Rosebud County news. [volume] (Forsyth, Mont.) 1901-1906, 1901-05-30

LUZ my ucdlI grew llSuC0r as l saw,
some three hundred yards away in the
blurred landscape, the great rock
called the Giants Foot-stool," the
huge boulder, which by some strange
caprice of Nature, has been left for
ages to hang over the wall of the
canon. 1t appears to be almost cubical
IN shape but wind and rain and frost
nave been at work there and on the
side next to the canon have followed
out a small semi-circular cavern, ex-
tending to the very heart of the
boulder. The upper part of the rock
mas def1ed this undermining process
which has been going on at it's base,
ana great ledge hangs above the lit
Tie cavern, as if it would protect the
space which it once held. So insidious
mas been the work of wind and rain
and frost, that ON one side there is
no entrance to the cavern, but on the
other a small round hole has been
worn in the rock shell about three feet
ABOVE the ground, SO that a man may
easily climb through. On one side was
the awful canon, everywhere else save
where the round peep-hole looked out
on the sloping mountain-side, was the
uny1elding, solid rock, but l climbed
into the nest-like cavern and laid
myself down with an at-home kind
OF feeling. l did not mean to fall
asleep, but was worn with my seven
hours struggle in the storm and before
knew it. was drifting into dreams.
The wind came from the northeast
the exposure from the canon side was
from the south, the exposure from the
large peep-hole was from the west
therefore I was we'll protected. NV
berth was more than ten feet wide
and sloped inward, away from the
canon, so that there was comparatively
little danger of rolling off in the night
l slept as soundly in that queer rock
bunk as had ever slept in all nv life
before.
When at last woke it was morning
and the world had changed and I had
changed with it. All the universe was
made of snow-my head was heavy
with snow, my limbs, my clothes. the
rocks on which lay, were all changed
to snow-there was nothing left hut
wilderness and stiffness and coldness-
snow! snow! snow!
My soul came back to me with =.
throb of terror, for suddenly realized
that the peep-hole, my egress into tho
world, was filled up by this maddeninp
snow.
My first feeling was one of perplexitv
ON that side of the rock last night
there had been but twelve inches of
snow; now there must be over six feet
of it. On the northeast sides of the
rock the wind had banked up great
drifts but here-it was preposterous,
Six feet in one night in so sheltered a
place
Like flash it came to me that the
wind had changed in the night-it had
swept around from northeast to north
west, sending vagrant flakes to cover i
me in my stone bed and shutting nv
little door with an immense drift.
My next feeling came quickly-de-
spair! | had no pick, no shovel, only
half-frozen hands. / took my pistol
and fired but the ball made not the
slightest impression on the round
white target-it was merely lost in its |
soft depths. l emptied my pockets in |
a kind of senseless hope that might |
find something there which might helm
matchsafe with four matches. |
three cigars. some quinine capsules |
and, most useless and exasperating of
all. l thought-a number of small
sticks OF dynamite. Dynamite! Why.
held in my hand the power to blow