ice caves

One summer Papa took the family and Milton and his wife and son Billy. I took my three friends, Emma Johnston, Alta Balard and Deloris Blanchet. Emma Johnston mother went with us in a hayrack and we went to the Prier Mountains, where there was an ice cave. It seemed like it took one day to get there and Papa found us a nice grassy place to camp. It was really beautiful up there; the deer would come down to our camp to drink early in the morning.

We roamed all over that mountain till we found a hole to get down into the ice cave. First Milton put a rope on Don and let him down, he had a flashlight, but it was so dark he could not see much. Then they let Gene down and then I went down. we just had a ledge to stand on and Don told us to stand still because there was a big hole that went on down father and he did not know where it went. Then came Emma Johnston, she was quite a large girl, she had a pair of Don’s chaps on that made her bigger. She got about half way through that hole and got stuck, Milton tried to pull her up and she could not move, then Don would pull her down but she was stick in that ice hole. Gene and I was afraid to move because we did not want to fall in that hole and Don said to set down because when they did brake her loose she might come with a bang and knock us down. We were about half an hour, moving her back and forth till the ice melted enough to get her loose, but we finally were able to go on throw the cave. It was sure pretty down there, all kinds of different formation.

“We all left our name in a bottle, so if any of you ever go to Wyoming to Prior Mountain to the ice cave you will see our names”.

are you crazy?
Now all this time I was in love with Guy Spence, when he would come in to town doing the winter months, Daphne and I would have parties at our house or we would gather at his place. His sister kept house for them. Daphne was pairing off with Johnny Large, who was Guy sister son, one night after we had come home getting ready for bed, Daphne asked me to trade partners with her. She wanted Guy and for me to take Johnny. I just look at her and asked her if she thought I was crazy. But she was starting to pull away from the crowed. I still had my three girl friends.