The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-11-29
MRS. cox MAY
LOSE HER LIFE
Thrilling Experience of Woman
Lost in Blizzard.
BROUGHT HER TO HOSPITAL
HANDS AND FEET FRoZFN-HUs-
BAND ALSO SUFFERS.

I'D d. cox and wife. whose hor-
rifying experiences in the frozen
mountains of Sanpete were re-
lated in a recent dispatch to The Her
aid. are al the Holy Cross hospital.
The woman is fighting of death. and
both are awaiting The surgeons knife.
She has congestion of the lungs and
her limbs are so badly frozen that.
even should she live through the first
trouble, both feet and both hands. ex-
cepting only the right thumb. viii
have to be amputated. The husband
viii lose his toes and portions of both
hands.
The patients were brought to the
city yesterday by Horace K. Alfred Of
Mount Pleasant, who was the first to
reach the helpless. starving woman up
IN the mountains. and Mrs Hannah
Rowe DR.. 5. II. Allen has charge
OF the case and viii perform the neces-
sary operations. probably WITHIN the
next twenty-f0ur hours
The story OF unparalleled suffering
IS related by Nj Alfred about as al
ready given but with greater detail.
Mr.. and Mrs. Cox reside at Mona, and
early last week attended the funeral
Of sister at Orangeville, about eighty
miles from their home One week ago
last Wednesday they started over the
mountains for home by team. The
weather was promising and they had
but little idea of being on the road
more than two days.
Snowstorm Came On.
But on Wednesday evening a heavy
snOWstOrm came on and they got no
further than a place called Joel's val
ley, where they camped for the night
Thursday night. after a drive through
the bitter cold, they reached the Hunt
ington reservoir, and the next even
ing, continuing their journey with
scarcely a stop, they came to John
Seely's dipping corral, in the heart
OF the. Sanpete mountains.
The blizzard ragged all this time with
unabated fury and Cox was somewhat
worried over the prospect for the re-
mainder of the trip. He mounted one
of the horses, finally, and rode on
ahead TO see if he could find the road.
While moving along a dugway about
mile from their camp he suddenly
observed that the snOWdrift Just above
him was cracking.
Knowing the ominous warning. ne
had barely time to leap from his horse
and roll out Of the way when aD-
parentiy the whole mountain side came
tumbling down. The horse was caught
led. It's body will not be found until
next spring.
Cox made his way back to camp
with the knowledge that it would be
impossible to go any further with the
wagon Luckily. they had three horses
when they started on the journey and
the travellers believed it possible TO
complete the trip home on horses that
day.
Abandoned the Wagon.
Accordingly, they abandoned the
wagon and al the provisions they had,
and started out on horseback Sunday
morning. They got only a few miles,
but found shelter for the night in a
cabin at an old sawmTI. Monday
they resumed their trip, having had
no nOurishment except tea, a small
package Of which Mrs. Cox placed in
her pocket. They had proceeded only
a few miles when the horse the wife
was riding fell down, exhausted Leav-
ing the animal behind Cox placed
his wife on the other horse. and trudg-
ing alongside of her, kept up the jour
ney
While wandering around in the dense
storm they lost themselves and shortly
discovered themselves between two
solid entertainments of snow, out of
which it was impossible for the one
remaining horse to move in any di-
rectiOn. The man and wife scrambled
out Of their perilous situation, leaving
the horse, as it was afteTward dis
covered, checked up The suffering Of
the poor brute can never be recOunted-
Mr.. and Mrs. Cox had now traversed
only thirty-eight miles of their eighty
mile trip and had been on the road
six days and nights They struck out
afoOt. guessing at the points of the
compass, but, to add to the horror Of
the situation, a heavy fog settled down
on the mountain and for the next
twenty-fOur or thirty-six hours they
wandered aimlessly through the snow,
travelling sometimes in circle. and
sometimes in exactly the direction they
had come from, as is evidenced by
the frequent re-crOssing Of their
tracks.
Mrs. Cox Exhausted.
Tuesday, in about the middle OF the
afternoon, Mrs. Cox, with both feet
frozen stiff, gave up, expecting never
again to reach civilization. Her hus-
band decided to keep Up the search
for habitatiOn, to which plan she
readily assented, and leaving her IN
snow three and one-half feet deep,
protected only by a blanket, he started
He wandered until 9-99 Wednesday
morning, when suddenly through the
storm ne saw farmhouse. 1t was
the home Of Richard Brown at Noun
tainville, about three miles from Mount
Pleasant. Cox told his story and q
general alarm was raised. everybody IN
Mount Pleasant, apparently, joining in
the rescue party formed to search for
Mrs. Cox's- body. None expected to md
her alive.
Mr.. Alfred and his brother. Par
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