The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-08-19
A MILLION TONS OF SNOW.
Tho Fearful Rush OF en- Avalanche From
Mountain rcnk to Gulcl.

Tho Fearful Rush OF en- Avalanche From
Meunsaia rcuk TO Gulch.
About two thousand feet from tho
Denver s. Rio Grande depot there IS a
moss of snow In ono lump which oOt,-
tains about ono million tons of wotcr.
Tho mass represents u snowslidc which
c3lnc from tho summit of KcnIinll
mountain the night Of February G2 Tho
point where tho SNOW brokc from the
apex of tho mountain Is probably two
and q half miles from tho railroad troclz,
end the slide made tho rur-oooosSiin1
to witnesses who heard tho crush a,
the start and tho crunch when it sto0pcd
In less than two minutes
Monday night was q terror. Tho
mercury had shrunls e,way down IN tho
bulb. and everyone expected to sec the
climax OF tho storm. About O'CLOCK
great banks OF Snow began to aocuInu-
late and Pile up In fantastic shapes on
the mountain tops Then came puffs of
wind as strong as gale, ond miniature
whirlwinds scurraod hero and there all
over the perh, toying with the loose
boards and sending mp columns of sport
I've snowfal1os, says tho Silvcrton ODl}
Miner.
Higher and thicker and darker tho
cloud bnttlcnsents piled over the Ananns
canyon, while those up the Animas,
lilke castles Of light riding on pillows Of
pesplendeiit silver, doomed il magnif.
cent grandeur. Over and among thosa
aerial mountains the moon pocpod
through fitfully and cost In Good OF
dazzling light.
by O'Clock tho storm was 80 it's
height The wind toro through the
foliage on the hillsidoe, and, batterina
ut the buildings, hurled Defiance atman-
kind Serpentinc lines of glitterfng fro
CLEANED from between tho rents In tho
clouds, and loud dctonations from tho
battlements on high proclaimed tho
narch OF the storm
1t was about midnight when, otpsp
the roar of the clements fur aboSo- thl,
clouds upon old KcndnIl, the loud
"c-ncl1lI's@ns board Then srrooch
crooch, crunch!' ond then the vonle
mountninsidc seemed to be coming
with Il fearful and inieecribahla crush.
Thousands of tons of SNOW we've shot
out of TINT whlc space above timber
line and piled into Idaho g,lch, and
brushing down everything before o.
Trees, rocks, b0I,lts OF frozen carth-
oil shared in u common fate, and to SEQ
that monster coming, us It seemed,
from the clouds, would have been q
grand sight There was DO stop TO tho
colossal mass when It struck tho fi.k.
Making its own road as it coursed it's
race, filling In Gil doclivities, Il coz,
tinucd on its mad pnoo until it rcechod
the river.
Instead OF stopping there. IL sznoarni
O bridge for itself md continued over
the railroad track, carrying with It two
telegraph poles, the Y and spread ttsclf
finally over the town site, within tuu
hundred yards from tho main street OF
Silverton-
Such u slitc has ncocr before been
seen here, and to those who have, ncscr
seen one and orc sl1opticnl of It's trc-
mcndous energy we invite their atte11-
ton TO this one before going elscwiafe
Once before In the history Of this town
has the Idaho gulch slide como down.
md that was In 1879, when b baccIT
reached tho river. The snow rlow fica
SIX feet solid on the railroad TRACK.
At the foot OF the g,llch it is at least
one hundred and thirty Deet deep. 1t Is
full of timbcr-trccs from sig incfDe Ia
two feet In diameter broken Into splint-
CTS. rocks weighing tone are scattered
through it, while the entire body Is as
solid as ice itsolf People go every day
to view this giant of tho mountains, and
1t will continue to 10 source Of intcs-
est until 1t me}ts beneath tho uaSs Of
our July sun.