Un día, a finales de 1855, Thompson vio un anuncio en el periódico Sacramento Union: “Personas de las que ya no hay en el mundo; el Tío Sam necesita un cartero”. Él mismo sabía lo que era estar privado de correo, así que rápidamente pidió la plaza.
Jon Torsteinson-Rue (later changed to John A. Thompson) was born in the town of Tinn, in Telemark County, Norway in 1827. He immigrated to the United States in 1837, and by 1852, at the age of 25, found himself seeking his fortune in the gold fields of California. This way of life, however, did not suit his temperament.
One day in late 1855, Thompson saw an ad in the Sacramento Union: "People Lost to the World; Uncle Sam Needs a Mail Carrier." He had had personal experience with mail deprivation, and quickly applied for the job.
Cuando era niño, en la región noruega de Telemark, los esquís o ‘snowshoes’ (literalmente, zapatos de nieve) eran tan habituales como los zapatos normales.
As a young child in the Telemark region of Norway, ski shaped snow-shoes (called ski-skates) were as common as ordinary shoes.
El nuevo cartero pronto recibió el sobrenombre de Snowshoe. Thompson estimó que necesitaría recorrer entre 40 y 65 km (25 a 40 millas) diarios para poder entregar el correo sin retrasos.
The new mail carrier was quickly nicknamed Snowshoe. He reckoned he had to cover 40 to 65 km (25 to 40 miles) a day to keep his delivery on schedule.
Entre dos y cuatro veces al mes durante 20 inviernos, sin importarle el mal tiempo, Snowshoe Thompson se ponía en marcha a la hora prevista. El recorrido de Placerville to Genoa le llevaba tres días y el regreso dos días.
Two to four times a month for twenty winters, regardless of weather, Snowshoe Thompson set out at the appointed hour. His mail run took 3 days from Placerville to Genoa and two days on the return trip.
Snowshoe Thompson a menudo rescataba a buscadores de oro atrapados en la nieve y les llevaba de vuelta montados sobre la cola de sus esquís, agarrados a su cintura.
Snowshoe Thompson often rescued prospectors caught in the snow, and would carry them out on the back of his skis as they held their arms around him.
Nada frenaba a Snowshoe Thompson. No había ventisca suficientemente fuerte ni frío tan intenso como para forzarle a abandonar su deber. Fue el único hombre que llevó regularmente el correo entre la vertiente oriental de la Sierra Nevada y las comunidades mineras de California entre 1856 y 1876.
Nothing could stop Snowshoe Thompson. No blizzard was severe enough, no amount of cold frigid enough to make him call it quits. He was the only man to regularly carry the mail between the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada and the foothill mining communities of California between 1856 and 1876.
Snowshoe Thompson murió de apendicitis complicada con neumonía el 15 de mayo de 1876, y fue enterrado en el cementerio de Genoa.
Snowshoe Thompson died of appendicitis which developed into pneumonia on May 15, 1876 and was buried at the cemetery in Genoa.
