The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1884-04-23

WHOLE CITIES THAT ARE COVERED
CP.-Gunnison Colorado April l4-This
whole section is literally buried In snow.
The storms have been almost incessaut
all winter, and have ragged with such fury
that outdoor work of all kinds has beer
| suspended for weeks AT a time. Dozens
of mining camps are still cut of from the
world, and some OF them will not be
opened up for a month to come. At
many of these the supplies are running
short, and, unless relief comes soon,
there will be great suffering. The last
storm was the widest. More than eigh-
teen inches of snow fell on a level. Thi.
has been piled up in the cany ons to the
depth of 100 feet in some places. Every
body who ventures out does 50 on snow
shoes. The recent slides have caused a
stampede of minors and others from ex-
posed points.
At Crested Butte, Irwin and all sur
rounding places the snow lies ten to six
teen feet deep on a level by actual meas
urement. Two-story dwellings are buried
to the roofs, and in numerous instances
II has been found necessary to piece out
chimneys with sections of stove pipe.
The people nave tunnelled out as best
they could, and cut air holes through the
solld masses which surround their habi-
tatlons. A man living In a one-story
cabin deives out to the surface with
shovel In hand, and after clearing a hole
for his smokstack and opening up holes
for the window sets about constructing a
snow stairway leading down to his door.
The snow is packed SO hard that this be-
I oannas ann,, ~ N ty-al- aas- ypr ,ha
| pitch of his steps to suit him, he has but
to lift the chunks out as they are cut with
the shovel, and, with the aid of small
pieces of wood, which serve to protect
each step, the ~passageway remains firm,
growing harder with use. Coming u
of his house a man has but 10 climb to
the surface of the snow, don his snow
shoes, and sail away over the tops of
Houses aud stores at will. Many a
city which cuts as big a figure on the
map as Denver does consists at this mo-
ment oftwenty or thirty stovepipes stuck
in the snow. That is the way it looks to
a newcomer, at any rate.
hlle the greater part ofthe snow has
been piled up IN the canyons and gulches,
there are accumulations on the noun
tains which hang portentously over the
valleys beneath, and which require moth
ing but a warm sun or a fierce gale to set
them IN motion. lncipient avalanches
are OF daily occurrence already.
WHY ANDY JACKSON WANTED TO
FIGHT A DUEL.-General Jackson's early
walks were in North Carolina, and they say
bis lungs were first inflated with North
Carolina air. This much is certain Ba
cons Arrangement was his mainstay and
stand by. in and out of court. lie relied
upon 1t in Court as much as he did upon
his Sword at Horse Shoe Bend, or at New
Orleans. He carried the Book wrapped
up, not in a newspaper, but IN a sheet
of brown paper, such as you see on Parks
counter, at Hillsboro or at Rigsbee's at
Durham. No man was allowed to aues-
ton the authority he carried in his sa /
die bags.
Waitstill Avery selected a midlin of
Bacon, about as thick as Jackson's
Abridgement Of Lord Bacon; slipping the
book out of the saddle bags, he cut a piece
of bacon just the size of the book, wrap
ped it up in the same paper and put it
in the saddle bags.
But little progress was made in the ar
gument, before Lord Bacon was appealed
to. AS the case was important to his
client, he would not trust to his memory,
but read from his book. Raising the bear
skin flap of his saddle bags, he drew out
the book and united the string, then I'm
folded the paper, presenting an abridge-
ment of a side Of hog bacon, instead of
Lord Bacon. The court, bar, jury and
spectators all laughed, and enjoyed, the
joke. Jackson would accept no apology
but his blood, commanded him in the chal.
lenge to procure his friend, and make
ready for a meeting before the sun could
set. The Judge did not inform us how
the matter terminated, but we are sure
Avery sued fer no pardon. but plead no
i'll intent and Jackson admitted the plea.
Upon reflection, it now appears strange,
that Jackson should have been more an
gered and enraged at Avery's bit of inno-
cent pleasantly. than he was when Bob
Randolph pulled his nose in public
DO Turner'S Truth.