Sharp County record., 1880-12-23
A SnowshOe Journey Along the Sierras.

| leave EUREKA dllCg' DOlIO-''' ~
County. was fifty-six miles distant. That
was nv coal. Thirty miles OF the way
Law over deep snow, and was to be tray
eled over on snowshoes. The Norwe-
pian snowshoe is long wooden skate
or runner. turnedup at the forward END,
creased on the lower side, with a strap
! In the middle to hold the foot, The In
dian snowshoe is fiat network, fast-
ened to frame, in shape something
like an enlarged battledOOr The prln-
cipal use of the pole, carried IN the
hands with the Norwegian shoe, IS to
serve as a brake and helm while going
down hill. Some put it under the arm
and Others straddle it while making a
descent. The arm position is the most
identified. The legs must be kept
straddled at ridiculous distance apart,
and the first few days practice seems
to split person nearly in two. If you
tumble down on side hill it is almost
impossible to get up again, and the un-
| fortunate must remain in a recun0ent
position very much like that assumed
| by the heather when they 60 down on
all fours before their god, until some one
unstraps his shoes. preferred the Nor
wegian shoe, and these | determined to
use on nv contemplated journey. A
pack was lashed to my back. 1t held a
| blanket. some meat, bread, coffee, Su-
gar. one fox skin andmy worldly ward
robe. The morning light had not
dawned whenI started. Itwas intensely
cold. Eureka Valley soon disappeared
behind me. Incver saw it again and
probably never shall. But its picture
is indelibly craven on my memory. 1t
was my calculation to get to Hulse s.
empty log house, twelve miles distant,
and camp there that night; but nv prog
ress was very slow, The road for miles
ran along steepmountain-side. 1t was
buried many feet in the snow. 1t was
all a sheet of snow inclined at an angie
most difficult to travel Inplaces acres
of snow had slipped in body from
above, covering the ordinary level five OIL,
/ six feet in depth. These accUmulationS,
while coming down, would have brushed
/ a human being away with the facility
with which cart-load of sand dumped
on your cellar-door would Overwhelm a
fly. saw whole groves OF pine whose
trunks had been cut off by these slips
ten or twelve feet from the roots. l
felt small and insignificant, and specu-
lated whether, after all, was of any
more Importance than a fly or any
other bug in the sum total Of things
generally. l thought Of how much more
/ Importance man was in the newspaper
office than in the solitude of these
mountains. Then the sun hurried
toward the west and the cold blue and
brassy tints OF the winter eye merged
together. The route along the " River
Hilr' side became sleeper and sleeper,
the snow more hummucky from success
sive slides and the way more diSorgan-
lied. 1t was very slippery. The snow
had an ice finish on the surface like
hard coating of enamel. l took off the
snOwshoes and bore them and the
balancing-pole on my shoulders, picking
nv way laboriouSly, step by step. Below
me extended very long, smooth steep
slide ike white mansard roof several
hundred feet in height. Finally ! k1
obliged to stamp an indentation inVfC-
enameled surface at every step, with
nv heels, to secure footing. The
slippery and regularly graded descent
below broke off occasionally into preci-
pices fifty or sixty feet in height. A
person slipping here would, of course,
accomplish portions OF the descent on
mere empty air. The trouble was not
so much in getting through the air as in
bringing up after going through. A
fall never hurts anybody. It's the sud
den stoppage when you're through. l
expected momentarily to slip. The sun
was rapidly going down and
1 felt tendency to follow
suit. At the point where l
did slip the view was magnificent.
Over full thirty miles of peak
and pine the setting sun was shedding.
saw these peaks disappear like flash.
The grand curtain of Nature was not
rung down at the call of night 1t was
| who fell before the curtain. l went
down perhaps three hundred feet of the
incline, generally in a sitting position.
My long Norwegian snow-shoes, jerEed
from my grasp, sailed down ahead of
me, one diverginga little to the right,
the other to the lett, and the balancing
pole scooting straight ahead. All of US
went together with beautiful uni
formity and regularity of formation.
The whole descent Of three hundred
feet did not occupy more than six Sec
onds, yet in that brief space of time my
mind appeared to photograph on itself
at least dozen phases of the situation
and as many past memories and future
possibilities. saw the stumps seeming
to rush past me uphill, while was real
ly rushing past them downhill, and the
reflection came to me that if | collided
with even one of them the result would
be worse for me than the stump. This
| did not comfort me. As each successive
stump hurried up the mountain | said,
by the unspoken operation of thought,
"Therc goes arother stump. A miss is
as good as a mile. may bring up in
one piece yet, though, if 60 off one of
these precipices, may make my last
appearance on any stage in several
pieces" remember, also, the sensa-
ton caused by the seat of my outside
pantaloons tearing out through the ex-
cessive friction. | had on two pairs of
pantaloons when started. / thought,
| also. durinU all these risks and light