Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-01-09
GRAPHIC STORY OF DEATH or
IOWA MAN IN BRITISH NORTH.
WEST COUNTRY.
WANDERED FROM WIRE
DURING SEVERE STORM
Faithful Dog Of Eugene snodsrass,
Telegraph Operator, Tried to Sum.
mon Aid But Men Could Not Under.
stand Reason for CANNES Plsadinas
-other Iowa News.

was received yesterday from Mrs. Eu-
ham. Of Council Bluffs, giving detail
ed accounts Of the incidents leading UP
to the death Of her husband in the
wilds of the British northwest country.
800 miles from the nearest railroad and
500 miles from the United States.
The letter came to her parents. Mr..
and Mrs. A. NJ. Bonham, 220 Harmony
street. and is the first written word
notified by wire of ~ death of the
ceived by telegraph on Dec. IL.
The letter verities in all details the
story of his death from exhaustion and
cold while discharging his duties in
connection with his telegraphic work
for the Canadian government near
Hazelton on the Skeena river. a tribu-
tary Of the Yukon. It also verifies the
story that the news Of this death was
kept from the young wife and the
shock softened as far as possible.
The letter tells Of a frightful snow
storm and blizzard that Frustrated the
telegraph lines and of young Snod-
grass leaving his home twenty miles
from Hazelton on Sunday evening.
Dec. II, at 1880 o'clock, going to the
next camp. two miles away, and start
ing along the line Monday morning at
s o'clock When he failed to report it
was believed he had reached a test
camp ten miles away, and the search
for him was not begun until Wednes-
day,when men following his tracks
thru the snow found his body. He
was last heard from at the test cabin.
where he talked with Hazelton at IL
o'clock Monday.
Dog Tried to Give Alarm.
The narrative OF Mrs. Snodgrass tells
Of the faithful dog. Uno, that accom-
panied his master. and when the latter
fell from exhaustion how the dog re-
turned to McLeod's camp Monday at 3
o'clock and sought in every way to en-
list help.
The letter says: 1.-THE dog scratched
and barked at the door and when let in
sprang upon the bed Eugene had occu-
pied the night before, crouched IN it
for an instant. bowling mournfully.
then rushed for the door, barking furi-
ously and trying to lead the men to
follow him in the direction where he
had left his dying master" The men
did not understand and the dog then
ran down the trail to the camp where
Mrs. Snodgrass was living. In her LETT
ter she says: Il happened to open the
door and saw Uno coming down the
trail. He stopped and crouched when
he saw me, and when called him he
came running into the house. sprang
upon me and never saw anything try
<o11 Il H,4 ~ 7
couldn't understand him he laid down
in the middle of the floor and I never
heard such mournful howls in my life"
The tracks showed that young Snod-
grass wandered fourteen miles in the
snow and cold before he stinened in
death. There were two trails leading
to the test cabin. In going Snodgrass
had followed the river route. the easier
one but in returning, searching for the
broken line, he followed the wire thru
the dense woods. He had become
nearly exhausted and had stuck his
axe in tree and hung his canvas coat
and tools upon it, then he attempted
to walk across to the river route. The
snow was from nine inches to four feet
deep, but in some places in the forest
the ground was bare.
The Last Struggle.
Underneath q cedar and cottonwood
tree where the wind had swept away
the snow he had made his last strug-
GLE He had removed his sweater and
stocking cop and plunged again into
the snow. The tracks led fifteen feet
beyond where the body was found. The
arms were outstretched and the man
lay partly on his side as II asleep. with
not a trace Of suffering on his counte-
nance.
Death evidently came after his dog
left him Monday afternoon. II the
faithful animal could have made his
friends understand the boy would have
been saved. The dogs tracks led
straight from where the body lay to
McLeod's camp. only two miles away.
The camp from which he started is
Andimaul, twenty miles from Hazelton.
Mrs Snodgrass was not notified Of the
tragedy until Friday, and was first told
that death had come mercifully by
electric shock.
The letter Of Mrs. Snodgrass is oc-
cornpanied by a map of the route show
::.c the location Of the camps and the
aMe WEAK SP0r