Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1893-05-30
J TERRIBLE SNOW SLIDE.
seventeen Messe DESTROYED re.r
Dixie Dfgsines.

ABOUT fve miles above Dixie Diggings
the 7th OF last March. The Avalanche
came down a canyon on the south
side Of Dixie creek. The canyon
used to be very thickIy timbered, but
now there is . swath about $50 feet
wide cut through the middle from the
top. Of the mountain to the creek, a
distance Of about two miles. As
might be expected, there are millions
OF tons of snow piled up, making a
dam that backed the water up for q
mile. The terrible force of the ava
lanche can be imagined easier than
described. Its force was such that
after striking the creek its own mo-
mentum carried it fully q quarter Of
mile up the mountain on the other
side.
The awful noise attracted the At
tention of your correspondent, and
seeing the long ribbon like stripe
down the mountain side, determined
to investigate. Imagine my surprise
when, after gazing on the work Of
this monster, walking around awe
stricken and terrorized at the terrible
scene before me, to find the leg of a
large bull moose sticking ont of the
snow and ice. l pulled and tugged
at the frozen extremity of one of the
noblest animals that range the noun
tains, but being unable to dislodge
the entire carcass l took out my hunt
ing knife and cut the leg off close up
to the body, and after trimming i,
down so that there was nothing left
but the round, tied it on my bach
and went home. I told several o.
the boys about the find l made, and
showed them the big ham of moose
venison as collateral proof, which, By
the way, tipped the scales at sixty
seven pounds, although did no
take more than one-half the quarter
Next day l, in company with sew
eral others, went out to the now ia
nous snow slide to get the balance o
the meat, but when we came within
sight of the place we saw no les
than twenty-eight large mountai
lions walking around and GRIMM
most hideously at each other, bu
few shots from our revolvers ser
them scampering away onto the neal
est hills to watch US from a respect;
BILE distance.
Imagine our chagrin when we cam
to the place where | left big fl
moose the evening before to fin
nothing but a few frozen bone
r These ravenous creatures had d.
r voured the last morsel, and left Il
bones polished as slick as though Il
: moose had been dead a century.
+. While bemoaning our sad ia,
S Sawtooth Sam called attention to
hole in the hard snow and ice tn
looked as though made by one of q
: mountain lions. Investigation prov
J. his surmise correct, for not only W
e the hole made by the hon, but
n directed by the keen sense of sm'
Q for which these animals are note
g had located another moose buri
It deep in the snow. Now We had
S key to the whole business, SO we we
r. around and dug in the snow eve
# place we saw any signs of the lilo
is digging or scratching, and in eve
d case dug out a moose until we b
" of these splendid animals on
, surface. Some of them were so bi
ly mashed up that they we're no go
e IN one case large tree had be
-s driven through the body of one,
! in several cases a part, maybe o
half of the animal, was SO ba
crushed that the bones, flesh and b
- was ground into pulp. These p'
: that we're spoiled we left on
20 ground charged with strychnine, fl
a which we reaped quite harvest
n the shape of 50 mountain lion pc
~ "A lynx, Is black wolves, 26 wol'
of ines, 1s fishers, SO pine martins
is Q gray wolves. There was an
an mense xmount of smaller game,
lis wa didn't have time TO dress the p'
or they were not valuable enot
is II it was the season for bear we W.
'or have got over hundred, as the We
Ter are fairly alive with them in the
nk ~. of the year, when the berries are
~ ~ But the question may be asked
these moose got in the way OF
snow slide. Well, the way ! acc
'n- for it is this: 1t is well-known
that elk and moose yard up e
winter for their mutual prote'
ur from lions, lynx, etc., which, me-
.ha;r most deadly euer