The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1895-08-23

SLIDING AFTER A SNOWSHOE.
line. One of the liveliest of these soli-
tary adventures is thus described by
his biographer:
Jack started at one o'clock in the
morning, and blessed with good
moon made capital time, so that he
reached the crest of the range by day
light. The snow was in excellent con-
dition, Just soft enough to make his
twelvc-foot Norwegian shoes bite well.
All the lower branches of the pines were
covered, and in the gulches the snow
| must have been twenty feet deep.
On the crest the wind had swept the
| ridges clear and Jack had to carry his
shoes for half mile or SO, till he came
to long valley. Here he fastened
them on again, and started downward
slowly at first, then faster and faster
as the grade grew deeper.
Suddenly, at the top of his speed, he
found himself in the air, and came
down with force that nearly stunned
him. He had struck a sheet OF ice, his
shoes had lost their hold, and down he
had gone on his back.
Both shoes came off. He clutched at
them instinctively but caught only
one. The other was instantly beyond
reach, sliding down the mountain side.
AS Jack watched it disappear he felt
siak. If the shoe was gone, he might
reckon on his fingers the number OF
hours he had to live. There were four
or five miles of snow, from ten to thlr-
" feet thick, between him and his
destination. To wade through it was
impossible.
Before him were twenty miles OF
mountain and valley to the nearest
camp. To stay where he was meant to
be frozen to death in few hours. He
must recover that shoe, or he was lost.
1t would Of course Slide down the
steepest grade, and would pass into the
lower valley by the way OF a rocky
gorge. which Jack could see from
where he stood, and which was a break
neck place, with mountains of snow in
and around it, whence it would be i'm
possible to climb, should the search be
unsuccessful.
ANY chance was worth trying in SC
desperate cdSe, anu odSA ohO"6 ~
chat, as the shoe he still had would
naturally follow its mate if placed on
the same grade, his best plan was to
lie down upon it, start sliding, and trust
to its being stopped by whatever had
4 arrested its fellow.
OF course, the odds were that the
first shoe had gone over precipice, OF
splintered on point of rock, and that
the same fate would overtake the sec
ond. together with it's burden; but, If a
man must die, quick death is better
than slow torture, and Jack decided tc
risk his fate. He found the spot where
the accident had happened, put the re
; naming shoe on the track, lay down
along it, rounding his chest us much a:
possible, and steering with his elbows
; Down they went, sometimes sliding
along smoothly, sometimes blowing
through the soft drift, on and on, il
; seemed to the anxious traveller, inter
minably. He kept sharp lookout fol
any trace of the lost shoe, and also fol
any CHASTITY header that might be il
front of him.
.. At last he came to turn in the gully
and could scarcely believe his eyes
There was the lost shoe sticking out o
a drift in 'front.' Slowly and anxiousl,
he extricated it, fearing to find that thu
toe had struck rock and splintered
. No, it was all right; and in a momen
. more he was safe, and sweeping down
, into the timber.