The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1892-08-25
IN "A CLOUDBURST.
Terrible Experience Of Two Pros
pectOra
A Deiuge In a Cauyon-A Miner Witnesses
the Sad Fate Of His Comradc--His
Own Marrow Escape from
Death.

Death.
speaking of cloudburs.s," said Col.
Granger, putting his feet on the table
and lighting fresh cigar, II had lit
Tie personal experience in that line
once, and never want It repeated"
Being pressed to relate his experience,
the colonel continued: "It was tn the
summer of 1879. A young fellow
named George Brown and I were pros
pecting in the Huachuca mountains In
Arizona. 1t was comparatively nn-
with dangers of all kinds against
which we were amply prepared We
had a fine outfit, we'll stored with pro-
visions, and we carried good arms and
an abundance Of ammunition This for
the double purpose OF killing game and
defending ourselves against possible
attacks of Apaches, who were bad at
that time. We had been out from civil
lization about six weeks, and had made
some small discoveries, but nothing
which thought would justify US in
working at that time, so we pushed
further up the mountains, following up
q canyon as far as we could go with our
= am, and when we could take our
N no further we made camp, and
eaL.. day prospected the country around
it, packing our tools and water on our
Emales.
eve had started out early one
morning on one of these expeditions.
The air was remarkably calm; not
breath stirred, nor was there 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 fine day at any rate We
reached. the scene of our operations
about nine o'clock in the morning, and
tying our mules to a clump of bushes
proceeded on our climb up the hills.
We had not gone far when the air be-
came intensely sultry and mass of
light, Aeecy clouds began to gather
overhead apparently the vanguard of
two denser masses which were form
ing north and south of us Then few
drops of rain fell and the cloud masses
thickened, became blacker and seemed
to rapidly approach each other.
Seeing that storm was upon US,
Brown and ! started down the noun
tain for our mules, the clouds above in
the meantime coming together, the
darkness increasing and drops as large
apparently as saucers falling around
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 raindrops increased in size and
rapidity until it seemed as though the
clouds had veritably burst; and there
was a rush Of water lire Niagara
coming down from the heavens
"We had reached our mules and were
squirting down the canyon for our lives.
The hillsides were raging cataract OF
water. Great trees were washed out
by the roots; huge powders were
rolled down into the canyon. The
water pouring down the hillsides found
small depressions and in a few minutes
tore them out to ravines. In places we
could sec the soil washed clean to the
bedrock, and the whole mass tumblinp
into the canyon through which we were
riding.
SIT was a ride for life Behind us
was solid wall Of water fifty feet
high, coming with the roar Of thou
ing. In the face of this wall of waite,
was mass of debris--w hole trees turn
ing end over end, huge powders large
as house-being swept forward by
the powerful force behind as dust i.
swept before the broom of the house
wife.
'We were urging our poor'beasts te
their utmost limit of endurance, the
!, water around us growing deeper ane
deeper each second, the rain still fall
ing in torrents, while that terrible wal
behind us was increasing in height anG
velocity and steadily gaining on us.
was little in advance of Brown, and
shouted to him to break for the hills
but the horrible din behind drowned
my voice, and l could not hear it my
sell spurred my mule up the side
hill, and looking back TO see if Blowr
were following, saw that Irresistible
current fairly lift him mp, and in an in
slant he, with the mule he was riding
4 was absorbed in the mass which wa.
rolling down the canyon as one nigh
disappear in the nav Of some insatiat.
monster.
II could not stop to look further TO
him. The rolling wall Of water wa
coming down the canyon with the spee<
of an express train, and every secout
lsaasned the distsnes betwsan II anl