Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1875-02-04
The Sn0w.Slides In Utah.


In one of our mining camps known as
F" Big Cottonwood" the mountain peaks
loom up to the height of from II 600 to
$4,000 feet, and, during the winter. the
snow storms rage necessarily Conse-
quently the camp is subjected to the
most terrific snow sides.
One of these storms was of the most
fearful character-not little fall OF
snow of six or eight inches during a
night, but that of 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 one
side of the mountain, and forming
large drift just over the ridge on
the opposite side, which soon be-
comes too heavy, and, detaching itself,
plunges down the mountain, lncreas.
ing in size until a moving mass OF
snow, covering acres, and ten to forty
feet thick, sweeps with the rapidity OF
lightning down into the canons, carrying
everything before it. No soft snow, but
packed and iammed together so perfectly
solid that the moment the mass stops
heavily-loaded oreteams can be driven
anywhere on top OF it, the horses shoes
only making an impression. A person In
front of one of those slides can COM
mence his prayers none too quick. Wad-
ing in snow anywhere from his knees to
his neck, with it blowing so that he can't
see four feet in advance of him, he
doesn't have the least chance to escape,
although he knows one is coming by the
terrible noise it makes, which can be
heard at long distance.
One of these slides swept over mine
called the Anna" last Tuesday, killing
four men. The mine was working six
men on eight hours shifts, which neces-
sarily kept two men at work while FOUR
were either sleeping or resting. Their
cabin, or rather boarding house, imme-
diately in front of the tunnel they were
running was built very strong, and con
sidered safe from slides. At IL 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 letter and the
other was sitting on stool smoking lis
pipe.
The two men had just reached the face
(or back end of the tunnel, which was in
a distance of 400 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 it filled with about
five feet of snow, which they had TO dig
through, and on getting out found moth
ing 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 100
hands, they all turned out and com
menced digging for the house, which was
not found until late the next morning.
1t had been carried down the mountain
about 1900 feet with about thirty feet of
snow on top of it.
The four men inside were found just
as the other two had left them. The snow
had broken through the roof, and had
enveloped them so suddenly that they
had not moved. They were not bruised
in any way, but had been sufocated.
The man sat there at the table in the act
of writing the inkstand not even having
tipped over, but the man smoking had
probably heard it coming one second be-
fore he was struck, as his pipe lay be-
tween his feet. There they sat, nodded
in the snow, looking as perfectly
natural as if alive. The two men in
bed could not even have woke up-they
lay in their beds with the blanket over
them as smoothly as if just laid on. The
men who helped dig them out, and who
brought the bodies into the city, said
that by the looks of the men they
couldn't have awakened at all
The slides have started in early this
year. There have been seven men killed
within the last two weeks, and number
of animals, but the camp for snow slides
is " Little Cottonwood" at which place,
couple of winters ago, an avalanche
came down, killing thirteen men and
some thirty-odd animals A rumoI is in
circulation this evening that another
has happened at the same place, killing
six men-SdH Lake Cor. Davenport (I0ioa)
Gazette.