Annie McIntyre came to the gold camp of Rocky Bar on July 4th, 1864. And she came in a most unusual way.
Annie was just four years old, and she arrived in a backpack carried by her father.
It was when she was 38 years old and had five children of her own that Annie--then Annie Morrow--experienced the tragedy that made her an Idaho legend.
In the late spring of 1898 she and a lady friend called Dutch Em decided to make a snowshoe trip from Atlanta over the mountains to Rocky Bar. A trip over the hump that late in the winter shouldn’t have been a problem, but a howling snowstorm caught Annie and Dutch Em by surprise. The blizzard raged for three days.
When searchers found Annie, she was crawling through the snow, delirious, wearing only a thin covering of clothes. She had given almost all her clothing to Dutch Em, trying to keep her friend warm. It was a futile attempt. Dutch Em froze to death.
Annie survived the ordeal, but her feet were so badly frost bitten they had to be amputated. She was a fighter, though, and the loss of her feet didn't slow her down much. Though friends made crude artificial limbs for her, Annie usually found it faster to get around by crawling.
For many years after that Annie ran a restaurant and rooming house. The miners had a lot of respect for the tough Idaho lady they nick-named Peg Leg Annie.
Annie was just four years old, and she arrived in a backpack carried by her father.
It was when she was 38 years old and had five children of her own that Annie--then Annie Morrow--experienced the tragedy that made her an Idaho legend.
In the late spring of 1898 she and a lady friend called Dutch Em decided to make a snowshoe trip from Atlanta over the mountains to Rocky Bar. A trip over the hump that late in the winter shouldn’t have been a problem, but a howling snowstorm caught Annie and Dutch Em by surprise. The blizzard raged for three days.
When searchers found Annie, she was crawling through the snow, delirious, wearing only a thin covering of clothes. She had given almost all her clothing to Dutch Em, trying to keep her friend warm. It was a futile attempt. Dutch Em froze to death.
Annie survived the ordeal, but her feet were so badly frost bitten they had to be amputated. She was a fighter, though, and the loss of her feet didn't slow her down much. Though friends made crude artificial limbs for her, Annie usually found it faster to get around by crawling.
For many years after that Annie ran a restaurant and rooming house. The miners had a lot of respect for the tough Idaho lady they nick-named Peg Leg Annie.
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