camp on my snow
shoes, made OF pine. As it gets lark
here now a little after 5 p. m. [ hadn't
covered more than half the distance
before 1t was pitch dark. After cross
ing South Fork here is steep hill
to climb up through the timber.
While going up that hill one of my
snow shoes broke squarely in two. l
realized right away that I was in bad
shape, as was tired ont when 1
started and had gun to carry to boot.
I didn't regret having 1.-The gun, how
ever, for the mountain lions have
been seen in that vicinity recently. [
first tried getting along on one shoe,
but that wouldn't work, for every
time I took o step with the foot minus
a shoe I would plunge into the snow
up to my hips.
II then cut the other shoe off,
sAuGg my gun o.1 5acsE, T05kc Ecy
snow-shoe pole to rest my hands on,
and started for camp on my hands and
knees. In that way I wouldn't sink
so deep into the snow. With two
miles ahead of NE l felt this OF least
to be a discourcging method of loco
motion, but in it lay the only hope of
saving myself. was SO nearly tagged
out when I started that I was COM
PEELED to rest every rod or so. If you
haven't an idea what fearful task I
had or my hands and knees crawling
laboriously through the deep snow in
the dark, try passing over half mile
OF bare ground on your hands and
knees.
"After leaving the timber I began
firing off the rife. About every 200
yards I would fire two shots to see
whether I could wake any one up in
the camp, but not sound could I
hear except the echo of my own rife
shot. Then I would grit my teeth
and start on again. Nor did get an
answer until 1 was within 100 va rds of
our cabin. Then I turned the old gun
loose, just to see if any one was still
alive within. When almost home Mr..
Fetterman came down and helped me
up the hill, aud the Lord knows I
needed his help. I learned then that
Andrew was visiting at the Chambers
cabin, and that Nh. Fetterman was
the only person at home, and as he
did not know what to make Of the
shooting, he became somewhat timid
about investigating the cause. /
didn't suffer much with the cold, as
the exercise of crawling through the
snow kept me warm, with the excep-
ton of my feet and hands. Ny Ger
man socks and overshoes were frozen
into solid pieces, but l wore thin
pair oil socks inside of them, and they
saved my feet. Ny hands [ could
manage better. We depend now on
snowshoes made of hickory, and spruce
and pine no more. .