The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-02-05

gigantic aerial gateway to Middle
Park. Colorado q park one-ffth %
large as all England. The mail for
This empire is carried by one man. my
friend Sullivan.
To climb Berthoud in winter is the
work of man. 1t is too much for
an engine. The man was at his work.
slowly up The east side, around the
Big Bend. up 10 the now deserted mail
barn. labored the mail carrier. The
, summit was Il mile further on and a
quarter OF mile further up. No ar
ranged postal car. warm, light ana
convenient. Was the lot of sullivan.
The car was on his back, a bag of
mail. Contrary 10 regulations devised
by easy-chair postal officials IN far
OF Washington. the papers and pack
ages had been held al Empire. Only
the letters went over.
They'll Keep" sad the Empire
postmaster. "a man of vast common
seESe. rs he tore chew Off Sullivan s
plug Then he and Sullivan hid the
bag of 'second-claSS' under the hay
in the Manager Of the mail team until
the thaW was over So Sullivan tray
eled light-oiliy sixty-four pounds on
his back and twenty pounds of wet
snow on each web Snowsloc Il foot
beneath the surface.
l3v The bleak station laboFed Suiii-
van only zero. Hot. NViie-ew-N',"
gaSped the carrier as he wiped tae
sweat from his eyes with the sleeve OF
his shirt. Sullivan meantl il. Twelve
feet of frigid white WAS between him
and the earth: in the shadows the nler-
curry was solid in the split tubes, YET
in the sunlight the surface was sius!l.
Sullivan was in his shirt sleeves with
fur mittens on his hands. icicles hung
from his eyelasheS. Yet his cheeks were
ts., s.-n- ! 4 ,r.fr
though his face was yelled rs heavily
as miiady's or ar escapade. In the
sun The SNOW was nlush: in the si9lG
oW il WAS marble. Such IS sunlight
ana shade on the southeastern snow
banks ~ Underline. No wind. ana
the air was thin. Silence. The oni}
sound was the carriers iabOred breath
end The soch-rasp-splosh Of the shoes.
Ana Sullivan came 10 the summit
and the sh6o0. There the rncrcura
falls q degree q minute when Tie sun
goes down. \ hundred and four II
noon, an inch of ice at dawn. The
ground is frozen for $40 feet. Such is
the summer sammit.
Eut ;his was winter. Up the south
gorge like The burst OF Il volcano, so
cold that The smoke was snow dust.
roared the storm. sullivan saw IT,
looked with the Indifferent interest Of
long experience. and put on his short
fur coat. As he retired his snoWshoes
he looked back-and down. Below
him lav the west fork of Clear Creek
green in the coming spring. Hell
STOOD on the rampant of winter. On
either side lowered pinaacles of Storm
eaten rock, bleak as the poles tilern-
selves. From :hcir tops white powder
strcamed in the wind like crests, aud
Toured down OH the pigmy III their
feet. The carrier was taking q swift.
silent goo6iby OF the infant summer.
Straight 10 the south famed the sun,
so low in the clear sky that Suli-
van, standing OF Berthoud, felt that it
was below him, that he stood alone or
tine tip of the universe Behind him
the swirling heavens We're mugky. The
world WAS black. white and Jhiu blue
silent. mctionless aud cold.
Rut the cold was creeping Tor Suit
vans heart and he swung his arms.
Good for the legs he remarked to 9
stump that in summer was q dead pine
tree. Track looks like a hobbled ele-
phant. Well here goes And down
into the gorge went Sullivan. The Galt
had started in Alaska and swept two
thirds of Il continent to the southeast.
In Montana ii had torn the anelnoI1e-
TER the official Whiiligig, from the
signal station, but had left the register:
and the needle pointed to eighty-hve
miles an hour. 1t was stronger now.
Caught by the wide mouth of the south
fork OF the FRASER and damned into
the rocky iefile, the white fie!ld
roared straight into the air and doui
led back on its track. Into this walked
Sullivan. \ single snowflake, sharp
as q bunch of needle points, struck
his forehead, but glanced away into
the White tempest. Snow sand cut
his veil. But 70 snowstorm can stop
the United States mail. With belly
jerk Sullivan wrenched & breath from
the torrent.
quite O. Colorado zephyr he yelled
but could not hear himself There was
almost perfect silence around him
because he could hear nothing--only
il leaden roar. No slush there: the sur
face was sandpaper. Zip-zip-zip, Viii
his head low Sullivan butted down the
guich. Then it eaScd up. the wine
dropped TO a mile a minute and it
cleared greatly. Sullivan could see ten
feet ahead. Easier now, he iored over
the crust, down, down, down. leaving
no track, not even q Whit Of snow
was blown from the trail. The snow
Was hard, sharp and glittered IN the
white night as the surface OF broker
steel \ blast of SNOW sand caught the
flying carrier full III the face. The
ground ice cut like powdered glass
shot from a battery. Sullivan, his
leaned against Il cracking pine like
guilty child. The pine Strengthened
with Il snap, quiverins as If tired; Sui
Ivan lowered his arms; all was STILL
quiet. pleasant. The snow was smiling;
the sun was shining; there was ne
wind
Lovely. amt it? Snowslide gone
off wrong end up" said q voice.
Sullivan jumped. i quick sweep OF
the near distance showed nothing nu-
man out himself. Did I say that?"
ne muttered. This bucking snow is
about rs good ON n mans sayey as
herding sheep. I'll be as locoed as
swelied-aecked buck if | keep this up.
Hello.
'.iIowd'y?" answered the voice. while
from under a sheltering ledge, crusted
over but filled soft and dry with icy
down as il banked from q feather
bed, q sneeteG figure appeared and
shook itself. 1t fairly ratified.
Nice little blow, wasn't it? / had
an idea was the only pack animal
Of the long-cared breed on the Range;