The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-02-11
Train of Coal Reaches the Great
Mining Camp.
AN ARMY OF SHOvELERS
SUCCEEDED IN RELEASING SEW
ERALt BLoCKADED TRAINS.
Situation at Aspen Is Desperate and
the Mines Are Closing Down
Roads Still Blockaded West of
Leadville-six Big Slides In the
Canyon of the Grand

Denver Feb. 1O.-The apparently in
tains in the vicinity of Leadville re-
sumed sway early today, after a brief
respite during the night. However,
the wind and cold had ebated. and the
conditions were more favorable for the
work of breaking down the snow bar
riers which have closed the railroads
and cut many mountain towns off from
communication with the outside world
The Leadville mine and smelter man
ayers made good their offer of a thou
sand snow shOvelers to open the Dem
YER * Rio Grande railroad between
Leadville and Malta, in order to get
coal into the camp. One gang began
work at midnight, and at O'clock it
was relieved by another. The Little
Johnny mine closed down for the day
and many others were operated by half
the usual force. Colonel George w.
Cook and other mine managers were
in charge of the shovel and pick bril-
gade. Much hard work was required
to remove the ice from the rails, but
the track was finally cleared so that
1t was possible to run into Leadville
twenty cars of coal that had been
stalled at Malta.
On the Colorado Midland a large
force of men, working under the direc-
ton of Agent Sneve, succeeded in
breaking the blockade at Snowden and
brought in thirty cars of coal.
The Midland people believe they will
not need the assistance of the snow
shoVelers at work on the Rio Grande
but by tomorrow will have their road
entirely open. They started a train
from LeadVille this afternoon, bound
for Denver. Their passenger train
which left Denver last Tuesday was
brought into LeadVille, and the road
is now clear for coal cars, which will
be. brought in before passenger trains.
Present estimates are that the down.
town mines have coal enough to last
from three to five days, and a supply
will be rushed to the Little Johnny and
other outlying mines.
The situation at Aspen is quite as
desperate as at Leadville. No trains
are running to the great silver camp
on the west of the range, and it is
reported that the mines there are clos
ing down for want of fuel. There
have been some snowslides in the camp,
but no fatalities have resulted, so far
as known
West of Leadville the roads are still
tied up tightly. In the Canyon of the
Grand there have been six snowslides.
One of them was 400 feet in length and
I'LL ~ live lcCl uS6D. III II are
bOulderS and trees. Superintendent
Sample and Assistant General Man
ager Schlacks are on the ground, su-
perintending the work of clearing the
Rio Grande track.
The snow shovelers at Shoshone
struck today for an increase of wages
from $1.75 to $3.50 day.
The Marshall Pass is again closed.
but the rotary is bucking the drifts
there and the narrow gauge may soon
be reopened. Down on the Cumbres
Pass the storm has put an end to rail-
reading for several days. and there
are so many other troubles of a more
serious nature that at present Cum
breS is given the go-by.
Como, Breckenridge, Kokomo and
all towns on the high line to Leadville
are completely isolated. No news was
received from those places today, but
it is known that in some of them fuel
and provisions are becoming scarce
In the North Park there is about
three feet of snow on the level Travel
is impossible on account of the large
drifts. Walden has received no mail
for a week, and expects none for ten
days to come. 1t is doubtful if any
freight can reach that town for a
month.
a Snowstorm with cold wind from
the north began here today, and should
another very cold wave follow, it will
undoubtedly have a disastrous effect
on the livestock upon the ranges.