The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1893-06-24


d he had been hit on the head BY thun.
$ derbolt from heaven had rolled down
: the mountain side severa, mites, and
D during the descent had been struck sew
. eral times by lightning, but finally es.
capped He vaguely limited at having
9 had trouble somewhere on the ronte
} with the missing men, in which clubs,
A; knives and pistols were freely used.
! His friends took him to quiet place
} and kept him in seclusion for several
days.
Adams at once determined 10 look af
ter his partner and friend. If they were
lost IN the mountains, they might yet
be found and rescued if they had been
cangh, by an avalanche, or persisted in
the snow drifts, their remains were too
sacred to him to become the food of
wild beasts, if any effort on his part
could prevent it. He undertook 10 or
game a searching party, but none
would volunteer; he then offered TO
outfit and pay wages for men to 90; bu
all his efforts were in vain. Not one
among all hat four hundred men in
camp, hardy, and big hearted miners,
as they nearly all were, but what de-
clared that such an undertaking would
be futile, or was too desperate to under
take. Not so, thought Adams, who at
once boldly announced his determine
ton to make the attempt to find them
alone. lie had never set his foot on
suowshoe and ad never been over the
route. There was no road nor trail to
follow. The high, rugged mountains,
valleys and dangerous gorges, canyons
and passes through which be now pro-
posed 10 search, were covered with deep
snow, and death-dealing snowsldes
were of frequent occurrence. Every one
around him loudly protested against
such reck less undertaking, which they |
designated as not only foolish and fool |
hardy, but actually suicidal. Not all |
that could be said could dissuade him
from his purpose. While they were
protesting he was hastily making prep
arations for-the start He procured the
best pair of snowshoes he could find in
the camp. In these mountains they do
not use the Canadian, web-foot affair,
hut the Norwegian shoe; which is
about twelve feet long, four inches
wide, turned up like sled-runner at
the toe, stirrups of leather near the cen
ter, with half-round groove in the
bottom to keep them from Slowing or
sideways the bottoms are poll
ished as smooth as glass, and frequently
~axed or doped TO keep the snow from
sticking to them. Let an expert ride
such pair of shoes down q mountain
side and he makes modern lobogganine
appear like very tame sport. He then S
provided himself with suit of warm /
bnt not cumbersome clothing, pair of {
long-legged gum boots. pair of ban- :
k cts, Ratchet, matches, small bundle {
Of pitch-pine sticks, for lighting fires =
" here kindling would b. diff cult to /
procure, a tin cup-w hich ansu cree the I
iouble purpose of drinking cup and +
;off' pot, coffee, sugar, jerk ed venison, a
etc.; in all, supply of ''grnb,u as min J.
,rs are pleased TO call their eatables, b
nfficient to last him for twenty DAYS. d
This was all made into as small pack C
Ige as possible and weighed nearly sixty Il
'onnds. He then arranged with straps 4
nd buckles go as to lash the package il
N his back SO securely hat he might n
all and roll in he snow in any manner e.
'ithout displacing it: thus leaving his u
rus and hands free to handle the W
nowshoe- pole, and otherwise assistant tt
rotrct himself. Seeing that nothing "
hort of forcible confinement could pre- CO
ent him from starting, some men. who hl
ad be u over portion of The ioure in m
lmmer time on horseback, gave him DIT
eneral description of the country
trough which he proposed to search. ST.
Nth this acknowledgement nothing else in
to gnidn him, and equipped as above
pscribed, he started from camp one be
ormy morning. about The last of De- ri
III o'i' WIN n'hily every soul I'D camp
. to see HIN off. and wish for his re- CA
rn from what hey all termed his fool in
lrdy undertaking. IN,
Rounding point short distance ST.
'ove the town he was lost to view gr
anderer amid the unknown mountain ten
and snow-slides, every of
here Temperature ranging far be- ter
W gro, with nothing but wild cal
asis for companions. Who will say wi
at it was not reckless adventure, dit
nsidering all he circumstances Rid snl
g on snowshoes is not very difficult FRI
TO acquire, hut is "a very tir-some boz