Mondovi High School - Mirror Yearbook (Mondovi, WI)

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iai A RACE WITH DEATH. (By Edward Stiles.) It was growing dusk, but still early in the evening, when young Pierce Beufourt unwound his long-lashed dog whip with a stinging crack over his six dog sled team, and started his faithful huskies forward with a rush of pattering feet, to carry the doctor to the Northwestern Fur Company’s station five hundred miles north of the Canadian border. Pierce had left the station five days before to get the Doctor to attend the captain’s little blue-eyed daughter who lay deathly sick with pneumonia. It was late in the spring and odds were against the doctor and trailer. The ice in the streams was beginning to soften and made travel exceedingly dangerous over the short perilous passes, but Pierce, faithful to his captain volunteered to risk his life in order to bring the doctor to save the girls life, and the doctor ever a faithful to duty was willing to meet the emergency. All through the night Pierce urged the dogs on, and followed behind the sled to keep them where more than dog tenacity was necessary to cope with the snow and ice. Not until early morning did he come to a halt for a bite to eat, and to allow t 'c dogs to rest. In less than an hour, the team was again in the harness and buckling unto the collar behind their sturdy lead dog, old Spike. For two nights and one day they breasted the north winds and soft snow with never a wink of sleep, and very little food. Once the sled went down into a soft air hole and one dog was drowned before he could be gotten out and the doctor narrowly escaped getting a wetting which would have delayed their race with death. After this, the huskies were ever on the alert to avoid such dog de- vouring traps. In all his days on the north trail, Pierce had never tackled such a trip. Finally, at midnight of the third night, he was forced to halt for rest and nourishment being so weak as to be unable to travel any further. Early morning saw them several miles from their halting place, still tired, foot sore, but mushing steadily towards the fur station and sick girl. During the afternoon one dog, unable to stand the strain, dropped, and was put out of misery with a death blow from the trailers axe. He was cut loose and thrown into the brush for the hungry timber wolves which had been following the party for the last seventy-five miles, leaving only four gaunt muscular dogs to do the work of six. At the end of the fifth night a forced halt was again made to save the dogs from an excess of torture. The last hundred miles was made in a staggering, half-blinded rush. The doctor who had traveled on snow shoes most of the last two hundred miles was in half a daze and traveled on, unconscious of any existing pain, began to show signs of utter exhaustion. Twenty miles from the station, two fresh teams and drivers who had been waiting and watching for the outfit took the doctor and Pierce on. and rushed them in. The doctor administered remedies to the sick-child who soon recovered and cheated Death of its prey. Pierce was in a serious condition having frozen both feet and hands from which it took months to recover. Old Spike lurched forward on his head dead at the station door, never to hit tin tortuous trail again. The old inhabitants at the station never grow wearv of telling of Pierce Beufourt’s race with death. 14

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flAe taken the wrong road.” We had better keep on this road,” said Mr. Davis, “It is just a mile to that old camp ami we may as well he sure that he is not up here before we go any farther.” Before they got to the camp they found several packages among which was what had been a ham but all of the meat was gnawed off. The men said little when they found this but they all thought of the hungry packs of wolves. They soon re 'died the old shacks anil saw Montgomery’s sled drawn up in front of one of the shai ks. They hurried to the door, opened it and looked in. On one side of the shed stood the horse and on the other side on a blanket from the sleigh lay Mr. Montgomery. lie turned his head as they caine in and spoke. “Take me home, Bob.” 11 is body was numb with cold and as they started to help him to the sled he groaned. “My arm, you’re hurting my arm.” They examined it and found it to he broken. They hitched the horse into the sleigh and were soon at Davis’. By this time the other hunters had come in and one of the men went to Montgomery’s cabin to tell Mrs. Montgomery of the safety of her husband. A1 Browning was quite skillful at setting bones and Mr. Montgomery’s arm was soon taken care of. He was very hungry as he had had nothing to eat since noon the day before. After he had eaten and gotten warm, he told them his story. “After I left Davis,” said Mr. Montgomery, “I started directly home. When I had gone about a half a mile the blizzard began. The snow was blinding and it grew very dark. I could not see my way so 1 trusted to my horse. The snow must have blinded him, too, for he turned into the wrong read. 1 must have been about half way to the camp from the main road, when I heard the Howl of wolves in the distance. I thought I must hi nearly home so I kept steadily onward. I was numb with cold and blinded with snow. The howl of the wolves grew closer and closer. Before I reached the cam’ the animals were near the back of the sled. 1 urged my horse on faster, and I threw things off from my load to make them stop and let me gain time. Then I came suddenly upon the lumber camp and they were more desperate than ever. I had thrown most of the meat from the sled and while I was taking the horse from the sled I threw them other articles. I had barely time to get myself and horse into the shed before they would have been upon me. When I jumped from my sled I was so numb with cold that I lost my footing and fell on my arm so that it was broken. It pained me all night and I was obliged to walk around most of the time to keep from freezing. “I tell you I was glad to hear vour voices and get back to food and fire again.” (To be Continued.) 13

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 THE MISSION OF THE LITTLE PINK VALENTINE. (Margaret O’Mera) What is all that bustle and hurry about and wlmt ».s to become of me?” ex-i-itcdly asked a dainty pink valentine, which lay on top of all the others in the third grade valentine box. “I dare you to peek out and see. I’ve been trying and trying to, but I’m not tall enough to see over. “Oh, I’ll tell you,” said a large overheating comic. “You little dunce, don’t you know this is St. Valentine’s Day and like as not you are intended for that tous-el-headed Jack Green. I’m going to little Grace Bremen, I know I am, ’cause I heard .Jack Green telling a lot of fellows when we were coming to school, that he guessed about the time Grace looked at me, she’d know she was red-headed, and she wouldn’t walk around with her nose tilted quite so high.” “Well,” sighed the little pink Valentine. “I wish I were sure of where I am going. Boost me up, will you, so T can look out and see what is going on.” The big comic then lifted her up so that she could easily see out of the slit in the top of the box. “Oh, look! she cried, “at that pretty little girl on the front seat. Hasn’t she the loveliest curls? I hope T go to her. See tlu ladies coming in. Oh. now they are coming to take off the cover to our box and give us away. My, but T wish I was hack in the drug store window. Let me down, quick.” The cover was lifted off bv a pleasant looking lady and one by one the valen- tines were taken out. Each time the teacher came after another valentine, the little pink one and the large overbearing comic shrank back in the dark corner together. Finally they were the only ones left in the box. They had sadly said good-hve to all of their companions, as one by one they had been taken out. Now the teacher came back and lifted out the comic. He was passed down the aisle to little Grace Broman. She quickly grabbed him and put him in her desk. Why did the boys always have to tease her about her red hair? While she was hating Jack Green with all her heart for sending her the big comic, something else was being passed down the aisle. When it got to her seat she read the words “To Grace from a loving friend.” It was a dainty pink thing with a sweet love message inside. She forgot all about the horrid old comic, and held up the pink valentine to show Jack Green that she had at least one pretty one. Five minutes later when school was dismissed, she put the comic and the pink valentine in a book together, and started home. “Why, hello pinkey,” was the comic’s greeting. “I guess Gracie won’t walk around with her freckled nose quite so high, after the lesson I’ve given her.” “I'd be ashamed of myseif to make fun of a little girl just because she has red hair. She looked so sad until I came to cheer her up. I’m so glad I made her twice as happy as you made her sad.” 15