LOST IN THE SNOW.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1826, 27 April 1888, Page 4

LOST IN THE SNOW.

A SAD STORY.

Mr A. O. Brooks, deputy coroner for the Hundred of High Peak, Derbyshire, held an ioquaat at Aahopton Inn, twelvs miles from Sheffisld, the other c3bv, on the body of William Walker, aged 17, son of Me Mark Walker, farmer, of Rfdinghouse Fark, In the parbh ef Darwent. The oironrastance? cf his death are very Bad. Only three witneasss w?-re examined — ihe father, mother, and brothar. of dy«V^iß?d. Tha evidence ahowed that on F-;brnary 27, iwo oi Mr Walker's Bonn, Wi:H*m'' nse ; ! 17. a"d F?->rk, 3Rfd 13 isfr hoiDB between ten and eleven o'clock ?o t:i9 raorcfn^^ to look eftos the sha^p on tho moors. Ttin lacla took with them two collie doga, Nell and Dot, and thay wnre eeen going m tha dlrpotlin of Winstone Lee Tor. On 'th£ way »hg lads, met their father, who said they had better pat their coats on, and they took hia advloa Some three hoars later tho dogs returned hn.-oc alone, and apppared to bo very restless and peculiar m ihoic manner. The father and mother then set out to find the lads. The doga went along fiud kept " wisffl ng" (as (ha people call it) eager m th?ir desire to get on. After going a considerable distance Mrs Walker n itioed a dog's footprints, bnt noticed no bootmarks m the ano«r. The dogs, eapocially the old ote, appeared to "letde 17 near a masa of fallen s:iow. which had slid over from Winstone Lee Tor. The* snow had evidently drifted to th» edge of the cliff, aud snbseqaently B!i; ■! ed over m a huge mass, weighing many tons, and the path under the face of tlid tor Waa buried. Mrs Walker soon dlecovered a fo;t and aakle pro j sating from the snow, and raised the alarm, recognising that it was the foot of her youngest son, Frank. H6r husband who was some distance away, came with all possible speed, the mother, meanwhile, worklng^at the snow to save her boy, who waß head downwards, aid must have boen there three or fonr ho ara. A fierce wind was blowing at the time, and the snow was whirling about m clouda. She m a Bhorfc time rescued her son, bub the body was stiff and cold," and the face blue and dieoolored. The mother nsed every effort to restore animation. Partially succeeding, she at once SBk9 3, " Oh, Frank, where Is Willie?" and ho answered, " He was here last night," evidently being under tha impression that he had been there all night. Ah the search waa being continued, the husband observed the old dog "Nell" again scratching and " We filing," and he went op to the animal, who barked impatiently. Oq reaching the place indicated by the dog ha noticed the feet of the other son, Willie, projecting through the face of the solid mass of snow, which was at that spot several feet deep. This body waa also buried deeply, toe enow being firmly wedged, and the body " jammed " m bo closely that it could not be extricated until a Bhcvel waa obtained and the anow cut. It wa3 fouad that the body was face downwards m a Blanting position, over four feet of enow being on the head. After hard work tha body wsa got oat, It was evident that life -had been extinct tor a considerable time. From the aiatem.^t (f Frank Walkpc, who waa with his brother, it asema t»iat ths two boya, after attending to the aheep want to look at the snow on Winstone Lee Tor. While they wore looking tiny observed the snow slipping down upon them, and ran to get out of the way, but both wove overtaken by the hugb mass and bnried. Tuo jary returned a v^rdic" of " Accidental daiitb," and. sxpressed their sympathy with (ho parents.