Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1875-07-20

news is occasionally obtained. But at
best il is 9 dreary, dead, profitless,
thankless life.
"One Of the most remarkable phe-
| nomena seen on the Peak" said Mr.
Brown, in a later conversation, is tine
electric Storm These storms general
ly begin with. hail, and last from. half
an hour to four hours. The whole at
mOsphere: is full of electricity.
Sheets of fire are everywhere sparks
crackle about your clothes and in your
hair, and fill the buffalo robes and the
bedding. The electricity comes
through the roof, through the win
dOWs. and up from the floor. 1T seems
as though you are ina battery. #
you go out doors cloud Of electricity
rests on the whole Peak. 1t comes
from the rOcks-the clouds are full Of
it. The lightning plays below in fear
ful intensity. The electricity is diff
fused through the atmosphere, and is
everywhere in the cabin. Ones hair
| literally stands on end, and even the
! furs in the cabin are stiff with IT..
At first one is greatly terrified, but he
gets used to it," No" continued he
in answer to a question, "it has no
marked effect on a person except to
give him a violent .palpitation of the
heart. ItalsO, perhaps, has a fatigu-
ing effect"
WINTER LIFE on THE PEAK.
Mr. Brown informed me also that
the fr0sts on the Peak are very remark
able Il have seen FROST" said he,
more than a foot deep all over the the
! summit. on windows, doors. rocks,
and particularly on metals. 1t has
sometimes clogged the thermometer
and stopped its working. l have seen
| the frost covering the telegraph wire
| more than eight inches deep, and i'll
! long stretches 1t frequently breaks the
| wire and stops communications
! Questioned Brown as to his predecessor
1 his own experience in reaching his
| post in March, and various other per
! sonal matters, 1t appears that his
j predecessor, named PhoedotiOus, now
! in the main Otf.c. at Washington, was
good deal of a hero. He was fond
of rolling big rocks from the summit
| down into what are termed the era
ter,n and the BottOmless Fit" anC
he kept crowbar for the purpose
| livery day he took his exercises il
this way. One very cold day PhOe
dorous was engaged in bis usual recrea
ton. His crOwbar was under huge
rock, and he was trying to raise /
with all his might. Suddenly hi;
| lever slipped, the rock remained firm
! buL the scientific Hungarian wen
| whirIing into the crater. How many
Thousand feet he fell he does not know
| l.. l., s,f,l-aA Iii 4
uD down in The cavern aud the frs
thing nc did was to throw away iii
crowjar. He had no further ,jlse fu
that. lie was lame ard bruised fright
fully. .,RQt he had to send his observ4
tiOu3 10 Washington at 9 O'Clock taa
! night, and he could not take then
! from the bottom of Il cavern. so, n,
collected his scattered senses and hob
hled Oft How he got opt Brown dQe
not know; hut the records Of tn
cnice show that PhOedoriou5. Eimsel
sent the 9 o'clpcf report TO Washing
ton. He froZe his foot, and is, yet
cripple, understand; hp. heupo lon
ger has a fancy for rolling stones.
DroWn- was himself fopr days il
reaching the Peak, from COLORADO
Springs. How he eyer got there is
mystery to himself The SHOW ha'
\ drifed fr'Shirullyj there was no siGr
of the f,il to he found. even tie tele
graph poles we're drifrcd under. Tn
tho mometer was 13 degrees beloI
Z-ro, and the wind was blowing at tn
I rate of forty miles and better. Their
was a binding SnoWstOrm; he cOul
, not use Snow-ShOes in climbing tn
mountains and he broke through til
crust at almost every step; lie could no
see, his provisions were inadequate
, and when at last on the fourth da.
lie rrached the cabin he vas neare
r dead chan alive. e
: Brown is only Twenty-Five years old
and a5 he related his experience in hi
quiet. modest way, ] could not hel
. contrasting his hap!css lot i'll th
mountains. away from friends and hu
man kind amid eternal snow: wit
; that of "OId Probabilities,;' in Wash
, ingtOn wo sits in his carpe;ed office
, receiving reports from such men a
Brown, who serve their country a
500 per month, and eat raw pork anC
t hard tack the year round. But | an
on the top of Pixies Peak. Ther
! was little left to amuse us here, an
. we were all glad when the descent be
: gan. We reached the lake on our. re
turn in good time, and arrived 8
t Colorado Springs in the early evening
5 The descent wl5s. comparatively easy
= but it was enough 1 yet Wonde
= which were the most fatigued at nigh
! the horses or the riders.