Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1886-05-29
SAVED BY THE FLOOD.


of the army, 'we made up hunting party
at Fort Laramie and proceeded up the VAL
ley about fifty miles There were twenty
one of us, including three or four citizens.
We had been out for about week, and had
seen no signs Of redskins, when one morning
we awoke to find that we were in for dis
agreeable day. The clouds hung low, a fine
drizzle was falling, and we knew that it was
useless to look for any change for the better
before midnight.
"a gentleman named David Mills, was a
member of the party and 3 great favorite
When breakfast had been despatched he ex
pressed his intention of scouting up the val
lev short distance. | offered to accom-
paDy him, and we concluded to take our
horses and inspect canon about six miles
up the valley. He took double-barielled
shotgun and my Winchester and haver-
sack with lunch strapped to my saddle.
1--WE got off about o'clock, with the rain
coming down in q steady drizzle, and we
reached the canon without incident. The
entrance to the canon was sort Of
Dasin, half an acre in circumference,
with enough grass to keep our
We ursaddled aud hobbled them, tucked
the saddles under an overhanging rock, and
then started in to explore the canon. At
the back end Of the basin, and just before
the real split in the mountain began, was a
tremendous rock which bad fallen down
from above. It's crest was at least twenty
feet higher than the floor of the basin, and
its broken and jagged sides offered a climber
an easy way up. We stopped for awhile to
survey the great mass and then passed into
the canon. Just about this time the rain
bagan to pour down and our enthusiasm for
exploration wgs a good deal dampened.
By and by tho way became so gloomy that
we decided to turn back, as the terrific rain
was sending stream of water down the
centre OF the rift. This stream kept grow
ing in size until it bad become respectable
creek as it reached the basin. There it took
sweep to the left of the big rock and
rushed QUITO join the Laramie, which stream
made bend toward US just in front of the
basin, and was only 800 feet away
II never saw it rain harder. The roar of
the falling drops on the rocks was enough
to prevent all conversation, and our sole
aim was to frd shelter under one side Of
the big rock have spokeG Of A shelf pro-
jected out far enough to shelter our bodies,
and wo drew our legs up and sat there for
the next half hour as dumb as oysters. All
OF sudden, u wave flooded in on us, and
literally washed u out. As we went out
we found the hasin to he 81 lake, with water
waist deep The big rock was our only
hope, but we had to drop our guns as we
pulled ourselves up. From there we looked
down ON strange sight. The Laramie
river was pouring into the basin from one
side, and the canon was sending river in
from the other, and by the time we gained
the crest the water around us was twelve or
fifteen feet deep.
1--WE had not yet spoken when we caught
sight of the bodies of our horses being whirl
ed around iu the basin, and the next mo.
ment we saw the heads of half dozen In-
dians dotting the water. The two rivers flow.
ing into the basin created whirlpool, and
though the redskins swan bravely, they
could not break out OF it. At one point, where
the current swept past the rocky side, they
would clutch and hang in the most desper.
ate manner, but only to be swept along
again after a moment. They made the
most tremendous efforts TO break through
the circle, and reach our rock, but it was in
vain We looked down upon them until
the last warrior gave up the unequal fight
and sank FROM sight. Shortly after the last
one disappeared the water in the basin sud-
denly went out until we could see the
rocky bottom again, and soon after that
the fierce rain was replaced by steady
drizZie.
ut took us some little time to figure out
| how everything had occurred. Soon after
we left the basin band of prowl-
ing Indians had come along. They had
seized our horses and removed them out of
sight, and had then gone into ambush to
wait our return. The fierce storm had pro-
duced Landslide just below the basin, and
the river had been temporarily damned up.
| This threw its water into the basin, and the
overflow had been so sudden that the red
skins could not escape. When the dam
broke away, under the great pressure, the
basin was soon emptied.