Connecticut western news., 1894-12-06
A MYSTERY SOLVED.
ONLY A STRAW IN THE PATHWAY
 OF THE AVALANCHE.


 Loss of the Joe Haines Party three
 Men, Ninety Horses and Mules, With
 &3o, 900 Worth of Goods, Wiped Out on
 the New Route Over the Mountains
 The route was from Marysville along the right bank of the Tuba river, over the Sierra Nevada mountains and down to Washoe City and Gold Hill, haul of nearly 900 miles. Except in the dead of winter there were always freighters going and coming. There had been talk of cutoff route over the mountains-a route which would save many miles of heavy hauling and of unloading and re- loading the great wagons-but the freighters still stuck to the old trail Every mile of it was rough and rugged, and many miles of 1t dangerous to man and horse as we'll as vehicle, but there might be more danger in the new route
 In the spring of 1868 word was sent out that Captain Joe Haines was load ing his IA wagons for the Gold Hill country and would be the first to try the cutoff. Some men sagely shook their heads and recalled the stories of emi- grants lost in the grim Sierras, others applauded the captains nerve and wished him good luck Six heavy horses or mules to wagon, IA drivers, two bosses, two cooks, five men giving their services free to get out to the Ne vada mines. Twenty y-three men and 90 head of live stock, and the value of the goods in the wagons was $50, 900.
 One spring day the caravan took the road Word came back from it almost every day untilit left the trail leading up to the pass through which the rail road track afterward found it's way. At a certain point IS miles short of the bend in the trail the caravan turned sharp to the east to try the cutoff route. A trapper saw the wagons among the foothills, and Indian hunters saw them two days later After that no man saw them and lived to aeIl of it Days and weeks passed by, and the weeks had run into months before 1t came to be gen. erally believed that the Haines outfit had met with some dtsaster. That never a man had returned to Marysville and never a man had reached the eastern slope meant more than disaster. It meant terrible tragedy.
 One searching party followed the wagons into the foothills and lost all trace of them A second traced them up one. valley and down another, but at Q certain point time had obliterated all further evidences Winter came, and they were forgotten. Spring returned, and the hunters and Indians sent out reports that the disappearance of the outfit was a mystery beyond them. Then the rumor gave out that Captain Hainee had safely reached his destination, but would return no more to Marysville. I, was wartime then, and people scarcely thought of aught else but war. In an other year all was forgotten, save per. haps by the shippers who had had no re turns and were hoping against hope. Two, three, five, ten years passed away. Old men died; boys grew tc manhood. The railroad came, and the wagons disappeared from the trail. One summers day hunter who had become separated from his companions sal down on a rock in the heart of the mountain range to rest To the west O, him there was only 8 narrow trail; to the east and north there was more room. As the hunter rested he scanned the hillsides to the east and north. The DO sition of the powders, the size of the trees, the queer oonfiguration of the slopes-a dozen signs gave him to under. stand, for he was something of a geolo. gist, that the spot was not as nature left it. He clambered up the norther1l slope and uttered an "Ahl',. of surprise. Once upon time the ground below him had been 8 valley rich in grass and flowers.
 It was a narrow, tortuous valley not over 10 rods wide-a valley connecting two larger valleys To the east noun. tain reared its head 8, 900 feet highs mountain of many mountains. Two thousand feet above him had been the starting point of landslip. Millions oi tons of earth and rock had been set in motion by the rolling over of a stone which might not othaveweigheda a hundred pounds. The discharge of rife, the neigh of horse, the shout of man, even the feet of bird resting after e flight, might have caused the avalanche after long spell of wet weather. Il had rushed down into that narrow val ley to fill 1t up as dirt fills . ditch, tc bury the green grass and the tender vio- lets 15, 90. 80 feet deep The rush, and the roar, and the crash must have been | terrific. ..... ..-.. The man looked and descended to the trail To him it was only point of geology. With his own eyes he had seen one of the tremendous changes nature is constantly making in the mountains. Ah, what's this? He has been absent less than half an hour, and yet during that time the waters from 8 hidden spring have gushed forth from the hill. side and formed creek, which is twist | ing and turning along the trail The hunter kneels down to drink, and his eyes rest upon rusty gun barrel. As he pulls it out of the soil he sees the hoot of horse with shoe yet firmly hold. | ing to it. . .-- Two hours later two men are digging away at the bank on each side of the bpTluR. 1ucy Luu bio poiiOo VI n hOicc, the skeleton of man, the ironwork of wagon. They solve the mystery sur. rounding the fate of the long lost Haines party. Dead. every man and horse dead since the night they oamped in that mountain cove and the awful ava lanche came rushing down to destroy everything in its pathl Of what use for others to dig? Men must die. and men must be buried. They were buried SC deep that trees took root and threw out great branches above them as they slept Twenty three men, 90 horses and mules, 14 wagons, $30, 900 worth of cargo only a straw in the pathway of the ava l lanche e-Detroit Free Press.
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