The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1889-11-17

ttbe DDe sBtess8G-ENNsS tbosbbts NnNs 80 ~"
graduating myself ON reeainin9 My com.
rades in safety, when snddcnly n part of
, the. d san.S S"s. dS wnS. x; Tn r,. asas 'n nan;si,y !.
thrcw myself flat On my hack. ! dug
my heels into the snow with desperate ems
the drift in hopes. TO stop myself. My
efforts WERE i'm vain. I went faster and
faster, Another instant would he my Last.
iii. was reviewed. My heart ihrobbssi
I E%.", my sh m%" i p;cssrrd s to myself ' my
two comrades finding my remains at the
foot of the cliff. and cried in agony.
God preserve me from this horrible
Almost AS il in answer to my prayer my
decent wa. suddenly aud m~ira"',i",,-ly
stopped. My feet struck against u pro-
jccting rock almost on the very brink. My
foothold was so slight and p~rccarious that
was partially buried in the snow that
had accumulated about me. Into this ]
dug till the blood started through the skin
of my fingers. then little by little turned
on my side. and after "a time face. down
ward. using great care all the time lest l
should miss my footing and Inc dashed
over the enormous prccipice. next
worked my knees into the snow. ana in
this position felt more secure. and lay still
tn stay the trembling of my limbs and
lessen the t%hrobbing of my heart.
Al length I began inch by inch to CREEP
away from the ps'rilo,ls position. After
drift and once more 1 touched the solid
ground.
now descended and joined my rom
radcs. They were anxious AT my long de-
lay, and feared that some accident had he
fallen me-. related my ~ventu and
While we were descending the cliffs N
lovely spot came into view. The snow
near the foot of a giant cliff had melted.
leaving u spot at bare ground. This was
completely covered with "a mass of bright
scarlet blossoms. In tn. midst of these sat
grouse 2 s""T family. fT'nHr' s"srI.,; bio asr" %. amid MD
the dark ellis and white banks OF snow
formed a picture worthy the brush of the
We continued up Gold creek for two
days longer. prospecting every loot that
looked at all favorable, but found nothing
satisfactory. We managed to kill a
porcupinc al two. hut found the meat
anything but savory.
Owing to the heavy storms the creeks
along the face of the mountain. This was
very tiresone, and our hands became a
mass Of sores from contact with a prickly
shrub known as "devil club"
Mosquitoes. 9nats and sand flies filled
the air. and we suffered greatly from their
attacks. When we stopped at intervals to
rest we had To build "a smudgc and sit in a
suffocating smoke tn escape them.
creek wfere our raft was tied. We could
save a walk of many weary miles by cross
ing here, but the stream was now swollen
a,temp, a passage. Withou, fonai, low.
ever, and suffering from the stings and
bites of our insect enemies. we were. will
ing tn risk even our lives to reach our
We drew the raft ashore and tied to il
two additional ugs for greater security.
We now cooked our last flour, adding To
II "a little p~orcupino. soup, put our blankets
and tools upon the raft. and. using our
shovcls. pushed oil into the raging
stream.
The current had greater power than we
iinagincn. IL swept us down so rapidly
that we lad not the slightest command of
our raft. We quickly realized our mis-
take. but il was then too late. We could
gain neither bank, but were swept along
of seconds when our raft would strike
some obstruction or be torn tn pieces in
IL did not take long to decide our fate.
A short distance further ON we saw that
We would strike IA small tree that had
tipped over. but whose roots still held fast
in the bank. This tree we all Instructive
~ clutchssd as our raft struck it,. The
next instant the raft had upset and away
went our tools and baskets. My poor
hunting dog was thrown into the water
and swept out of sight.
The tree held us, but our weight caused
il to bob up and down in the water, and as
l was on the outer end l was soon nearly
drowned. i he OIL ecs managed to crawl
ashore, and tins iift.d me more out of the
water, and after "a hard rug ] man
aged to gam the land.
Our plight WAS now pitiful. We were
soaked to the skin, and had neither food
nor blankets. Our wet matches were use
less. and IL was 1; march of nearly twenty
tiltS to ttt ut'stTeSt IlittbltstttbIt. IL WAS
useless to wait. so we set forward at once.
We all gricved for the poor dog, who
had been almost "a companion to us, and
when we heard her bark OH the bank of
the stream il was "a most welcome sound.
The poor thing had been sadly beaten and
bruised in the waters. but had escaped
with her life.
We walked as fast as possible under the
circumstance. but il was many weary
hours ere we reached any signs of civiliza-
ton. We had long x given up all
thoughts of gold mines. and so rather
laughed at Holmes when he stopped IA
moment in crossing "A small stream to
examine the gravel.
The next moment he gave "a shout, and
Hill and l ran back to sec what was the
matter. The instant ! saw what he had
in his hand l gave a cry of joy. for il was
"a piece of gold worth several dollars.
Where that came from others must he
found.
We got down upon our knees and made
"a careful search. IL took hat IA few min
utes tai ascertain that the little stream was
filled with precious metal.
We forgot hunger and fatigue. We paid
no attention to tho fast descending sun.
but dug with our hands and gathered the
Jumps of gold till each had many hum
dreds OF dollars The n we set forward
once more. and by 10 o'clock that night
reached ~ house, where we oh aimed food
and shelter.
The next morning we bong II an outfit
from the. man who owned the place, and