The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1915-12-28

4 U4tWOoo ~ wv
con.
On Dec. s2 fso men c>me ~ the
lodge from the lake On thets espy 10
the Sacramento Valley. They wers
anxious 10 reach their homes IN
time for Christmas. aud the, beg
! red that they might take Babe and
Mike 10 carry their heavy packs
Rutherford delnurred for ee fear
cd storms: but the men persisted
saving that unless they reached
home before the 1sth their children
would have neither presents nor
Christmas dinners That piea was
more than the tender-hearted youns
man could Withstand. and he let
them take the animals. exacting a
promise that they would return them
as soon as the sled road opened
The travellers started at daylight.
taking the trail over the summit.
THAT night terrific snowsform
Iswept the mountains. Rutherford
Was worried. but tried to believe
THAT the days start had enabled the
linen 10 hight their way tn the lower
country. On Jan. 3 he snowshoed
lover TO Tahoe postofiice. where he
found crumpled postcard from one
of the men. informing him that
lthey had been caught IN the storm
aid had to abandon the animals to
save their own lives.
The next day Rutherford started
out To find Babe and Mike, He tray-
eled in the sticky snow across the
summit To Bryson's Camp, and the
next day two or three miles farther.
lie had hardly expected 10 find Base
! or Mike alive. bat as he came round
Il bluff he was delighted 10 see the
| two animals standing diSconsoIately
side by side. lie yelled al them
/ and Babe whinnied back, although
he was almost too detected and
weak to move
The animals bad trampled 9
place about Ten feet square under \
tamarack tree, and had never mo,-
ed out OF IL They had gnawed at
the saddle blankets and the hair
l7rope. and had even nibbied each
Others tails and names The snow
was I'VE and bali feet deep all
around them
Rutherford shoseled trail 10
the river, in doing which he fell
through the ice three times lie had
to undress and wiring out his clothes
in the bitter cold Then ne waterea
the horses. and Immediately set out
for Bryson's Camp. The animals
we're too weak to follow Al the
camp he got half bale of hay aud
lcarried il down. on his back, travel
ing on skis.
/ The next day he went to shovel
Ing again aud worked &c il All day
long NJ daylight he got up. car
ried more hay down to the horses
aud put III twelve hours more OF
Eshoyeling
| Il vas terribly heavy work, Tor
there were six inches OF soft snow.
then four inches OF frozen crust and
below thut mass Of Wet snow
When he got back 10 Bryson be
was 50 geary he could hardly crawl
up the steps.
! Wednesday il showed hard and
tilied up his iaooriousiy-n path
and Rutherford changed his tactics
tie determined to make snowshoes
for The horses; bat he could find
nothing az eli o. which 70 make
them Then he thought Of putting
down boards iii three sections. two
boards wide; moving the horses up
or the first ones and then taking 40
the rear ones. Loaded with hay and
pianks he fought his way into the
blizzard. II took him four hours to
get down 20 the horses.
The next day he carried down
more planks and tried TO put his
plan into execution. Ii vas fail
IRE the boards simply shot out
iroiu under the horses In every di-
rsetlon across the crust Just then
w" other men whom he kneN ap-
peafed coming Mp from the straw
berry Camp farther down The noun
tain Thee told him it was no use.
and advised him TO shoot the ami.
mals But Rutherford would not.
ana that night he thought OF tile
way out Of his difficulty There we're
some cowhides aud sheepsklns hang.
ing IN Hrysob' Camp These he ear.
fled down To the tamaraek tree
where Babe and Mike stnl stood
aud where his TWO friends of the
day before Joined him. They quar-
{ tered ftsf gRts lfF.f..s ,..t