The La Jara chronicle., 1905-12-22

ten minutes later the hoy
gnu enueu up TO the window, opened it
anu anu called out, Pap says all of you
snn 81 over quick, bring lots of snow
'eis and couple OF blankets,
,-. -e, some of the women get one of the
oeu rooms warm and make some hot
soup and coffee" 1t don't take
,i ,nuch time for US old fellows whose
us us are full of tragedies and start
ing episodes. to get ready for almost
49, anna OF contingency; and before
-. .ne ooy had stopped talking, more
iith Two dozen Strong and willing
~ mn ana several of the other sex, not
ways the weaker Sex in a mining
snihP' We're gliding over the interven-
ins half mile. 1t was a beautiful
iiN HorhlhS after the storm and in the
ISL crisp air of that great altitude
80 OBJECT stood out as clear and
uis,lhct as if all nature rejoiced, and
io luouSht of death was possible. The
green branches of the many pines
were heavily weighted with the late
iaIIcn snow. and the level expanse
vi Meadow Lake with its white cov-
err, vrine Sllstened in the bright sunlight
iihe an immense mirror.
Not word was spoken nor sound
neard in the still air, except the
SWISH of our snow shoes, as we
ghded rapidly toward Cartoons cabin.
rms was built, as 1 have said, lit
ue distance from the more thickly
settled part of the town although
now very many of the smaller cabins
We're buried out of sight and upon
our arrival, nothing could be seen to
distinguish its position, except huge
~ on.
snow shoes; presumably where the
chlinney was. Two dozen willing
handS were soon hard at work, clear
ing away the huge drifts, and as soon
as the chimney was uncovered we
found, as we feared and expected.
that tile space around it had been
permitted to lie and harden. 1t was
but too plain that what had fallen
during this previous storm had rapid
ly hlled the small space below the
chimney cap, and the cabin been her
metically sealed. As soon as the
opening was made, couple of us
climbed down. Poor Carlton stood,
leahing against the bricks of the
chimney; fully clothed. even to his
biue army overcoat, and the air was
thick with a close, foul odor. There
on his person. He had evidently slept
long and soundly and realized from
his sensations when he awoke and be-
came partially conscious that he was
being smothered. That he had become
bewildered and had wandered aimless-
ly around the cabin was evident by
the articles strewn upon the floor, and
when he finally found the chimney,
lnnp 30
ascent and had gradually fallen into
his last sleep.
We judged he had been dead for
foiy-eight hours or more, and as the
storm was raging so lerccIy at that
tlme, it is by no means certain that
he could have been rescued, had his
condition been known.
The body was wrapped in blankets
and tenderly carried to the hotel
and prepared at once for burial. The
grave was dug near an old pine tree
through twenty-four feet of snow,
and steps had to be cut to lead down
to the ground. There was no minister
in the camp, but one of the women
brought out prayer book and the
burial service was read and probably
each one of us sent up some sort of
a prayer, that he might make a hap
py landing on the other shore.
Over a hundred men and women on
snow shoes accompanied the body
from the hotel to the grave, the wind
singing soft requiem as we laid the
body dway in that great white sepul-
cher and commented upon the singu-
lar fatality that had CARED him safe
ly through years of bloody strife, to
at last meet his dearh in that strange
manner $500 feet above his home of
early days on the rock-bound shores
of the Atlantic.