The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-01-12
TOLD BY THE OLD MAN
The Story Of Veteran Mountaineel
That Sounds Like a "Yarn."
ADVENTURES IN THE SNOW
A Family Living Under a Huge
Drift-His Actual Leap for Life
Over Trees on a Mountain
Side-It's No Dream.

calls the days of long ago in Montana, /"
said a well known gentleman the other
day, after he had read an armful of
Standards. He had just come in from
the Highlands, and he put in a day or
two reading his favorite paper. He
shaved off a pipeful of black navy.
crowded 1T into his old briar and began
to reflect, puff and smoke nearly every
body out of the noon. But a few of US
remained to listen to what we knew
was coming. sooner or later.
Yes, that story from Missoula about
the wildcat freezing to the rails is all
right" continued the veteran trail
blazer. after he had collected a match
from each of his hearers. II was there.
This hard winter "Reminiscences from
Livingston must be put down as a fact;
1 was camping on a ridge near the val
ley when the storm carried all the snow
from the basin and carried 1T back
again. The wind lifted the huge plies
right over our camp, and the next day
the great clouds came back lgaan over
the same route and. do you believe L?
not a fake of snow or breath of wind
struck the tent, which my partner and
/ had pitched a few days previous.
1--WE had not been successful in bring
ing down any big game, so we left
camp and started out over the valley
on our snow shoes to take a survey CT
the surroundings. We hadn't gone far
when we saw smoke coming out Of the
ground. Being a little stiff and a bit
hungry, we made for the smoke, having
been Taught In our youth that where
there's smoke there's more or less fire.
Jack, my paI,dner, was in the lead.
Holy smoke. Johnny he yelled.
heres a volcano
"I hurried over and, sure enough,
from a large hole I'm the ground poured
a volume of smoke that started us to
guessing. I took my long snow pole
and pushed a chunk of hardened snow
into the hole, just to hear 1t drop-if I
could-and something did drop.
Jane. while, Mary Tommy! Come
in the house! Quick, hurry! The air
shaft is cavtng in. Great heavens, your
pa is knocked sensible
That was enough noise for us. We
were dead sure that something was
down in that cave, and we were not
sure that someone was not dead.
Hello, belowi Who is 1t? Who are
you? Can you talk7 (Forgetting that
we had just heard a dozen words or so
issue from the cavbty) How did You
get down there7' s~t+-rf s-....
MY husband is killed. Run around
to the brow of the hill. TO the south.
and come down the steps
Following her directions, for III was
the frightened wife of the man she sup
posed was dying from the knock he re-
tclNC0 On AhhS Ihr-4uu lIOfa uIlc lCC
had dropped into the hole, who ad-
dressed us. we found our way into the
cavern.
"Huddled together, were nine child
rem, the mother. the father, who was
only partially stunned, two cows and
am old cayuse. Yes. you are right, the
hole was used as a chimney" answer
dng am anxious inquirer.
I'VE assured the woman that the
man would pull Through all right. Jack
had a small flask, and after the wound
ed man had taken a sup or two, he re-
vdved sufficiently to tell us how he hap
pened to be in such coy quarters. 1T
ts plain enough now to understand how
he and the family were placed in such
quarters. The SNOW on its return had
simply covered his ranch to a depth of
about 40 feet.
well, Jack and I stayed with the
family THAT might and bright and early
next morning we started out for our
camp. We took a new trail, or made
one. rather, and had gone probably
five miles over a nice snow shoe route,
when we found ourselves on top of a
mountain which sloped off 10 the east
very abruptly. / proposed TO take a
little spin down the hill. Jack de-
INJURED. I insisted, as / like nothing
better than a 'scoot' down a mountain.
No. Jack preferred, another way, and
while arguing the question, / turned
my face toward the steep slide and ac-
cidentally dropped my guide pole. That
was the last time ever saw Jack.
No. The didn't go DOWN. went-fast-
er than any human being ever travel
ed. And thousand such trips could
be taken in the time II requires to re-
late the experience of one of them.
Hold on, now: L wasn't killed-not
even injured" he interposed to the Sc
1tes of inquiries as ITO the state of his
being. ut was this way: / was gain
ing ground fast All would have been
highly pleasing If my pole had been
with me; but here was-couldn't stop,
dare not try ITO turn either to the right
or 10 the left; 50 just trusted to God
and a soft spot Down / shot and lest
me tell you that every mean little trick
i ever did. and recollections of the
times that / took a trick with a card
that really belonged to some one else,
crowded themselves into my thoroughly
disturbed thoughts. when saw only a
few hundred feet ahead of me a
clump of tall pines across my path,
over which 1 claimed the sole right-of-
way. They were piled up in an indiS- |
crirninate mass; some with roots high |
i'm the air. others lying on the tops of
the roots, and 1T was a sight never 20
be forgotten.
trusted more TO the soft spot than |
TO anything else just then. To be i'm |
paled on the brittle tops of those pines l
was not a pleasant anticipation. But /
i concluded that il was there they I
would find me some day. With one /
grand and sweeping farewell gave up. |
1 stiffened every muscle. threw my /
head back-and at that instant my /
long skis struck the sloping side of a |
huge trunk or boulder and in one |
billionth part of a fraction OF a second, |
i was sailing high into the air and be- |
low me were the. giistening green /
branches of those pines that promised |
TO do me SO much bodily barr, and i L
tell you-give me a match-talk about /
jumping claims. or homesteads. or i
water rights. that. boys. was a leap for /
life.
How did IL come OUT Why. while l
was soaring in mid-air removed one i
or my long skates. Erasped IL firmly
and struck ground few thousand feet