Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-07-26

they came upon chasms which they
had to avoid; they crossed shppery
slopes, where the storm had pareu
the hard crust and which their ieet
refused to grip. In such places tney
had to creep on hands and Knees
calling to one another for guidance.
They were numbed, blinded, choked
by the rage Of the blizzard; tnelr
faces grew stiff, and their lungs froze.
At times they fell, and were sklddeo
along ahead Of the blasts. This forceo
them to crawl back again, for they
dared not lose their course. AT one
place they followed hog back, where
the rocks came to a sharp ridge IKE
the summit of roof this they De-
strode inching along foot at time,
wearing through the palms OF their
mittens and chatting their garments.
No cloth could withstand the rough
ened surfaces, and in time the pare
flesh of their hands became exposed
but there was little sensation, and no
time for rest or means Of relief. soon
they began to leave blood stains pe-
hind them.
All four men were old in the ways OF
the north, and knowing their present
extremity, they steeled themselves 10
suffering, but their tortures were m
tense not the least Of which was
thirst. Exhaustion comes quickly uh-
der such conditions.
Much has been written concerning
the red mans physical powers OF en-
durance. but as rule no Indian IS the
equal OF his white brother, due as
much perhaps to lack of mental force
as to generations of insufficient cloth
ing and inanition, so it was not sur
prising that as the long afternoon
dragged to a close the Aleut guide be-
gan to weaken. He paused with more
frequency, and 1t required more erort
to start him; he fell oftener and rose
with more difficulty, but the others
were dependent upon his knowledge Oh
the trail, and could not take the LEAD.
Darkness found them staggering on.
supporting him wherever possible. Al
length he became unable to guide them
farther. and Bait, who had once made
the trip took his place, while the 9TH
ers dragged the poor creature along
at the cost of their precious strength.
At one time he begged them TO ieaVe !,
him, and both Bait and "F1ngerless
Fraser agreed, but Emerson would
have none OF 1T.
"Hell die, anyhow" argued the fish
erman.
"He's as good as dead now supple
mented Fraser, land we may pc ten
miles from timber.
81 made him come, and I'll take him
through said Emerson, stubbornly;
and so they crawled their weary way
sore beset with their dragging burden
Slow at best, their advance now pc.
came snail-like, for darkness had
fallen, and threatened to blot them out.
It betrayed them down declivities, up
and out of which they had to dig their
way In such descents they were
forced to let go the helpless man.
whose body rolled ahead of them like
a homeless sack; but these very mis-
haps helped to keep the spark OF life
in him, for at every dishearten1ng
pause the others rubbed and pounded
him. though they knew that their ef
forts were hopeless, and would have
been better spent upon themselves.
Fraser, never a strong man. gave
out in time, and it looked as II ne
might overtax the powers OF the otner
two, but Balt's strength was that OF a
bull, while Emerson subsfsted on MS
nerve, fairly consuming his soul.
They grew faint and sick, and knew
themselves to be badly frozen; but
their leader spurred them on, draining
himself in the effort. For the first time
Emerson realized that the adventurer
had been drag on him e-er since
their meeting.
They had long since lost all track OF
time and place, trusting bllndly to q
downward course. The hurricane still
harried them with undated fury,
when all at once they came to another
bluff where the ground fell away alb.
ruptly. without waiting to investigate
whether the slope terminated in a
drift or precipice, they flung them,
selves over. Down they floundered, the
two half-insensible men tangled TO-
gether as if in race for total ob-
livion, only to plunge through a
thicket of willow tops that whipped
and stung them. On they went, now
vastly heartened, over another ridge,
down another declivity, and then into
grove of spruce timber, where the
air suddenly stilled, and only the Tree
tons told of the rushing wind above
It was well-nigh an hour before Bait
and Emerson succeeded In starting a
fire. for it was desperate work cropping
for dry branches, and they found they
themselves were on the verge OF col
lapse before the tinid blaze finally
showed the two more unfortunate ones
huddIad topether
Cherry had given Emerson a flask
of liquor before starting, and this he
now divided between Fraser and tn.
guide. having wisely refused 1t to them
until shelter was secured. Then he
melted snow in Balt's tin cup and
poured pints of hot water into the pair
until the adventurer began to rally;
hut the Aleut was too far gone, and an
hour before the laggard dawn came he
died.
They walked Fraser around the fire
all night, threshing his tortured body
and fighting off their own deadly wear
mess. meanwhile absorbing the insult
fcient heat of the flames.
When daylight came they tried hard
to lash the corpse into a spruce-top,
but their strength was unequal to the