The National tribune., 1903-07-09

eu tne river crOSSlnS, tuey DTaHCHeu OIL
to the right and drove to Blanchard S
leave them for the present. Goldtree said
afterward that We had hardly driven out
Of sight when certain preSentiment
seemed to overcome him, and he proposed
to turn back and follow us, but that Tapie
would not listen to the proposition.
Wooster and l branched off from the
valley road at Huebake, about four miles
south of Calabazas, where turning to the
left upon the Crittenden road, we soon
entered into the Sonoita Pass. We reach
ed Crittenden about p. m. While the
escort with the laundress went straight to
headquarters to report their arrival, we
put up at the Sutler store and then pro-
ceeded to the hospital. We found Mr..
Warner in very serious condition, but
still able and willing to listen to our re-
quest for wagons and animals, which he
readily granted. He made me write the
requisite order to his major domo, and
our old friend Pedro, which he signed.
We resolved, being now alone and about
to travel over n road ottener than not
infested by rowing bands Of Apaches, to
start Mt nightfall for Santa Cruz by the
road leading over the Patagonia Pass.
gave the horses a good rubbing down
and liberal feed, while Wooster replen-
ished the lunch basket at the Sutler store.
A SNOW STORM IN THE MOUNTAINS.
We started n little before dark, passed
by the Casa Blancas (white house, about
6 o'clock and about two miles farther on
we turned westward. crossed the Sonoita
Valley. entered among the foothills, and
soon reached the long, in some places very
steep. ascent leading into the Patagonia
Range of Mountains. Although by this
time the sky was overcast with dense
clouds, the cold became more and more
biting. and toward 8 or 10 o'clock it began
to snow. At first only tiny, downy feath-
crs fell, and we had no apprehension of
any serious consequences. Higher and
higher we climbed along the rocky road;
soon the snowflakes became of much
larger size, and by midnight the down
pouring snow seemed to form one vast
sheet. impeding our eyesisht. The cold was
now piercing our gloves and heavy cloth
ing, and penetrated numerically to our
legs whenever our buffalo robe was shift
ed from its position upon our knees by the
frequent jolts of the buggy. The road
could no longer be seen, but, as long as
we We're ascending among the rocky cuts
in the cliffs. it was hardly possible to lose
it, being reduced to a narrow defile by the
surrounding cliffs. Our greatest fear was
being frozen stiff upon our seats. l re-
at the slow progress of our team. made n
vicious stroke towards the leader with
his slender blacksnake whip: the stroke
fell short, passed over the horses back in
a half circle and the hard buckskin knot
at the end of the whip hit me fully and
fairly upon the center Of my nearly-froZ-
en- nose-tip. I thought I saw more and
more vivid stars than had ever been dis
covered up to that time, or, Tor that mat.
ter, would ever be discovered to the end of
time, and the fire that shot through my
nose and thence through my whole sys-
TEN, was about the hottest thing l have
any remembrance of.
Soon we were surrounded by what
seemed n vast. limitless table cloth. be-
cause we had reached the fairly level top
of The divide and could have seen cur sur
rOundingS to quite distance in every di-
rection, had our eye-sight not been i'm
peded by the dense snowflakes that kept
descending upon us. The horses We're
now evidently willing to assume faster
gait of their own volitiOn, but their wa
vering, hesitating manner soon showed us
that they were no longer upon the Travelled
road, which upon the level ground was no
longer clearly defined. Still, Wooster urS
ed them on with voice and whip, being
afraid of being showed in if we remained
standing in any one place.
All of sudden there was fall. Down
we went, almost perpendicularly down.
horses, buggy and all. about 10 feet. At
first we were so astOnished that neither of
us spoke l told Wooster to keep his seat
and hold fast to the reins, while l jumped
out to the horses heads to quiet their
frantic founderings. I had the animals
soon Quieted into immobility, but they
trembled all over at the unusual expert
T 10 inv 70 fhn
situation.
The buggy rested easily upon about two
feet Of snow intermingled with the end
branches of some small trees whose short
trunks emanated from the sides Of the
very narrow gulch into which we had
dropped. Evidently these branches must
have formed a sort Of network upon
which the accumulated SNOW rested. thus
forming a pitfall for us. l waded all
around the buggy and horses in order to
ascertain if we had sustained any dam
age. The horses were unhurt. and on or
about the buggy there was not a thing
broken. The harness also had escaped
all injury, there being not even a buckle
strained; only the two off-ends of the
traces had become unfastehed by reason
of their sudden shortening. However we
were imprisoned, as it were, in q narrow
fssure or gully with sides almost as per-
pendicular as walls. and we had to find
an exit somehow. To which side to turn.
in order to seek egress was puzzle in
deed. Fortunately we hit upon the side
which afforded an outlet. With consid-
cradle trouble we lifted the buggy up
bodily and swung it around little by little.
gradually turning the horses heads and
buggy pole in the same direction. We
cleared as much snow away in front as
we could, and then attempted to drive
out of the pit. But the horses would not
bulge; neither coaXing nor whipping
would make them advance single STEP
In this stress bethought me Of the bran
dy bottle, as both Wooster and l always
partOOk very sparingly of liquor while
in an Apache region. I cut
several slices of bread from a loaf, satu-
rated them well with brandy, and offered
them to the horses. They munched and
swallowed them readily and at once be-
came amenable. Within half an hour we
were out of the gulch and once more upon
solid ground, which gently slanted down
wards toward the southwest. This direc-
tion we ascertained at once, because dur
ing the episode of our fall and ensuing Ia
Dor of liberation it had ceased to snow.
and by the feeble light of the waning
moons sickle we distinctly recognized the
Huachuca Range of Mountains toward
the east. Hence knowing the relative sit
uatiOn of Santa Cruz, the Patagonia and
Ranges, we knew more or less
where we were, and shaped our course ac-
cOrdngly, avoiding carefully all uneven
places. Toward about p. m. we saw n
feeble light ahead of us, and, knowing full
well that no Apaches could possibly be out