Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-06-05
DOWN A FIUNTE.
Riding Down the Sierra Nevada
Mountains at the Rate of Two
Miles Minute.

Mountains at the Rate OF Two
Miles Minute.
From tie Neqo York Sun.
A Chicago newspaper man tells in the
Herald of that city an experience he once
had riding in Nevada lumber fiume.
Lumber fumes in the Sierra NeVadas,"
he said, "are all the way from five to forty
miles long. They are built on a regular
engineers grade. The bed ofthe iiume is
made of 2-ihch plank in the form OF v,
the sides of the V being trem lS to %
inches high. They are built on a grade
of about f6 feet drop to the thousand.
They carry inches of water TO the acute
angle, and discharge it at the rate of 400
miners inches minute. In other words,
turn in your water at the head of the tlume
and it will carry log weighing 400
pounds VITA velocity greater than the
fastest engine that WAS ever made. The
logs displacement just about fills the V
without any more friction than necessary
to keep itin place. i7-H
about nlne years ago l was up az Lake
Tahoe with IL, w. Smalley aud W.. H.
Patton Of the Mackey n Fair Lumber
Company. Patton was showing as the
sights. We had come up from Carson
City, sixteen miles, by stage, and IL was
hot and tedious ride. About sundoWn
Patton said:
"'Boys, Wen go home by the lume,
and We'll get there little quicker, l
think
"He directed q man to bring out the
yacht, as be called it. This was a
V-shaped canoe about IA feet long, very
shallow, and made TO fit the flume and
Just about fill it with the displacement Of
600 pounds. The yacht had a brake--tWo
rubber pads on either side, worked with a
lever, and so applied against the sides OF
the V fiume that on pressure it would lift
the yacht gradually and allow the light
ming current to pass under her. She
also had two small rubber wheels, one on
either bow, toskesp her nose from grind
ing the sides of the flume as she went by
curves.
"'Now, boys said Mr.. Patton, button
up your coats, tie down your haJs, and
hold on. Don't get scared. Trust your
lives tome for the next MALT hour. Pve
sailed in this yacht before, and L know
she's stanch.'
''There were three seats. Patton took
the front one, TO handle the brake. Small
ley took the next one, and took the rear
and worked the tiller. That was rugged
just like a ships rudder, with q rubber
wheel to ease off her stern against the
side of the fiume if she got to yawing.
Patton told his men to put on two inches
more of water, and then, with a wave Of
his hal, we weighed anchor. Great Scotti
how that thing Jumped! Smalley got sea-
sick. jammed my helm hard down, but
Patton yelled through the air:
"'Let her.go; Pve got herP
SsAnd with one hand on his brake, his
hat crushed down on his head, and bis
teeth set, he looked the incarnation of
courage. We plunged down the noun
tain with a speed that no steam could
give. Trees flew by like spectres. Look
ing ahead down the narrow thread-like
flume it seemed like plunge to destruc-
ton. Several times the flume carried us
over high trestle. 1t seemed Hike leap
ing over precipice. Smalley held his
breath, but the little yacht jumped 1t
through the air apparently with swish
Curves would show themselves ahead
The rudder wheel would squeak ON either
side, and the good ship would round that
curve like flash. Sometimes an uneven
ness in the f1Ume would occur, and then,
as the craft sped over it, the spray would
rise fifty feet in the air.
"'Keep on your hats shouted Patton
then, as we struck a straight fve-mile
stretch, NOW mold on to your teeth.'
81 don't exactly know what the next
sensation was, but l tried to peep out
from under the rim of my hat, and, my
soul, it was all blur-trees, rocks, land
scape, were all mingled in an indIstin-
guishable mass. 1t was as If one was
blown through the air from catapult.
"Well, from the time we weighed an
Choir up at Lake Tahoe until Patton put on
his brakes just outside the lumber field at
Carson City it seemed like a minute or
two. We all looked at our watches. We
had made just sixteen miles in eight min
utes and forty seconds. | never in all my
life had such an illustration of the force
of water"