The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1886-02-10
IN THE SNOW SHEDS.
Sports Among the Railroad Men
Fur Trapping in the Sierra.

tor picture the winter sports OF the
mountains. Summit Station has an
elevation of 7,0l7 feet. The air is
cold ana bracing, but the tempera-
ture is not nearly as severe as in
the New England States. The ther
mometer has been as low as s. above
zero but once this winter, and at the
time of writing stands at l40 above.
OF course the winter colony Is small.
1t consists of the hotel attaches,
trackmen, telegraph operators and
repalrers. During the long evenings
they c0ngregate in the hotel, aud In
the daytime, when not at WORK, they
run races on snow-shoes. The
Snow-shoe Club is quite an institu-
ZION, and the racers pay as much
attention to practice aad training as
do the participants IN many better
known forms Of athletic am usemeDt
Long, narrow shoes (Norwegian) are
used. differing materially from those
built on the Canadian model. For
those r7ho cauuot master the snow
snOe balance, the hills afford good
c0asting ranges, and a pair Ot Is
Quimaux dogs have been trained to
draw the empty sleds up nil. Two
small lakes, called Mary and Ange-
line, near the hotel. are now covered
with solid ice a foot IN thickness.
The skating is excellent, as 1t Is or
Dunner Lake. These ponds are, in
summer, provided with boats, and
anglers find good sport In them.
There are in them some very large
Silver Lake trout, the progeny Of
those planted by the Fish Commls-
sioaers a number of years ago.
Within five miles of Summit and
Cisco are the South fork of the Yuba
and the North fork ST the American
River. During the past season
Eastern, native and McCloud River
trout have been caught in these
streams. The tIansplanted species
seem to take kindly to the water,
and are so prolific as to promise
sport for all time. Lake trout are
caught all winter through holes In
the ice, and where the ice Is thia and
bait is placed on the surface, the
little fellows come up and butt their
noses. to the amusement of lockers
on. Old trout, however, are not so
easily deceived. They are also, in
the proper season, very particular as
to the make and color of the Tiies to
which they rise.
Silver-gray foxes are abundant
this winter, aud their pelts bring
from $40 10 $40 in the New YORK
market. Many of the mountaineers
are miners in summer aud trappers
In winter, aud during the winter Of
1881 50 a Bear Valley trapper secur-
ed sixteen of those valuable animals.
Black and cinnamon bear are found
10 summer, but now they are hlber-
mating, and the only species Of the
genus Ursus to ne found abroad Il
the old grizzly. Deer are plenty on
the American river hills, and old
settlers take this as the sign of an
open winter. Still, it Is but fair to
suppose that only the more hardy
bucks are TO be seen at this elevation
during mid-wlnter. Quail and
grouse are abundant near the sum-
NIT until October and November,
but with the approach of cold
weather they migrate toward the
valley. Summit is favorile sum
mer resort for the botanists of the
| California Academy Of Sciences, and
many of the rarest specimens in the
Academy's herbarium are ucketed
Summit" or Cisco"
Cisco, fourteen miles below the
summit. has an elevation Of more
than $500 feet. A new and large
motel has been built during the past
season, ond the town is now prepar-
ed to compete with Summit, Soda
! Springs and Blue Canyon for the
patronage of summer tourists and
| health seekers. The drives about
Cisco are one of the chief attractions
of the place, following, as they do
! The wild rIyer canyons Of the Upper
Sierra. The suow-sheds hide the
scenery between the summit and
Blue Canyon, but walk outside OF
upon the top of the sheds opens
everchanging views that are equal
10 those OF the famous valleys OF
Tuolumne and Mariposa counties.
The canyon at the head of the South
Yuba is now filed with ice and snow
and the streams burst from under
meath the glacier with all the fury
that travellers are wont to ascriOe TO
the Rhone Many OF the largest
reservoirs belonging to the ditch
system of Placer and Nevada coun-
ties are in this immediate vicinity,
and the men in charge are kept
busy night and day attending to the
demands OF hydraulic miners.
Almost all the large miners of Placer
and Nevada are availing themselves
of the full head of water, and some
of the owners nave so far complied
with the spirit of the Circuit Court
decisions as to build impounding
dams.
I, In many places the snow-sheds
are scorched aud biackened by fire.
and were 1t not for the complete fire
department they would doubtless be
visited by q disastrous conhagrauon
every summer. There are in the
sheds three fire trains, each consist
ing of an engine, provided with q
regular fire pump, and two or three
water cars. One of these trains Is
at Blue Canyon, another at the
Summit and the third az Truckee.
Each OF these stations Is provided
with a fire alarm gong similar to
those in use in engine houses IN
cities. There are in the sheds twen-
tv-seyen alarm boxes, or one In
about every two miles and half
Alarms are sounded as on fire bells,
and whenever an employe discovers
fire he reports it frem the nearest
box, or if1he circuit be impaired he
he must telegraph from the nearest
office TO tue enginestation. Two
engines are generally called out
thus attacking the fire from each