Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1920-08-24
NARRATIVE
BY M. M. FRY

written expressly for the Herald
by M. M. Fry.
Editor the Herald:
The heart of humanity is exempli-
fled the world over, as will be shown
in this brief narrative.
In the spring of 1892 at the mouth
of Carpenter creek, at the point where
New Denver, B. c., now is located, l
donned my snowshoes and picked my
way through tangled brush and the
Devils Walking Cane" without trail
up Carpenter creek, to the mouth of
Cody creek, for the purpose of locat-
ing mining claim covering ground
where | had found some rich float at
the foot of a slide. Clearing the
ground of snow, just large enough for
a fire and bed, / soon satisfied the
ravenous appetite of a very hungry
pilgrim of the mountains. Alone in
my little heaven | had until bedtime
the pleasure of realizing that l was,
at least for the time being, monarch
of my own household-the wakefuI
dreams OF prospector of the noun
tains are sure heaven-born, free and
fantastic as the mythical fairies we
read of in our school books. When
Morpheus takes possession of our
weary bodies, fairies must hike to
their own realm and leave sleep to
claim its own. 1t mattered not that
in the absence of tent white man
tie of snow of four incnhes covered
my bed in the morning.
Breakfast over, left my camp out
fit and armed with an axe went up
Cody creek to the foot of the slide
in question. l must now, on four
feet of snow, climb a very steep snow
slide and blaze a mineral location line
up very steep mountain and in do
ing so l often had to use my axe to
make steps for my snowshoes. When
near the top of the slide, the snow
broke loose above me and came down
gathering tree trunks, rocks, etc. /
heard the noise just in time to step
on the apex of sharp ridge and thus
saved myself from being buried in
snow at the foot of the slide, from 90
to 40 feet deep, predicament l did
not care to contemplate.
The claim located / named the
Freddie Lee for my youngest son.
Fred L. Fry. Early in the spring the
hoat was traced to the vein and was
bonded for $4,000.
During the summer two prosnect-
ors, one by the name OF VIM. Tonlxin.
the other I have forgotten his name
went to our location and gathered a
few specimens of galena ore. put it
in their pockets and started on IN
the mountain which was only a short
distance to the top. Before reaching
fOn fhnrn or11n 49,. e.
er storm, which are frequent visitors
in the high mountains. The two men
hurried TO the foot of a small tree
and sat down on pole lying there.
leaning their backs up against it,
A lightning bolt struck the tree
above them, ran down and both men
pitched forward and rolled a few
feet from the tree. Tonkin was
killed instantly. After a few hours
his partner regained consciousness
and staggered down to our camp on
the creek. My partner, with some
others. brought Tonkin down to the
trail by the creek and buried him
close by. On inquiry I learned that
TonBin had two sisters-I believe |
they lived in New York. Thinking
the grave would not look so lonely I
sent to New Denver for some nails |
and one Sunday went to the grave
split some pickets and fenced it in
I hewed out slab for the head and
on 1t wrote the following verses:
Thy sisters in a foreign land
Shall know that thou vert born to
rest:
With willing hands and aching
hearts
From yonder cruel mountain crest.
Where thunder bolt with careless
tread
Hath snapped the brittle thread of
life
And left thy comrades on life's
strand
To battle on through storm and strife
Rest, weary soul, from all thy cares
While sleeping in thy narrow bed; i