Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-04-03
AMONG TIE AVALANCHES.
Terrible Winter in the Snow-ChOked
Nevada -ValIey-SnOyv Slides That
Shake the Nountains- Day and
Nightin a7BlizZard.

Reno QSev) Correspondence New York Sun.
The snow-storms which have swept
over the mountain region this winter
have been of terrific violence. The
canyons, valleys. and gulches are filed
with snow, and there have been snow
slides and avalanches without num-
Der. Hundreds of hunters, prospect
ors, mail-carriers, and others have
been caught Ia those storms, and not
few have perished The pleasant
weather of the early winter tempted
many people who had during previous
summers located in the magnificent
canfons of Nevada, Utah, and Califor-
MIA to tarry too long, and the numer-
Gus tales of disaster, suffering, and
death now being received here show
how dearly they have paid for their
folly.
The SHOWS have been for the most
part wet and heavy, and have been
followed by warm, sunny days. I'm
der these circumstances slides have
occurred with great frequency, and
have wrought destruction unexampled
in recent years. It does not take
much to start an avalanche which =
moment later may make the earth
tremble. The miners living on Alum
Creek went up the mountain above
their cabin last week to see some
stakes. After their work was done
one of them made a SNOWFALL and
! threw it at the other. who returned
the fire. One of the balls lodged on a
slope more than a ruile loug directly
l., loo
shining brightly and the snow was
soft. For a second the ball rested
where it fell, and then it began to
roll, increasing in bulk as it went.
Presently the ball, once held in a
mans hand, grew to the size of a
| hogshead, and when furious mo-
mentum had been gained it burst into
several pieces, each of which con
tinued rolling until a strip of ground
| 100 feet wide was cleared of snow, In
| their descent these huge snOWballS
picked up rocks and earth until,
merging IN one immense mass, the
avalanche bearing down giant trees
and stumps, struck the cabin of the
men who started it, and carried il
away as easily as if it had been made
of paper. Everything in the path of
the slide was swept to the bed of the
stream and buried fifty feet deep In
snow. The miners watched the
havoc they had wrought, and, after
examining the spot where once their
cabin stood, they started for Haw-
| thorne for tent and blankets, and
then returned to their claim for the
purpose of building another cabin.
| They will start no more avalanches IL
they can bel p it.
A few days ago five woodchoppers,
who had been at work in the noun
tains near Lake Tahoe, started from
the woOd-ranch to go to Carson. AS
they were passing down the mountain
they heard an avalanche coming,
and three Of the men, who were in
| the rear of the other two, managed to
escape, but the leaders of the party
We're whisked away in the whirlwind
of snow and rocks. The slide was
about a mile and a half in length,
half a mile broad, and not less than
|seventy-fve feet in depth. The men
who escaped came down into the val
ley and gave the alarm at the various
points. Several rescuing parties went
out, but after digging for hours gave
up the attempt to find the victims.
Thesnow made a clean sweep of every
thing in its track, and filled the canyon
at the foot of the mountain to a great
depth.
Over in Alta and the Big Cotton
wood Canyons the snow-storms and
slides have been more destructive than
any known in years. The sides of the
mountains have been stripped almost
bare by avalanches, while the canyons
have been filled with snow and ice so
deep that it will be very late before
the accumulation can possibly melt
away. In the Little Cottonwood the
slides have carried away the works
around the mines and demolished nine
or ten miles of snow-sheds over the
tramway. There has been perfect
stampede from Alta, the only people
remaining having placed themselves
out of the reach of slides. In the Big
Cottonwood they have had avalanches
six miles in length, and the creek is
completely blockaded. In the South
Fork every foot of the mountains has
been swept by avalanches, some of
such tremendous power as to make
the inhabitants Of the neighborhood
tremble. The stream is buried in some
places under 300 feet Of snow.
From all directions ia Nevada come
stories Of abandoned stage routes and
insulated towns and camps. Several
stages have been lost in the storms for
days at time, and their passengers
have told the most remarkable stories
of their adventures in the SHOWS. One
man who came over from Tuscarora
in a stage describes his experience as
follows:
''When we started the sky was clear
and the atmosphere lnvigorating.
Toward noon, without any warning,
the sky became overcast, a bitter cold |
wind began to blow, and the snow
came in such clouds that it was i'm
possible to see the horses heats. In
an hour the drifts had become so for |
that progress was out Of the
question. We tried to retrace our
steps, but were unsuccessful, for the
snow had obliterated our tracks. |