The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1893-07-01
IDAHO WINTER.
PERILS Of the MOUNTAINS.
Thrilling Experience of an Ida
no Man While in Search of
His Lost Partners.
Twenty-one Days on snowshoes without
Seeing a Human Being.
[coNTIsUED FROM LAST WEEK. ]


the next morning that bis stock of pro
visions was getting low, and might Civ,
out before he reached home, he resolved
to push on. The weather had moderated
during the night, and the snow was get
ting soft and heavy. Mounting to the
snow bank above the hot spring, be
soon found the trails made by the shoes
of his friends. They, like himself, had
safely made the trip through that dan
gerous tunnel. He could now see that
their object in going through the tun-
mel was to avoid travelling on the steep
hillside and possibly starting snow
slide, it being evident that they were OF
quite frequent occurrence in this can
yon. Yes even at that moment an
enormous mass of snow came tearing
down the mountain side short dis
lance ahead Of him, carrying with it
rocks and trees, cutting fearful swath,
and not stopping in its course until it
had dashed q considerable distance up
the opposite side. This caused him to
stop and look up at the top of the wall
of rocks. 1t was overhapging, where
not already broken off, by combing
masses of show, which the warmer
weather was softsning and causing to
break loose. The shock from these fall
ing masses striking on the steep hillside
four or five hundred feet below, would
start the snow in that vicinity to slid
ing. Once started, it would come with
such force and velocity that everything
before it would be swept to the bottom
OF the canyon. A man caught in one of
those slides would stand about as much
chance OF escaping as would an infant
on shingle alone in mid ocean. He
must get out of this fearful place. Push
ing on and beyond the avalanche he
had just witnessed, he found the trail
made by his friends once more. Again
and again did great masses of snow
break loose, and again and again he
witnessed an avalanche similar to the |
one he had first seen. He had appar-
emily arrived in this awful place exactly |
at the proper time to witness carnival |
of avalanches. AT first be was so i'm
pressed with the imminence of his dam
ger that the thought occurred 10 him
that the psrils he had encountered in
the tunnel the day before were insig-
nifcant trifles compared with the pres
snt danger. But gradually the au fol
sublimity Of what he was Witnessing
took possession of his mind and he for
got his danger, or, rather, realizing his
utter helplessness, became resigned and
almost thankful for being permitted to
witness such grand display of the
simplest forces of nature. He would
stop on the packed masses of snow and
debris, in the swath of 40 avalanche re- !
Gently fallen, and Look up and try to 2
guess where and when the next mass !
would break loose behind. or ahead OF g
him, and how big swath it wonId cut. !
Moving on up the canyon, he found that L
The trail he was following had not only .
been cut by slides occurring that day. c
but also by those which had occurred s
several days previous; on the upper d
'ide OF each, however, he Invariably
ound the trail again, thus be went on u
or two miles or more, when he traced IL
he tracks of both pairs OF shoes to the a
margin OF slide which had occurred II
everal days before, and, crossing to the Y
ther side, only one track was to be u
ound. The most diligent search could Of
lot discover the second one. He fol- Of
owed the single track only about three g
hundred yards further until it was cut to
y another old swain. Crossing to the u
PIPER side, no further traces of the sim
10 track could be found. He was forced
the conclusion thai he had solved The
tie of his friends These two comrades ~
ad persisted, not both at The same mo-
lent; not both in the same spot, bat al
My few hundred yards, and perhaps az
nly few moments apart. 10th to ac- al
opt the evidence confronting him, our "e
lend fingered around the swaths of GU
lese two ayalanches until it began 10 va
'oW dark, aud then prepared camp w
r the night, right the'e, in the jaws Of ."
'ath. For another night The cries of W
I'D animals did not disturb him. If
8 camp the night before was not ac- WE
ssiole to them, the one tonight was
o dangerous for even wolf or COYOTE
approach, and their auimal instinct %,
nmH0 harf ff, 4 L