The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-12-04

the instinct of his dogs, as he should
have done, to see them safely over
the road to Anvil Gulch, urged them
slightly to the left. Unable any longer
to discern his way, owing to his
swollen eyelids, in an unlucky mo-
ment he fell over the side of steep
hill. His fall was broken by pro-
jecting ledge, but, while this obstruc-
tion probably saved his life, it did not
prevent him from rolling to the bottom
of the ravine, where he lay uncon-
.scious and bleeding profusely.
Happily the various trails leading
to the claims along Shook range were
busy in those days; men and teams
were active going to and fro, and |
Swamberg was quickly discovered.
With their usual charity, couple OF
them rushed to his assistance, laid |
him on a sled and drove him as
quickly as possible to the Sisters hos
pital at Nome. The doctor pronounced |
| it case of brain concussion; he was
as yet unable to determine the extent
of the interior injuries or whether
they were serious or not.
1t was Sister Rosalie who was
named to take care of the patient.
She passed that anxious first night
at his pillow waiting for sign of re-
turning consciousness. In the early
morning there was "a convulsive
movement of the whole body; the in
jured man opened his blood-shot eyes,
and, seeing Sister near him, sprang
from his bed in fit of delirium. He
grasped the terrified nun by the
shoulder and raised his hand to strike
her. BY a superhuman effort she sue
ceeded in eluding the hold of the wild
Swede and called for help.
1t was all the work of an instant,
but these sudden moments had
singular effect on Swamberg; he fell
to the floor unconscious, breathing
heavily and pale as death. The un-
happy man was forced back to bed
again, where he lay for days only
vaguely aware of what was going on
around him. Intermittent spells of
rage and calm came and went, and it
was only after ten days of devoted
watchfulness on the part of Sister
Resale that she had the satisfaction
of seeing her patient resuming nor
NAL life.
| Swamberg improved gradually as
the days ran on, but it took the I'M
happy man much longer time to
realize how narrowly he had escaped
from death. At first more preoccu-
pied with his own ill fortune than
with the circumstances in which he
now found himself, his selfish nature
continually asserted itself; he be-
walled his ill luck and the loss of the
precious time that was slipping by.
But every one remarked that the big
Swede was thawing out. The unre-
uniting care of his gentle nurse and
her ready response to every whim of
his had a marked effect on his at
titude toward her and other nuns. His
eyes were gradually opening to the
real situation. Sister Rosalie's charity
and vigilant care had softened his
stony heart. Many times a day he
thanked her for all she had done for
him, and he promised that he would
reward her generously when the first
Cleanup was made on No. / below
Discovery on Anvil Gulch.
"You vas the Seester dot I sent
away last Christmas from my cabin
l wasn't it?" he asked her one day.
t Here's your medicine and then you
3 just go to sleep, sir!" was the only
4 reply he got.
S The climax in the Swede's menta
D evolution arrived the afternoon thai
D Sister Rosalie came to his bedside
!. with pen and paper in hand, and tolt
y him that the last winter mail wa;
d leaving for the outside" early the fol
r lowing day. Perhaps he would like
e to send word to friends in the
r States, to tell them how he was gettins
e along. She would write the letter i
l. he would only tell her what to say.
n Swamberg reflected moment.
e Yes, Seester," he replied, meekly
# you will write ledder for me- Writ,
g to the chief of my lodge in San Fran
o cisco-I will gif you his attress. Tel
: him dot veil down mountainsid,
and vas nearly killed, While going tt
n my CLAIM in Shook range Tell hin
l. dot am still under the care ov tn,
S goot Catholic Seesters in Nome, an,
II dot they have been kind moders to me
/, Tell him that my heart ISIS changed
r and that can nefer again hate dos
n goot women who hat nursed me bacl
to life. Tell him dot / was fool
], Dots ALL"
9 The evident sincerity of these word
r showed that the prejudices which ha,