Lost in a Snowstorm.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 18, 16 March 1870, Page 7

Lost in a Snowstorm.

AN AMBRIO.VN INCTDRNT. On Thursday, tho 24th of January, at half-past four p.m., ClitVrlos Halo left the station of Twin Lukes, in 0 dhoim county, twenty-six miles west of Fort Dodge, with tho Sioux city mail, in an open sledge drawn by two horses. The day hud boon very pleasant, but just before ho started it began to snow. Tho wind was in the north-east, and as the night came on it increased to a strong gale, tho snow falling thicker and faster, so that it soon became difficult to keep the road, which is simply a track across the great prairie, without a fence, tree, or house to guide the traveller for ten miles. He passed a small deserted cabin—the only building of the kind on tin route—just after dark, and soon kfter the night became so dark, and the blinding snow was driven so fiercely in his face, that he was unable to guide his team, or see any sigias of the road. Ha knew that he could not be more than a mile or two from the Yates settlement ; and believing the horses would find their way to the station, ho left them to take their own course. After travelling thus a long time, and failing to reach the settlement, he knew that the team had lost the road; but he was utterly unl able to tell whether he was north or south, I east or west, of the station. Aware of the hopelessness of trying to find the road or settlement in the dense darkness that had by this time come on, he determined to turn round and try to retrace his way to the deserted cabin which he had passed. But the storms, which had been steadily increasing witli each hour, drifted the snow oyer the track almost' as fast as it was made, and, Hale soon found that he had lost all trace of it, and was wandering around on the prairie, utterly lost. His presence of mind never once deserted him, and he determined that his only chance for life was to keep the team moving, that they should not perish with cold before morning. On Friday, the horses, which had been travelling, through great drifts for about eighteen hours, could go no further. Hale hesitated not a moment, but unharnessing them from the sledge, he turned them loose, that they might, if possible, reach some settlement. He was now left entirely alone in the midst of the most terrible storm of the winter, the snow two feet deep, and lying in immense drifts, miles and miles from the nearest habitation, with no idea of which direction he must travel, or of the distance t.> the nearest shelter. Supposing that he was north of the main road, he started in tho direction he fancied to be south in hope-! that he might discover the lost track. Hour'after hour did he wade through the snow, with the fearful storm chilling him through and through. Before many hours had elap.sed he found that his ears, face, and feet were frozen solid, and his hands were beginning to freeze. But still strong in the determination to save himself, he kept moving on through the long cheerless day. Towards night he suffered greatly from hunger, as he had eaten nothing since Thursday at noon. When darkness again closed over him, he felt that the chances for surviving were very slight indeed. He dare not sit down to rest, fearing that he would ; fall asleep and perish ; and all the second I night he kept on his feet, sometimes becoming so exhausted with hunger, and with his great exertions to keep travelling, that he would stop a few moments to rest, j He repeatedly fell asleep while thus standing, and was only awakened by falling down into the snow. Again and again during Friday night did he thus struggle on until daylight appeared. The wind had | noMf ceased, but the cold was intense. ' On Saturday morning, on looking anxiously round on every side, and seeing no signs of settlement, grove, or road, he felt that a longer struggle for life was almost hopeless ; but finding that he was still able to move, he turned his face to the east, knowing that his only hope was now in being able to reach the ties Moines river, along which he was sure to find settlers. All day Saturday he toiled on through the deep snow, suffering intensely from hunger, cold, and want of sleep. Whenever his strength gave way, and he stopped for a moment, he would fall asleep and tumble down into the snow, again rise up and push on. Night once more came on, and found him still out on the great prairie, with no shelter in sight. Again did he pass another night—the third one—on his feet, walking, stopping, falling, awaking, rising up, and pushing on again. Lost, starving, and freezing, but still undismayed, he waited patiently during the long hours of the bitterly cold night for the rising sun. The sun rose bright and clear, but it was still intensely cold, the mercury at sixteen degrees below zero, with a keen, cutting wind from the north. Hale had now,! strange as it may seem, ceased to suffer from hunger, and, nerving himself for one more effort, he turned his face eastward, and again struggled on. His progress was very slow, but at about eleven o'clook his courage was renewed by the sight of a grove in tho distance. Hope, that had never entirely deserted him, now grew strong ; and all through the day he strove with almost superhuman efforts to reach the wood before dark, feeling that lie

could not survive another night on the | prario. But his strength was too much exhausted; and although striving with the energy of despair, ho saw the sun go down and the night again close around him, while the friendly trees were shut out from viow and beyond his reach. Fearing that if he attempted to «travol after dark ho should lose sight of the grove, and knowing that in his exhausted condition ho could not survivo another night on his foet, ho finally sought a huge drift, and digging out a huge cavity with his hands, ho crawled in and buried himself beneath the snow. Tn this position he soon fell asleep, and slept for several hours, dreaming that ho had arrived in safety at. Fort Dodge, and was telling his companions of his perilous escapes from freezing. But, upon wakening vvitli the first dawn of the morning, lie found himself .buried in the snow, out on the great prairie, and so weak from hunger and exhausted from the superhuman exertions he had put forth during the terrible days and nights past, and so crippled from the.freezing, that he had hardly strength to crawl out. of his icy bed. By great exerl.ions, however, he regained his feet, and could see. Lost Grove about a mile ahead. When he tried to walk he found that his limbs had lost their vitality, and he could only move forward! by reaching down with his frozen hands and lifting his legs out of the snow—placing! first one foot forward and then the other with his hands. He thus managed to move slowly towards the grove. After a long, toilsome! struggle, in which his indomitable energy! of will triumphed over every obstacle, he! at last reached the grove, but, only to find it cold, cheerless, and uninhabited. No! signs of life, food, or shelter could be find ;! but, still undismayed, his iron will nerved! him on to make one more great effort fori life. Beyond the grove, at a distance of about a mile and a half, he saw a house.; Having by this time almost entirely lost; the use of his feet and legs, he began to 1 crawl on his hands and knees through; tho deep snow, making for the house.! Sometimes he would be enabled to rise ~to! his feet and make a few steps forward,: when lie would again fall on to tho snow, and drag himself forward once more. \n'. this way ho managed at last to reach the! house, having been from daylight until| two o'clock going two miles and a half.; He had reached the residence of Mr Hicks,! live miles west of Drayton, and about 30i miles south-east of the point where he lost! the ro id. Ho had been out from Thursday! at four o'clock until the next Monday a"tj two o'clock, in tho severest storm of the season, with the mercury ranging at about fourteen degrees below zero, and had been on his feet all that time, with the exception of about twelve hours. He had gone four days and nights without a morsel of food of any kind, and no drink but snow. He had only slept about five hours in five days. He was almost entirely helpless, and very weak from his terrible sufferings. "VVe. doubt wheth-T there is another case on record of such fearful suffering, heroic endurance, determined energy, and cool, unflinching courage as have lean endured and displayed by this poor man. The sledge containing the mail was found about three miles south of tho Fort Dodge road. Ono of the horses was near it, frozen to death ; but the other was not discovered.