Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1915-01-14

= rain, TO protect US from the ic
cold blasts that swept down iron
the mountain tops, cannot be apreoi;
ted by those who gather comfortat
ly around the big base burner o
fire place. However, to so ON witt
my story:
As stated before, We had fiv,
buTTos. Now, a burrO, altho at mos
times is a gentle and patient ami
NAL, and even affectionate when
piece OF bacon, biscuit or newspa
per is in evidence, the trait of ;
burro may be expressed in these
few words, 1T viii always do the
unexpected. However, he is very
surefooted, being excelled only by
the South American llama. Our leaC
burro had but one eye, and one Incl
dent I remember in particular; We
were going along a trail ON the
edge of a cliff that oyerhung the
river, one little mis7Step sent our
one-eyed burro twenty-fiv feet
down the vertical cliff into the wa
ter, with the result that almost ey-
cry thing was lOst and the few ar
| ticles We saved were drenched.
Amongst these, we're our matches,
our most valued possessions, then,
since the fire was AN absolute nee
essity.
1t was up to one OF us to procure
some matches in some way, l vol
unteered and walked over five miles,
in and out of the woods, until I fl
nalIy stumbled into a sheep mans
camp and helped myself the much
needed article. These dry matches
turned the tide in our favor
The streams were alive with the
mountain trout, enough to delight
the heart of most fastidious Walton,
while bear, deer, lion, antelope and
turkeys abounded in the woods. One
night as We five were sitting
around the camp fire telling ''bear
stories, we saw two bright eyes
gleam, not very far distant, and
stones up the hill side. Very little
'hen terrific clatter of loose
sleep was enjoyed that night by two
Of the men, who were not educated
to the ways of the wild. I presume
they expected to feel themselves mo-
mentarily in the warm embrace of
the bear or lion They left for civil
ization the next day. The noise, it
turned out later, was caused by two
deer, who had come down to the
stream to drink and catching sight
of our camp fire we're frightened
away.
On September 30th, we ascended
Mt Thomas, nearly 10000 feet high
and found snow ON the north side.
After several hours of sketching and
triangulation, We descended, being
amply repaid for our chilly reception
by the wonderful view. To the north
and east of US lay the great CoIOra-
do Plateau, dotted here and there
with small peaks, while to the
south and west extende canyon af-
ter canyon, some full half a mile
deep, and somewhere beyond, lay
the great American Desert
One morning, my only remaining
rodman and I, started out as usual,
without lunch intending to- return
to camp early, but owing to the
precipitous walls of the canyon, I
was forced to send the cook with
the pack train, a different route,
namely up over the mesa and along
the rim of the canyon, with ins+ruc-
tions to make camp about six miles
down the river. Along the river at
this point the side canyons enter
ing the main canyon, where deep
gorges cut thru solid rock, leaving
vertical cliffs on either side. These
are commonly called box conyOL
Finding it necessary for the pack
train. to cross one of these box can
yons, we walked up a ways looking
for signs of the outfit, until dark
ness found US three miles from the
river. We built a fire, finally, and
lay down amongst the rocks and bear
tracks. But hungry stomach will
not woe sleep, so we spent the
night having dreams of delicious
steaks with onions and mush rooms
or some particularly luscious slice
Of roast beef.
The next day, very little refreshed
by our rest, we tramped back to
the river as fast as our weakened
conditions would permit, stopping
to rest often. At noon, we slept for
an hour to rest our weary bones. At
ter a plunge in the icy water OF
the river, We trudged onward, feel
ing somewhat refreshed, and still
looking for signs OF our pack train.
About 2:30 we sighted some horses
coming down the river to drink,
and investigation proved they were
from the Chiricahua Cattle com
pany's camp. We lost little time il
following them, being sure Of a cat
tIeman's hospitality. Needless to
say it was not long before We had
-orro IF the finest steak ever
tasted, together with coffee that
would have help up an axe and also
Dutch biscuits, stuffed in underneath
our belts.