The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1897-12-16
ANACONDA NE WIS.
DEATH WAS NEAR To THEM
Miraculous Escape of a Party of
Surveyors.
WENT OVER A PRECIPICE
The Avalanche Carried the Men 200
Feet Down the Mountain Side and
Over Sheer Bank Nearly
300 Feet High.

How a dozen men can slide down a
steep mountain side for a distance of
1.200 feet, humping against rocks and
trees, and not be killed, is almost be-
yond comprehension. But when to this
slide is added a fall of 300 feet down a
sheer precipice without loss of human
life, the escape can be called nothing
less than miraculous
Yet that is what six men did on a
mountain north of Twin lakes on Tues
day morning. And they are not Only
alive, but their bones are as sound as
the bones of human being can be.
Only three of the six are injured so
seriously as to be required to go into
a hospital ward. Their bodies are sad
ly bruised by the thousand impacts
which they received in their terrible
slide. The flesh, from the top of their
heads to the soles of their feet. is as
tender and as sore as a raw cut. Chief
Engineer Macdonald is the most seri-
ously injured of all those who went
down in the avalanche. A man named
Peterson is rather badly hurt about the
hips. and Charles Brown is also pain
fully bruised
The story of the avalanche. which
was published in yesterdays Standard
was correct so far as it went. Yester-
day afternoon at about 2 o'clock Drs.
mckenzie and Spelman returned, to-
gether with the three men most ser-
ously hurt. A. p. Flanagan. the driver
of the sleigh which conveyed the men
to town, yesterday afternoon gave a
graphic account of the snow slide. He
said
The party's camp is located a little
distance from Twin lakes. On Tuesday
morning at an early hour, the corps,
consisting of about Is men, started for
the other side of a mountain range.
The men were not equipped with snow
shoes and consequently could not have
gone by the circuitous trail where the
snow is six or seven feet deep. They.
therefore. decided to take the short cut
across ridge of the mountains. They
had Travelled but a short distance when.
ITO one side of them. a small mass of
snow was seen flying down the side of
the mountain. One of the men re-
marked. upon seeing this, well soon
have bigger one
THE party continued on its way, and
had gained a point within POO or 800
feet of the summit, when the snow
above them was seen to take motion
"A flash of lightning is as nothing when
compared with the rapidity with which
that mass of snow travelled Peterson
was the first man it struck. 1t carried
him off his feet as though he We're no
heavier than q scrap of paper. / feel |
safe in saying that no part of Peter
sons body touched the ground for a
distance of 200 feet after the avalanche
faught him. He just simply flew
the air. One of the other boys, |
who was below Peterson. saw the snow
coming and braced himself for the
shock. He might just as well have
braced himself against a flying locomo-
tive for when the slide struck him he
was carried off his feet with the same |
ease as was Peterson.
'All this took but the fractional part |
of second, and as the snow came on |
one after another of the party went fly |
ing down the mountain. Some We're |
thrown with terrific force against trees
and rocks. and a few were fortunate i
enough to be landed against a tree, and |
you may bet they held on. One man |
went against tree with his waist. He /
said afterwards that he had never
Rugged his best girl as he did that tree.
Those who We're in the middle of the |
avalanche were swept on. About 1200 |
feet from where the snow started the
mountain breaks into a sharp preci-
pice, and over this the whole mass, men,
snow. trees and rocks tumbled. Il sheer
fell of 300 feet.
Il don't see how any one of them
got out of it alive. much less with their
bones still unbroken. The mountain on
which the slide occurred is, ] am sure,
AS high as Mount Haggin. The slope
8 very steep. and | believe the angle to
be at least 45 degrees. The distance
from the point where the slide started
to the brink of the precpice cannot be
ess than 200 feet--it may be more--I
,Culd not estimate very accurately from
where / stood In my opinion, the
escape of the men is due
% the fact that they were almost at
he rear end of the avalanche This ac-
counts for the fact that they were not
buried under tons and tons of snow in
he canyon below. The snow on the
Mountains was, in some places, 10 feet
leep, and in others two or three. |
hould estimate the average depth
# the snow to have been about four
eet. The slide had a width as far as
could judge, of 500 feet or more
Thus ii will be seen that nearly 2,50O.-
100 cubic feet of snow went down into |
he canyon, for the mountain was as
ARE as it could be after the avalanche
lad passed. Had the men been at the
ront instead of at the rear of this enor-
nous mass. they would certainly have
een buried so deep that the possibility
f a rescue would have been out of the
question. AS ii was. the loose snow
DING down before them served to make /
rather soft surface for them TO fall
pom, and Ii is a fortunate thing for
hem that il was So
The mountain on which the accident .
is very treacherous one, be-
lg covered with loose and spintered
ock. There is some timber, but not a
reat deal. When the men who We're ,
nhurt We're able to lend a hand in !
elping to extricate their companions, ,
was found that only two Macdonald
nd Peterson. were unable to walk
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