Connecticut western news., 1883-02-21
Stories of the White Hills.
The Night of the Great Slide.


 the "Notch," current at the White Mountain hotels, is the following of the fatal storm of the 28th of August, 1926, the same that caused the tremendous avalanche which overwhelmed the Wiley family.
 A relative of Capt Stillings-the vet eran stage-driver and guide of Glen Ellis and the Notch-was then living at what is now the village of Upper Bart lett, ten miles below the. old Wiley house, Though at that time but girl eleven years old, Miss Stillings, afterward Mrs. Coffin, distinctly remembers the incl dents of that eventful night.
 'It had been cloudy day." she says, ''with fog and gentle showers, but not enough rain to raise either the Sawyer River or Stony Brook, between which our newly cleared farm was situated.
 'sFather said there would not be much rain but just after sunset the clouds gathered very heavy and black over the mountain-tops, and it suddenly grew dark. There were several very bright flashes of lightning, and terrific thunder The rain poured tremendously and con- tinued it seemed to rain harder and harder as the evening passed.
 "Father then had nice flock of thirty or forty sheep. They were in the field near the house, kept there So that they might be safe from the bears About nine o'clock we heard them bleating and crowding around the door. They wanted shelter, or else were frightened at the storm.
 ''Father lighted the lantern and went out to get them into the barn, and he had me go with him to hold the light It rained in sheets. The water poured of the caves of the barn in such torrents that he could not see the lantern through it, and thought the light was out.
 sWhen we entered the house the folks said, 'Hark hear the water run ming into the cellarr
 Before we had our wet clothes changed for dry ones, my little brother, Leander, who had peeped out of the door, exclaimed that the water was over the doorstep! The brook, or else the river, had flowed up about the house, and at just about that time we began to hear frightful rumbling noise, which continued after every few minutes. Father said that it was the slides as we sometimes heard after heavy rains.
 ''In little while the water came in under the door, and we could hear it surging and roaring outside. Father looked out and then told us all to go ur stairs. He remained downstairs awhile, and put the fire up in the oven so as not to lose it, for we had no matches in those days.
 'sWe had been upstairs only few minutes, when we began to hear heavy thumps against the house and remem Der hearing father tell mother that i was driftwood coming down the river.
 "A little later there came dreadful jolt, and the house lurched over, anc then began to rock like cradle up anC down. Mother caught the candle ant held it, to keep the candle-stick from up setting.
 "The rocking and cracking of the tim bers of the house continued for as mucl as two hours, and then stopped all 8 once, though we could still hear tn, water rushing by; and now and then slide would rumble like distant thun der and jar the earth.
 The younger children fell asleep but l could not sleep, and about on o'clock heard father tell mother ant Mrs. Gray that the storm was over an, it was starlight. Not long after he wen part way down stairs and told us tha the water was not so deep in the room below.
 But it was not till after daylight tha the water settled so that we could @ down stairs; we then found that ther were six to eight inches of sand an gravel on the floor. The water had rise to the bottom of the windows; but had not quite reached the oven.
 " Father got a shovel and scraped or the sand, and he now told us what ha made the house rock so and why it Ina stopped so suddenly. The underpinnin had washed out on one side so that Il house tipped down at one corner an Kept pumping on flat rock. But large birch tree had washed in all wedged itself betwixt the rock and u sill; that was what stopped the rockir motion.
 We found our hog ont in the fie braced with bis back against stum