Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-01-23
THE TRACK OF AN AVALANCHE.
Countless Toms OF Snow Form the Grave q
Twenty-four Human Beings.


Countless Toms OF Snow Form the Grave Of
Twenty-four Human Beings.
We had gone out from Fort Owen to open
the pass in the Big Hole mountains to en-
able the woodchoppers to get supply of
fuel for the post. Ithad showed for 70 hours
without break, and at several points in
the pass there were drifts 90 feet high, There
were rs of us under command of a lieutenant,
and about noon we had dug our way half
through the pass. The mountain slopes on
each side were rough and rocky, but the
snow lay so deep that each slope looked as
level as a floor, though the slant was much
sharper than the ordinary house roof. 1t
was good thousand feet to the cedars
growing on the ridge, and it made one dizzy
to look up and realize the distance
1--WE are liable to meet with disaster
here, :" the officer had said as we began work
with our snow shovels in the morning.
''There must be no shooting with your re-
volvers-no horse play-no shouting If
the snow gets started up there, not man
of us will ever be found before next June"
The pass ran east and west for a distance
of 200 feet and then made sharp turn to
the north AT the turn we had what might
be called third mountain in front of us.
The slope was as high as the others and
pitched to the west or down the pass We
thus had three slopes, two pitching across
the pass and the other lengthwise of it.
For the first hour every man was nervous
and afraid. Then the feeling began to
wear off, and some of the men expressed
their contempt of the peril. AT the end of
two hours the officer had to repeat his
words of caution. At about IL O'Clock
fall of snow from the left hand slope re-
vealed the mouth of IL cave about 30 feet
HA1I y,n1I ffN
be the lair of bear or panther, and at
noon, when the men sat down in the pass
to eat their pork and hard tack, the officer
started to go up and investigate. Without
a word on his part l followed him. The
fall of snow had left the rocks bare and re-
ycaled three or four small trees, but it was
a hard climb to reach the cave. II wasn't
a cave at all, but only an indentation in
cliff, with shelf of rock overhanging it.
This overhang extended out for perhaps
four feet.
The men were not all in a bunch. but
some of them were even out of sight around
the bend After discovering that we had
been duped about the cave we stood look
ing down and across and were just moving
to get down when one of the men below us
jumped up and shouted:
"A deer! A deer! Hurrah, boys-veni-
son for supper"
The deer was above us, but we could not
see it on account of the overhang. All the
men had their revolvers, and as they began
to flourish them and prepare to fire the offl-
Ger called out a command and warning.
If they heard him, they did not heed him.
He was still speaking when three or four
shots were fired almost simultaneously,
and some one cried out that the deer had
been hit. 1t was the conclusion that start
4 .taH fFNY1 hn
top Of the slope, T. nere the warm sun had
softened it soonest. | felt a trembling of
the mountain and leaped back under the
overhany and as the lieutenant and stood
side By side TIE avalanche swept over us.
Daylight WAS hlotted out in an instant, and
the grinding, roaring and crashing were
| something terrific.
1t seemed as if the mountain rocked and
pitched Ikea steamer at sea, and the noise
was louder than any clap of thunder you
ever heard. 1t couldn't have lasted over ~
seconds, though the time seemed 10 times
as long. Then we looked down, to lind the
pass at the soles of our feet. In other
words, it had filled up to u height of 80 feet
with snow, powders, trees and earth. Two
hundred feet to the west of us was the
lower mouth or opening-beyond that Il
plain The snow had not only fallen from
our slope, but from the one opposite. We
were struck dumb for the moment, and as
we stood gazing blankly the snow started
on the third slope. Away up near the crest
a ball started rolling, and 10 seconds later
the snow on a space 800 feet long was NOV
ing. Instead of piling up in the ravine it
struck and forced the snow down there to
the west and followed after
1t was a great river of snow sweeping
past us. Logs. trees and powders which
weighed tens of tons were borne along like
straws, and so swiftly that the eye caught
no second glance. All at once there was a
check, and right before us soldier was
shot to the surface. 1t was Corporal Herts
who was probably farther up the pass than
any other man. He popped out of the snow
head first and at full length, and for perhaps
five seconds was within 10 feet of US and
looking squarely into our faces He was
bareheaded, his overcoat gone and his face
bleeding. He knew what had happened
and no doubt realized his peril, but as he
stood there, saved for the instant, up went
his hand in salute to the lieutenant. AS
his arm dropped he disappeared from
sight. 1t was discipline in the face OF death
an instance that will never have its coun-
terpart.
Out of that narrow, rocky pass poured
the tide with a fury which scraped it as
bare as u floor and tore great rocks from its
Sides At the west mouth the snow Hlleu u
ravine so feet deep and then poured out on
the plain for a quarter of mile. 1t was no
use to look for the bodies, Five hundred
men could not have moved that mass i'll Il
fortnight. Twenty-four men were buried
there 1t was idle to hope that any of them
still lived. Along in the last days of June
we found them, one after another, and even
then we had to dig. The snow would have
smothered them as it rushed down, but
with the snow came rocks which crushed
some of them to pulp. The corporal who
had saluted as he looked into the eyes of
death was the last one found. He was at
the bottom of the ravine, the body without
a shred of clothing, and the arm he had
raised had been torn from its socket as he
was whirled along with tlat grinding mass.
NJ Quad
The Right Way.
Fish Dealer-How shall | send those
Goldfish?
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