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Show TI11L UPFKR. MISSOIKI. The Sioux City Journal, of January 17th, gives H graphic account of the t-utlerings and experience of a lonely traveler en the Upper .Missouri : On Sunday last there arrived in our city tho wordh used up specimen of a Texan cattle driver we ever saw. His name is Thomas Dorruiu. He had come from i'ort Buibrd, 1,225 miies. on foot. The following is the story oi his awful tramp through a wild Indian country, in the dead of winter : He left Uul'ord in the latter part of October, without a dollar in money. His desire was to reach Texas. When he started out on his long journey, the weather was very pleasant, . and the weather prophets predicted a very mild and open winter. He accepted their predictions and began his journey lor the States. After traveling about two hundred miles a fearful snow-storm overtook him, and he became bewildered and nearly perished in the storm, which continued lor two days. When the storm ceased he came from his shelter a hole io an embankment and started start-ed back for Buford. Hut alter going about one mile he stopped and argued the question with himself whether it was het to die like a coward on his retreat, or go on and die like a hero. This question, he Mats a. umcutn uue io uecioe. oae knew the route back to Buford, and also knew that he was midway between Jjufort and llice, but he was uncertain oi the route to tLe latter place, and yet the inducements to keep on were strong, for at lllec he had a li'ioDd and at Buibrd he-had he-had none. Ou the whole, he considered consid-ered the question evenly balanced, and to decide his eourse he resorted to the child's method of setting up a stick to fall as it would, determined to pursue the direction it should point. He set up the stick and balanced it on its end as well as he could. It stood still for a few seconds, as if partaking of the man's doubt, and then tell to ward the States. Accepting the decision, de-cision, he started on lor I'ort Kiee. The undertaking was an awful one, and he had little hopes of ever making that place alive, and he had not had a mouthful to eat for forty-eight hours. Together with his fasting and tho ef feets of his exposure to the storm, he found himself weak, and not as brave as he wont to be. To die he considered would be a privilege, and he wa? several sever-al times tempted to shoot himself. But when it came to the point his courage wouldn't stick, and hope would again assume control of his mind, and he would continue his weary plodding. On 'he second day after the storm, as night was approaching, he sought .:-o..s ..(' h..lf.r Ii, reininn ni.fl morning, and thus di.-coveiod a hole in an embankment, a short distance from the road upon which he was traveling. He determined to re.-t there tor the night. As he was crawling into the aperture, on his hands and knees, he put his bauds upou the cold face of a dead Indian, who lay near the mouth of the hole. At lirst he was startled, and thought to leave; but on second thought he c included that, as he was not al'iaid of a live ludiau, he surely wan'l ali aid of a dead Iud.au. Accordingly Ac-cordingly he beg in lo drag the delui'tt bravo from the hole to make room lor himself On reaching the out.-ide ot the cave with the dead Indian he discovered dis-covered a deep wound on the left side oftl'.ebo ly klow tho ribs, which he concluded tva- cau'd by the horn oi a bulla lo, and from the effects of winch the fig brave uiu-t have d.e J. Itv.s opinion was strengthened ly the tact tnat he found a laige piece ef lrez:u buffalo meat in the h. do, which it is uuiicix.-sary io say, was d voiued without with-out much ceremony, li s -nop upon this i-.ii: lit was very nuK-'a i.-tur:d. K-.ttur the preseih-e of the dead rod or the am nint of buil'.i'o meat he put into his .-iotuaeh, c iu-ed terru .e ailaeKS ol nightmare. He was sevcrai t:n.es scalped and tied io the stake, and m-re the. ii o .ee tram pic-i n..ir.y lo de tlh by lieid- if lu::.J. The morning came a. i,i-;. nnd he crawled out. scareciy K'l'n vi-ig hi- un ideiiuiy u.ier sUob. turitii'.i., uic-auis. He took a la--t livk at th-. .t a 1 In :;.". and went on bis way. lis k:..'-vitig h-'W so.ia he wou.d sleep ac.iiu n -t to waken. wa-ken. About luoiiof ibis ' ay's u-.iu.p he .-lvt an aniei.-pc. and t ' ii le' believed be-lieved iLc good L-dd a.- '.niccl on his -iio. Cuttingoutwii.it meat he could comfortably carry, bo took up Lis line of march with a stronger faith in the accomplishment of his undertaking. undertak-ing. The balance of this cay passed without with-out anything of note transpiring, as did the succeeding day, until ime in the aftercojn, when he met a party ol fjur Indians who tovk what little meat he had irft. and sent him on his way-far way-far from rejoicing. - About an hour before be-fore dark, and but a few miles from Fort Berthold. a large black bear was di-covered silting right in ihe path which he was traveling. Bruin loosed at the 'Texan and the Texan looked at bruin, both standing like posts. Ihe Texan did not want to shoot unless he was certain, of doing good execution, for a shot would only provoke an attack, at-tack, which he was in poor condition to withstand. He preferred to await the action of liis bearship. A lew minutes min-utes more and the bear left, and our hero went on, reaching Fort Berthoid a short time after dark, when he rested and recuperated a couple of days. Daring his journey from Berthold to Tiice the weather was hue and game plenty, consequently he enjoyed comparative com-parative comlort. At Biee he found that his friend had left for the Slates. He remained there, however, until he somewhat recovered from the effects of his tiamp, when he stole a government mule and put out for Fort Sully. The mule proved serviceable to a point rithin fifty miles of Sully, when the poor creature dropped dead on the road, from over exertion. He had made 25U miles in three days and a half. The remaining portion of the distance dis-tance to this city was accomplished with comnarative ease. He eausrht a ride from Sully to Fort Thompson, and after that the distances were so short between the posts that he Ceuld easily carry what provisions he needed. |
