The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-26
ONE OF THE SURVIVORS.
A PennsyIvanian Tells of His Experience
in a Chiicoot Avalanche.
n the Punxatawney Spirit.

From the Punxatawney Spirit.
Milton Black, who lives near this
town, returned home last week from a
journey to the gold fields of Alaska.
He was caught with 200 others in the
great snow slide i'm Chilkoot Pass April
3, in which Mrs. Maxson of this place
lost her life, and had a thrilling eXpe-
rience and an almost miraculous escape
from death. He was buried under %
feet of SNOW for eight hours n was
finally dug out alive, but so much the
worse for the accident that he found it
impossible to proceed or his journey,
the long interment Under the snow haV-
ing so injured his lungs as to produce
violent hemorrhages.
1t is interesting to hear Mr.. Black
tell Of his experience, and of the wick
edness of the average Klondiker. n
soon as you get or the trail" he says,
Sunday school is out. There's no fur
Their use for hymn books, and prayer
meetings are not i'm it
There were about 200 people i'm the
party with whom Mr.. Black entered
Chilkoot Pass. They had pitched their
tents to rest and recuperate, when a
snow slide came down upon them, COW
ering their tents. After considerable
labor they all managed to get ont.
Thew concluded to get through the pass
as quickly as possible, and for that pur-
pose all took hold of a long rope, with
the guide in front. Mrs. MaNson, who
had been covered up with snow once,
was discouraged and hysterical. She
salt she would go no further. She
would lie right dow there and die
rather han attempt to go through the
pass. She was urged to take hold Of
the rope, but would not. Two or three
stalwart men offered to carry her, say
ing they would not go on and a a
woman TO die. She would not be car
ried. While they parleyed for 10 min
utes the second slide came. which they
would have escaped had there been no
delay. About a hundred Of them We're
covered beneath 25 n 80 feet of
snow.
Those who were not caught by the
slide went to work at once to dig the
others out. 1t was a slow and arduous
task. and out of 81 persons thus buried,
only seven were taken out alive. One
of these was Milton Black.
The slide occurred at Q o'clock i'm the
morning, and he remained buried until
; o'clock in the evening. One peculiar
ity of his tuatio when covered up
with snow, Mr.. Black says, was hat
he could hear just as well as though
he had been in the open air. The
groans, prayers, lamentations and
curses Of those beneath the avalanche
were plainly audible. Some prayed fer
vently. bade goodbye to their near
friends, and gave up. Others cursed
their fate and used their last breath TO
utter profanity.
Il made up my mind SAYS Black.
that | would die as | a lived. and
that IL was no use to pray at that stage
of the game. II seemed to me that |
got a breath about every five minutes.
I had little hope OF escape, but re-
solved to live as long as | could. The
snow was packed so tightly about me
hat I could not move a fraction of an
inch. | thought every time / got a
breath of air that that was my last
one. but | never became unconscious,
and IL seemed to me that | had been
there at least n week when a shovel
struck my shoulder and l heard a voice
saying:
Il have struck "A man"
rs he dead or alive?' said another
voice.
II don't know" answered the man
with the shovel, and he soon had my
head uncovered. When | got a good
breath Of air ! felt that I was all right.
and | said: There is n woman right
in front Of me. Dig her out | have
air now n can wait. Then they pro-
ceeded To uncovc Mrs. MaNson. But
she was dead. You can form some idea
Of how solidly the snow was packed"
continued Mr.. Black. when I tell you
that when they had me all uncovered
bat one leg w to the shin. I could not
get IL out until the snow was all shovel
cd AVA from IL. would not go
through that experience again for all
the gold on the Klondike."