Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-05-17


past winter. 1t was when these avalanches
descended and blockaded the road with snow,
frozen and packed nearly to the solidity OF
ice, and in bodies from 20 to 100 feet In
depth, and interlaced with the twisted,
broken and jagged timbers from the wreck of
the sheds, that the railroad officials on Mr..
Pratt's division were called upon to
do battle with and overcome seemingly
insurmountable protests of nature against
the traversing Of her mountain realms by
man. There were times recently when gangs
of men were worked in this struggle for
twenty consecutive hours without rest or
food. Rest meant only to give up all accom-
plished; food supplies were cut off by other
avalanches on either hand, and recruits were
snow-bound on trains beyond the scene of the
disasters. Food for the brave workers was
most frequently sent in special trains from
Sacramento, while often the gangs as relieved
by fresh supplies were taken to the nearest
station and supplied with the best food OBJ
tainable. The officials found there battles to
develop men in their true characters. The
element that loves labor too much to mar it
by touch, was plentiful III application for
wages and worthless when engaged. The
laborers already and regularly in the employ
ment of the railroad company were among
the best of workers; they seemed to take
pride in accomplishment and to exult in vic
tory. Portuguese and Italians battled with
the SHOWS as if they were native to such con-
tiicts in their sunny homes beyond the seas
Chinese were by no means valueless for
sturdy efforts to conquer the SHOWS
miners fought with greatest skill and
the most Independence, while mountaineers
were most vigorous and constant in
these battles, to which their maturer years
have Injured them. Very few of the breaks
in the sheds consequent upon slides are less
than 500 feet in length, and many are longer.
From the first break up to the Summit the
snow, beginning at six feet, increases, until
at the Summit Hotel, now deserted and almost
buried in the mass of ice, it is from II to 16
feet IN depth, with drifts and packs 80 and
70 feet deep. All along the mountain sides
there hangs a mass of packed, melting and
treacherous snow, which at many places ap-
pears ready to dash upon the human works
below from the towering nights above. In
many places the sheer walls of the mountain
side beneath the rooted galleries which
serve to carry the avalanches over
the track and shoot them into the
ice from one to four feet in thickness, formed
by the daily drip of melting snow and the
nightly freezing. In places sections of the
new double sheds were examined which the
railroad company is now putting up over all
double tracks where snow-sheds are needed.
These new sheds are of sawed timer, and have
truss roofs with iron rod brace. The whole
is built with a single span as the central pests
formerly in use were found to be dangerous
to men in coupling and in working trains
These new structures are very massive, and
one would think ought to successfully resist
the ice and snow avalanches.
PAUsEs.
Pauses were made to look out upon Lake
Bonner, still wrapped in its wintry sheet; to
watch the dash of mountain torrents to look
out upon the Yuba at its rise, and the Bear
where it begins its course tc the valley ;
pauses to gain views of lofty peaks hanging
heavy with unnumbered tons of snow ready
to be precipitated upon the terraces below
to look into the signal system of the railroad
company to hear it explained why Red
Mountain peak is chosen as telephone and
telegraph station in summer, because from
its lofty bare, bald summit twenty miles of
sheds are in sight, and fire mt any point in
the line can be signaled by the watcher.
Pauses to enable the excursionists to
came down softly goodly part of
yesterday, intermitted with light falls of
rain from dull and leaden couded sky.
Pauses to enjoy glorious views of canyon,
mountain range and tar-away valley; of dis
tant ribbon-like rivers and dashing cascades
of lofty peaks and mountains of snow pauses
to gather gloom into the soul in the depths of
darksome tunnels and beneath the great drip
ping icicles of somber and echoing snow gal
leries. At every halt snow-balling battle
took place, and to their vigor be it given
credit, the ladies, in seven cases out of ten,
came out victors. They damned the granu-
lated wet and dripping snow down journal
istic necks and sent incipient neuralg ia re-
joicing along sedentary spinal columns they
rubbed the gubernatorial countenance and
took the starch out of the judicial shirt
bosom they filled in standup collars around
slender necks plump to the edge of the side
boards; they shampooed the unwilling heads
of athletes from the San Francisco Olympic
Club with snow surcharged with cinders, and
conspired to decoy unwilling victims into
rheumatic delights They received many
snowy baptismal in return, and minded not
an occasional acrobatic evolution from the
crown to the depths of drift. They rode
upon the engine, and entered into the
anatomy of the monster snow-plow at sid
ing, and otherwise gave renewed evidences of
The indisputable fact that, shielded behind
masculine gallantry, woman can get away
with more adventures in snow-bank and re-
cord more victories in SNOWFALL battles and
excursion tactics than the humans made of
sterner stuff can boast Of Like gictors of
old, they reduced the captives of war to
slavery, and dragged them at their chariot
wheels to pluck eaudy mountain plants from
places ruinous to shin-bone and the temper,
and sent them to dig up from the red soil the
delicate mountain lily, tear from its clinging
place to earth the devils carpet" and pluck
the fresh manzanita blossoms from their
tough stems, and coax the mountain fern I'M
broken from the gravelly soil of its home.
But, unlike the victors of old, they did their
share of all these pleasant tasks.
DOWN THE HILL.
Some miles above Emigrant Gap the last
snow of consequence was seen. From there
down, where the face of the earth has not
been SCARED and torn by hydraulic mining,
the green of spring is putting forth. Further
down, as at Gold Run, vegetation is far adj
yanced, and from Cape Horn the eye rests
on unceasirg green in the valley below and
on the distant cultivated slopes. In the
foothills the evidences of rapid and bounte-
Gus earth growth were enjoyed by the sight
and even the drizzle of rain all the afternoon,
that held its own down to Rocklip, coud not
dull the beauties of the scenery and the at
Effectiveness of field, vineyard and widespread-
ing meadow. And so filled with a still pro-
founder respect for nature in her winter garb
the one-day travellers came back to the valley
content with the SHOWS fall on the bleak
mountain tops, but better content with the
snowless plains.
FEMALE RoBBER.-The mystery of the rob-
berry at the residence of Mrs. Ten Eyck, cor
ner of Third and J streets, on April 18th, has
at last became unraveled, the party arrested
and the property recovered The case hav-
ing been reported to police headquarters at
the time of the occurrence, officer Woods took
the case in hand and soon became convinced
that the robbery was committed by cham
bermaid employed in the house. but was un-
able to fix the crime upon her until Saturday,
when he got clue to the movement of the
stolen property and afterwards found it in
saloon, where it had been put up for drinks
and small amount of money, and upon which
still farther advances were expected. He
also obtained the necessary evidence that it
was left there by Frances Scott, alias Dia-
mond Kate, the chambermaid suspected,
whereupon he arrested her and she is now at
the station-house under the charge of grand
larceny. All the missing jewelry was recov-
cred, amounting in value to about $500.
HEITERKErT PIcNIC.-The Heiterkeit Social