Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-01-15
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, Valley.

S10Mb0ane<in6fara Valley.
A few weeks ago six miners, Bidding
goodbye IN the world. climbed the tow
ering heights of Kings river canyon,
CAL, and passed into Paradise valley,
| where they are now snowbound for the
! winter. They could as easily tunnel
their way TO the Antipodes as escape
from their camp alter the first SHOWS OF
November, so until May Of next year
they will dig for gold, giving no thought
to the summer companions from whom
they are exiled. The valley Is eight
miles long and about one mile in width,
itself 10000 feet above the sea, while
the cliffs encompassing run perpendicu-
larly 1000 feet further. Until last year
it was deemed impossible for men to
pass n winter in the valley. Then four
hunters, w. A. Clark, William Hicks,
William Hilton and J.. M. Grover, tried
the experiment and met with success.
They built n cabin and stored away a
pack train load of fnecessaries. To their
surprise they found deer and bears un-
der the cliffs throughout December and
January. One afternoon Clark cornered
buck and doe at the head of a small
canyon where the cliffs were too steep
for them to climb. He determined to
catch them without using n rifle. He
stunned the doe with stone and tied
her down. The buck, a powerful fellow,
made frantic leaps toward small ter
race over his head till his tongue hung
from his mouth, and tumbling sixty
feet down precipice broke his neck.
Looking down from their cabin one
moonlight night the hunters saw three
cinnamon bears climb to the retreat Of
mountain ram, whose defense was
fierce, but Intellectual. On the twelfth
of January an avalanche Of snow and
rocks swept down, .burying two of the
men fifteen feet. The men had heard the
thunder ofits approach and rooted them
selves deep under n neighboring ledge,
from which they dug their way out
through the snow in five minutes A
remarkable phenomenon, of which they
had the benefit, was double sun set
every day-one at l.30 T.. NJ, when the
sun passed behind a towering cliff into
obscurity for two hours, and another at
four o'clock.
While the four mountaineers were i'm
prisoned for the winter in Paradise val
ley, Clark climbed to bluff three thou
sand feet above the valley TO kill grouse.
II was in the latter part of April and
the bears had emerged from their win
ter quarters. He was on the point of
descending when three bears bounced
out int o his path. He looked about FOR
place OF refuge. A dead pine stood a
little ways to his front. To divert the
approaching beasts he sent one shot
from his only weapon, Colts heavy
dragoon six shooter. One bear dropped,
but got up again and joined in the rush.
A second shot was of more account, for
the fellow that was hitrolled over, while
the other made loud aid indescribable
bear music over him. Clark reached
the tree and about twenty-five feet up
found strong limb over which he put
his leg and rested, putting and blowing.
while he viewed the new situation. The
last bear shot layIn its death struggles,
with ball through its heart; the other
two pranced around and occasionally
made toward the hunter. Hoping his
companions would come to his assist
ance, Clark resolved TO discharge his
four remaining shots in quick success
sion at the bears. wishing. if possible,
at the same time TO kill one or both of
them. He emptied his pistol accord
ingly, but neither bear seemed to be
badly hurt, If struck at all; and his
comrades. thinking he was shooting ut
grouse, did not come near him. An in
teresting predicament this At last, after
half hour OF more, the two surviving
bears. having eyed and howled at him
10 their hearts content, loped of, the
large one behind being somew hat disa-
bled. Once in n while rs this old bruin
disappeared in the distance he sat down
and cast wistful glance at the tree.
evidently feeling that mortal was there
whose bones he wanted to crack.