The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-02-19
HALF A MILE A MINUTE.
A Rapid and Perilous Descent ON SNOW
ShOeA.

The Leadville (Col.) Chronicle givesthe
following account Of the perilous jour-
new of Mr.. F. G. McCandless, who made
the trip from Ute City, in the Roaring
Fork district, to Leadville on snow-shoei,
ninety miles, in four days and a half:
" The first eighteen miles occupied three
days of hard labor, and brought him to
Independence Camp. Two days out of
this three he was without food, having
taken but one days supply on starting.
The difficulties in the road were appal-
ling. Heavy, wet SHOWS had laden the
trees in the canon and soaked them full
of water. Cold weather froze them solid,
and strong winds cracked them off their
stumps like so many matches. This
caused the narrow gulch to be com-
pletely filled with a dense brush or
thicke. of their snow-laden branches.
The high, perpendicular, and heavily
timbered walls of the canon forbade any
attempt to scale them and to pass this
all but insurmountable obstruction Nc
Candless saw that he must cut his way
through or return. He chose the former
course. A light "squaw axe" was his
only tool, and was almost useless, from
the fact that the wood was almost equal
to rock in hardness. He had calculated
on making independent Camp the first
night. His provisions were gone, and
there was nothing to do but toll on, or
lie down and die. Night came on, dark
and cold. No wolves howled to keep
him company, nor was the roar of the
mountain lion heard. Nothing broke
the death-like silence save the sharp
thud of his little axe, as he cut his way,
inch by inch, and foot by foot, through
the gloomy defle. So passed the night,
the day, the second day, and late in the
afternoon, McCandless, haggard, pale,
starving, and completely worn out,
crawled up to the door of a cabin in In
dependence Camp. He was warmly
welcomed and tenderiy cared for, SO that
on the next morning he felt like pursu-
ing his way.
"After a hearty breakfast he started
again, reaching the foot of the range at
the head Of Independent Gulch at $3.50
O'Clock Tuesday morning. Another hour
took him to the summit. He had a draw
knife with him, and he stopped to fix
his snow-shoes. The edges we're shaved
down and the pole was shar pened. Then
securing everything about his person
carefully, and bracing himself for the
perilous descent, he made the start.
The crust on the was like ice, and
neither shoes or pole made any impres.
sion upon it. This rendered any at
tempt at steering or slowing up useless,
and an idea of the rapidity with which
that descent was made may be had when
we state that it was just10 o'clock when
he left the summit, and four miles be.
low, where he passed a cabin, he pulled
out his watch, and it marked sever
minutes past, showing ! speed of owe 6
mile in two minutes. 1t was while on
this descent, and at the highest speed
attained, that McCaudless passed
through the most imminent peril of the
whole trip. AS he drew neal to timber
line, a tall and sturdy pine, fully thret
feet in diameter, doomed up directly il
his course. His hair stood on end, a
every effort to swerve to one side of i
proved vain until when within a few
feet of the tree, the snow had become !
little softened by the sun, and a Sigh
grip was taken by the shoes and pole
Expecting instant death, and with tn,
mentally uttered prayer of Good bye
Mac the man threw himself over unit
his shoulder touched the surface of thu
snow. A sharp ZIP and the tree wa
passed il safety. On down through tn,
timber flew the slider, and soon the foo
of the range was reached in safety
From there on he used his legs with sucl
good effect that the Twin Lakes wer'
reached at 5 o'clock in the afternoon O
Sunday, Nc misunderstanding made thirty
eight miles that day. Monday mornin!
at 1890 he left the lakes, and at 1873
two hours later, he was eating dinner a
the Grand Hotel in this city.
"The ~snow-snoes on which the tri]
was made are worthy of mention. Nc
Candies hewed them out himeelf at hi
cabin. Their length is thirteen feet min
inches each, while the guiding pole j
thirteen feet long. McCandlesl is a
expert in their use, having Travelled
perhaps, thousands of miles upon then
In addition to his travels in all the mott
worthy mining regions of America, b
has visited and mined in the gold field
of Australia, the diamond beds of Afric,
and other notable TO :eign mimi
countries. He unresery eddy declare
however, that his last trip, as detaile
above, is by far the hardest and MOI
psrilous he has ever made. He will RI
turn to Roaring Forks in a few days b
the same route and means"