Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1896-10-01
Domn the Flume.

Hh1tItS-ytS, IiloIt liiuD tUdt- Tie NIL
ing camps were showed in" I had
not been long in the camp, and it was
al new to me. so | naturally tied to
Gov. Bill, foreman of the Last Chance,
curing the exciting days Of the great
0nOwstOrm. The miners gave him that
name because he had gone to college
With n governor of one ofour Eastern
ptatcs. He was educated for the bar
but drink made him Il miner. and now
that he was reformed the company
made him foreman. When the storm
commenced the mills were all shut
DOWN and the water which furnished
the power was turned from the various
flumcs.
The day following the one of the
heaviest snowfall it was reported at
the lower end OF the gulch that an i'm
mense snow slide had occurred during
the night at the upper end. | procured
q pair of snowshocs and hurried to the
scene. The manager and Bill were SUI
perintendlng the working of scores Of
miners--in fact, all the available men.
whats the matter. BillY' l in
CURED
'The men at the upper mill are
buried in this mountain OF snow" he
answered.
what! How many"
-Four. You see the miners at the
boarding house there escaped but
those who slept In the loft of the mill
at the head Of the gulch had no chance
to leave"
Those who have visited the Occur
d'Aienes will recall how steep the
Duties rise from the narrow gulches
At places you can scarcely scale Them
and even the hardy pines can barely
gain II footing.
The wind was now blowing in gusts
carrying clouds of SNOW from the
Duties above. swirling down the slopes
eddying through the gulches and bank
ang the white powder ut the very feet
Of the miners ShOvels were power
less. but the men worked on in the firm
belief that they would reach their com
rides. But no one knew whether the
old building had stood the strain, ana
that the poor fellows We're alive.
''It's no go. Mr.. Bardon, Bill de-
spondently said. There IL no telling
how long the storm will keep up, and
even II II soon subsidies, II will bc days
before we can reach them. Moreover,
they cannot live long in that small
building without air
II fear you are right Bill. But it Is
all we can do" slowly replied the
manager.
There was momentary lull in the
storm, whN the governor remarked,
with nm anxious face: Look at the
streak down the butte. That must
have have been the path Of the slide"
"Ycs. 1t originated on the smooth
hume" A binding rush of snow from
over the mountain shut out the view.
'"Thc wind keeps the hulne bare near
the ~ of the slope" added the man
ager. after we had shifted our posi-
tiOns. for the snow was drifting about
us.
All day long the men toiled. and all
that night reliefs were working, but
progress in the shaft was slow. as the
snow continually caved in or was car
ricd In by the wind. During the fol
lowing day and night there was no let
up In the work. TO me affairs looked
more hopeful. for the storm had spent
its fury and was now subsiding. That
night asked Bill how deep he thought
the snow was where the men were
working
ITS y hundred feet II an inch" he
replied. land we have not made more
than forty Thirty more feet should
bring ua to the roof. but. you see. it
Evidently Bin did not take as hope
full view of affairs. had moved my
bunk to the office building. and early
the following morning l was aroused
by loud knocking ut the door. 1t was
the governor He looked very de-
terinined and hurriedly said that he
had planned a scheme. u side issue,
during the night and wanted me to
Join him. Bnl had not slept or eaten
much since the slide, so worried had
he been and anxious to rescue the
buried men. He had several hundred
feet Of small. strong rope with him,
and after a hurried breakfast mt the
officers mess five of us set out OH
0nowsh0es.
(which way, Bill?"
'"ro the flume." was all he said
I did not urge him: 1t only irrtatcs
strong man to ask him to disclose his
plans In time Of action. ! decided to
follow and await developments.
The ascent of the prccipitous butte
In the gray OF morning was no easy
task. but by taking somewhat cir
CuitOus route, which followed a 'hog-
back" we avoided the sleeper slope.
aud before long reached the exposed
portion of the wooden fumc.
"And now" said Bill. "wc'll move
down as far rs we can along the
1lume."
We did SO. and after travelling
short distance below the point where
the snow first covered the planking.
we dug several feet and cleared the
boards.
The SCHEME had gradually un.
folded itself to me. saw it all now.
Bill was going to have himself lowered
down the f1ume and, II possible,
through the twenty-four-inch metallic
conduit which prolonged the hume at
. short distance from the mill. Then
he would trust to luck at getting
through the turbine and into the build
ing. And this was the man who, dur
ing the tumultuOus troubles of the pre-
cBeding summer, had stood loyal to
the company, and with few brave
men had kept these same miners at the
lower end Of the gulch away from the
company's works! Here he was now.