Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-02-03
CALIFORNIA AND COAST.
Description Of the Blockade on tht
Oregon Route.
STILL RAINING AT REDDING.
A San Francisco Man Falls in a Los
Angeles Cellar and Breaks
One of His Legs.
lapzuAL DlspAroHEa TO THE axooRD-usron.l
LATEST FROM SIMS.
Immense Land Slides on the Oregon Di-
vision.

=
steadily here all day long. A gang of men
are still at work on the big slide at Tunnel
8, few miles below this place. The
! steady downpour for the last thirty-six
| hours has caused stream of water to come
running down hill through the slide, loos-
en:ng rocks and dirt and fine gravel that
have not already been carried down.
The shoveling in these slides is vastly
different and more laborious than if il was
snow that had to be handled, and only
| those that have had experience know what
large amount of work has to be done tc
clear away an ordinary rock and dirt
slide.
1t may not look large at first, but even
after the shovelers have worked at it for
hours it seemingly grows but little smaller
This is accounted for from the fact that
more rock and slate keeps continually
rolling and sliding down the hill to the
side of the track, and sometimes it is a
difficult task for the men to remove it, as
the water falls all day.
To-day the men have been working at
Tunnel 8 in drenching rain. Most of the
gang are a crew of the north bound outfit
train, who are all provided with rubber
coats, hats and boots The south boun d
outfit train and many who are also at the
tunnel, were not able to do any work to-
day, as the men, with the exception of five
or six, did not have rubber clothes, and
would have been drenched with rain in a
| short time had they ventured out of the
cars. A flying rock struck one OF the
laborers this morning and almost severed
his little finger from his hand. A man is
employed constantly to stand out beyond
the workmen and notify them when rocks
are coming down. Many have been struck
and one man was knocked down this morn
ing, though not severely injured.
1t is expected that the track will be
! cleared of this slide some time Tomorrow
when the work-trains will be enabled to
move.
| The RECORD UNIONS correspondent
started on foot for Sims from the work
train this afternoon, and the latter place
was reached after q walk of couple Of
hours. The snow at Sims is about four
feet deep and it has been raining here as al
Delta.
The river is rising rapidly and is q
muddy stream. The water has changed
its color from blush green to a muddy
red. There are no bad slides between
Tunnel No. and this place, and the snow
has been removed from the track up to
and beyond here.
People who are not acquainted with the
manner in which a railroad outfit crew
subsists while on the road naturally
believe that the men are halt starved and
have to rustic for their own food as best
they can, but this is indeed not the case
The RECORD UNION reporter has been with
tne outfit train working north for two OF
three days and during that time he had an
excellent opportunity OF seeing how men
are cared for.
Besides several carloads of freight in the
train here there are five sleeping coaches,
two dining-cars, a cook-car and caboose,
which are used to accommodate the gang
of 100 workmen, besides the train crew.
Three meals day are furnished and the
bill of fare consists of fried steak, stew,
potatoes, hot biscuits, tomatoes, corn, cold
roast beef and mutton, coffee and all other
side issues. Two dining cars are able to
accommodate nearly the whole number of
men on the train, but as general rule the
brakemen, engineers, conductors and fire.
men wait until the second table.
The lamps ale lit in the dining cars for
breakfast and supper, the former meal
being partaken of very early and the latter
about dark. There are about dozen or
so of walters who make it their business to
see that every one is served promptly. All
the yictuals are well cooked, and not a
person in the outfit has been heard to
growl at the bill of fare.
Thomas Williams, who has charge of the
train is an energetic man and attends to
business in an able manner. The sleeping
cars are warm and comfortable, and any
one as tired as men are after this kind of
work can enjoy an excellent nights rest
The trainmen sleep in hunks in the Ca
boose.
Meal time is hailed by the men with de-
light, and when the foreman gives the sig
nal to stop work, they all make rush for
the tables.
There are cars of coal and wood in the
train and from these the engines are sup
piled with fuel. When not near water
tanks, the engineers take water from the
streams W hich are found every place flow
ing down the banks on either side of the
track.
HEAVY RAINFALL.
RInnL,.c Eahrr,ar.. d Il ra;r,ad stosa