Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-02-02

SNOW SLIDES IN UTAH.
HOW THE AvALANCHEs oCCUR-PERIIs OF
THE MINERS.

A miner in Utah writes to an Eastern
paper, under date Of Jan. Is, aud gives
an interesting account Of q serious acci-
dent that happened u short time before to
one OF the mining camps, 0ccasioned by
a heavy snow. slide. He says:
In one Of our mining camps, known a.
big Cottonwood" the mountain peaks
looms up to the height of from II, 600 to
| l2,V00 feet. and, during the winter. the
snow-storms rage necessarily. Conse-
quently the camp is subjected to the most
terrific snow slides. One of those storms
was of the most fearful character, not q
little fall Of snow or six or eight inches
during night, but that many feet, with
the wind bowling. and drifting the snow
in every direction. There are places up
there where the snow is probably over forty
feet deep. These avalanches are caused
by the wind sweeping up on ono side of
the mouatain and forming large DRIFT
just over the ridge on the opposite side,
which soon becomes too heavy, and de-
taching itself, plunges down the mountain
increasing in size until moving mass Of
snow, covering acres, and ten to forty
feet thick. sweeps with the rapidhy OF
| lightning down into the canons, carrying
everything before it. No soft snow, but
packed and jammed together so solid that
the moment the mass stops, heavily LOADED
ore teams can be driven anywhere on top
of it, the horses shoes only making al,
impression. One of these slides swept
over a mine called The Anna, last Tues.
day, killing four men. The mine was
working six men on eight hours shifts.
which necessarily kept two men at work
while four were either sleeping or resting.
Their cabin, or boarding house. imme-
diately in front Of the tunnel they were
running. was built very strong, and con-
sidered safe from slides.
At 12 O'Clock at night the shafts were
changed. and the two men whose duty
came on left two of the men in the house
asleep, and the other two sitting up at the
fire. One had commenced writing a let
ter, and the other was sitting on stool
smoking pipe. The two men had reach
ed the face, (or back end of the tunnel,
which was in distance OF four hundred
feet,) and one had raised the sledge to
strike the drill when they heard the roar
of the slide. They ran back to the mouth
which the slide had run over, leaving 1t
filed with about FIVE feet of snow, which
they had to dig through. and on going out
found nothing in sight. The house was
swept away completely. They raised an
alarm as soon as possible. and getting
word up to the mine called the Prince Of
Wales, which was running about one hun
dred hands, they all turned out and COM
menced digging for the house, which was
net found until late the next morning. 1t
had been carried down the mountain about
two thousand feet, with about thirty feet
of snow on top OF it. The tour men in
side were found just as the other two had
lett them. But the snow had brok-
broken through the roof, and had envel-
oped them so suddenly that they had not
moved. They were not bruised in any
way, but had been suffocated. The man
was in an act of writing. the inkstand not
even having tipped over, but the man
smoking had probably heard it coming
one second before he was struck. as his
pipe lay between his feet. There they
sat moulded in the snow, looking as nat
ural as if alive. The two men in bed lay
with the blankets over them as smoothly
as If just spread. The men who helped
dig them out, and who brought the bodies
into the city, said that by the looks Of the
men they could not have awakened at all.
| The slides have started early this year.
There have been seven men killed within
| the last two weeks. and q number of ami
mails, but the camp for snow slides is 'Lit-
tie Cottonwood" at which place, couple
of Winters ago. an avalanche came down
killing thirteen men and some thirty odd
animals. A rumor is in circulation this
evening that another had happened at the
same place, killing six men.