The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-10-01
RACING WITH A oLoUDBURsr.
Thrilling Adventure Of a Prcsp COZ
in Arizona.
From the Chic 40o Inter Ocean.

AZ al lGCbos
From the Chicago Inter Ocean.
Speaking of cloudbursts," said Col.
Granger Of San Francisco the other day, II
had little personal experience in that line
once, and never want it repeated 1t was
in the summer of 1872. A young fellow
PANIED George Brown and | were prospect
ing in the HuachuCa mountains In Arizona.
1t was a comparatively unknown country
at that time. and filled with dangers of all
kinds, against which we were amply pre-
pared. We had fine outfit, well stored
with provisions, and we carried good arms
and an abundance of ammunition. This
for the double purpose of killing game and
defending ourselves against possible at
tacks OF Apaches, VINO we're bad at that
time. We had been out from civiliza tion
about six weeks, and had made some small
discoveries, but nothing which We felt
would jujtify us in working at that time,
so we pushed farther up the mountains,
following up canyon as far as we could 90
with our team. and when we could take our
wagon no farther we made camp, and each
day prospected the country around it,
packing our tools and water on our mules.
I'VE had started out early one morning
on one OF those expeditions. The air was
remarkably calm, not breath stirred, nor
WAS there Il cloud in the sky. The sun
came up clear and hot, and Brown remarked
to me as we toiled up the narrow canyon
that we were sure Of a fine day at any rate.
We reached the scene of our operations
about o'clock in the morning. and tying
our mules to a clump of bushes proceeded
in our climb up the hills We had not gone
far when the air became Intensely sul;ry
and mass of light, fieecy clouds began to
gather overhead, apparently the vanguard of
two denser masses which were forming north
and south OF lis. Then few drops Of rain
fell and the cloud masses thickened, became
blacker, and seemed to rapidly approach
each other.
"Seeing that a storm was upon us Brown
and started down tho mountain for our
mules, the clouds a ove in the meantime
coming together, the darkness increasing
and drops as large, apparently, as saucers
falling round US. We redoubled our speed
and gained our mules as the two cloud
masses met. It was now almost as dark as
midnight, and the raiudrops increased in
size and rapidity until it seemed as though
the clouds had vertically burst. and there
was rush of water like Niagara coming
down from the heavens.
We had reached our mules and we're spur
ring down the canyon for our lives The
hillsides were raging cataract of water.
Great trees we're washed out by the roots;
huge powders we're rolled down into the
CANYON The water pouring down the hills
minutes tore them out to ravines. In places
we could see the soil washed clean to the
bed rock and the whole mass tumbliDg into
the canyon through which we wero riding.
"It was a ride for life. Behind US was a
solid wall Of water fifty feet bigh, coming
with roar OF thousand cataracts The
noise was deafening In the face OF this
wall OF water was a mass of debris-whOle
trees turning end over end, powders as
large as a house-being swept forward by
the force behind, as dust is swept before the
broom of the housewife.
owe were urging our poor beasts to their
utmost limit Of endurance the water around
us growing deeper and deeper each second,
the rain still falling in torrents, while that
terrible wall behind us was increasing in
hight and velocity and steadily gaining on
us. | was little advance Of Brown and
shouted to him TO break for the hills, but
the horrible din behind drowned my voice
and could not hear it myself. spurred