Historic Post - Week of April 2nd

The New North-West, April 4, 1884

Badly Frozen

Livingston Enterprise

From Mammoth Hot Springs comes the news of a very sad and serious case of freezing. The victim was J.S. Anderson, who, being anxious to visit Cooke City, had undertaken to carry the mail one trip to that camp in place of Frank Phiscator, the regular carrier, who was unwell. Anderson started out with pony and toboggan to make the trip through the deep snows and over a rough mountain country, where the trail is not easily followed by an unaccustomed traveler even in summer. He reached the region of the Blacktail divide and there lost his way and seems to have wandered about for a long while, perhaps nearly a day, until worn out with fatigue and benumbed with cold he sank down overcome with the sleep which is generally a fatal feature in such cases. He awoke, however, but found that his feet and the lower part of his legs were frozen, and that his hands were badly frostbitten. He then abandoned his pony, left the mail where it might be found and started to drag his frozen limbs in the direction of Mammoth Hot Springs. He reached there Thursday, having been out, as we understood our informant, two days and two nights. The unfortunate man will very likely lose both his feet, beside undergoing an unutterable amount of suffering.

Museum note: It was later reported that he probably would not loose his feet after all.