St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1886-09-23
A TALL STORY.
Experiences OF an Engineer i'm the White
Mountain Notch.
Among the Clouds.

y
the chief engineer of the Portland and
Ogdensburg railroad to go on the line
which they were running through the
White Mountain Notch. 1t was late in
the seasOn-the first of Northumberland
when we arrived at the scene of our
labOrs we found that the mountains
were already white with snow, which
even extended down to the bottom of
the gorge, at the point where we had
orders to commence our survey.
One day, something more than a
week later, / started off alone on a
tour of exploration, for the purpose of
looking over the ground. 1t was near
got away. / told the men that l meant
to keep along on the mountain side as
far down as the Wiley house, and
that they need not look for me back to
the Crawford, where we had been
boarding, before dark.
To those who have passed through
the Notch need not say that l had a
rough way before me. The sides of
Mount Willard and Mount Wiley are
rough and rugged enough at all times,
but at this season of the year they
were rendered dOubly so by the light
snow that had fallen, and by the ice
which had formed in many places,
where the water oOzed out of the
earth, producing miniature glaciers.
With this uncertain footing beneath
my feet, and sort of twilight about
me, for in this mountain glen in the
winter time the sun seemed to rise at
eleven and set at two, | made my way
along, and after considerable trouble
succeeded in crossing the deep ravine
which lay between Willard and Will
lev, and commenced to skirt along the
side of the latter mountain several
hundred feet above the valley.
My path now became more difficult
than before. The side of the noun
tain rose at a sleeper angle than the
one which had left, and | found that
the ice was more abundant, rendering
each foOthold more insecure. There
were spots that could not have gone
over had it not been for the stunted
trees not higher than my head to which
l chung for support.
Every moment | was in expectation
of fall by stepping unwarily on the
ice, covered by the treacherOus snow,
and at last my expectations were met.
The spot before me looked pretty safe,
and so l hurried along, fearing that
the darkness would overtake me be-
fore | should be able to return to the
hotel but hardly had [ set my feet
upon the treacherOus spot before they
flew from under me, and | lay sprawl
ing upon my back and my head COM
ing in contact with the ice, must con-
TESS that | saw more stars, and nearer
to me, than | ever before saw on a
winters night. For moment | lay
half-stunned by the fall, and then at
tempted to rise. No sooner did | make
the first attempt in that direction than
found myself sliding downward. |
clutched at an Overllanging branch,
and for moment my course was sus-
pended. But it was only for mo-
ment. Then the twig snapped off in
my hand, and l shot down the noun
tain side like an arrow from a bow.
| tried to clutch at the uneven sur
face of the ice to stay my progress, but
all in vain, and | went down, down
until at last it seemed that the ice and
rock opened to swallow me up; and
then for a moment | was conscious of IA
fearful shock, and then all was blank.
How long | remained insensible |
senses | perceived that all was dark
ness about me. Then L was conscious
of dull pain in my head and should
ers, and more acute one in my right
arm. | was lying on my back with one
arm doubled up beneath me, and my
first thought as soon as | comprehend
ed anything, was that it was broken.
Little by little my wandering senses
-
saw that real stars were shining
above me. All about me was as black
as ink, and it seemed as though the
earth had in reality opened and swal-
lowed me up.
/ got my arm out from under me,
and although it was paining me ex-
cessively, l found that it was not broz-
en-. But / could not devote much
thought to it. l felt a cold numbness
creeping over me, and l knew that I'M
less L bestirred myself that it would
increase, and that l should become
helpless and perish where l was with
out an effort to save myself.
With a great effort l got upon my
feet, and reached out my injured arm
to discover into what sort of place /
had fallen. My hand encountered up
on that side the perpendicular face of
a rock, and reaching up as far as pos
sible, l found that l could not touch
the summit. l turned to the other
side, and that l found was the same.
Two perpendicular walls rising high
er than / could reach, and standing
not more than ten feet apart Back
of me at one end, down over which |
had fallen, l found a similar wall,
though slanting back more than the
others. At times, perhaps, it might
have been scaled, but not now, as it
was covered with a coating of ice which
made it as slippery as glass. There
was no getting out from my strange
prison in that direction, so | turned to
the side not yet examined to see if an
outlet lay in that direction.
1t might have been perhaps fifty feet
that l felt my way along in my grave
like prison over bed of ice which |
lined the bottom, and which more than
once came near dashing mo down |
again. But | kept my footing by al
most superhuman exertiOn, and at last
arrived at the end of my explorations. |
They came to an end suddenly, SO |
suddenly that had 1 not started back l
must surely have met the death which |
had escaped in my fall. The per-
pendicular sides of my prison here
and SO did the icy floor be-
meath my feet, sheer descent of one
hundred feet was before me, a leap
hat no man could take and live.
1t came to me now all at once,
where l was. The day before in pass
ng the valley, had seen and admired
1 frozen cascade in the bed of a
stream, on the mountain side. l had
also noted the chasm from which it
lad seemed to spring, and 1 knew now
that in attempting to cross the frozen
.traam / had slinned in the very snnt