The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-02
THE REGION OF SNOW.
Winter Life in the California
Sierras.
From the New York Sun.


From the New York Sun.
Even the horses here have to wear
snowshoes. or they would be useless; and
when you hear a man talk about break
Ing a horse in Plumas county, you San
know that it is not riding. but snow
shoelng he refers to. About one horse
in ten will make a good snowshoer. and
1t is extremely difficult for a horse to
walk with them. The shoes are made OF
Norwegian steel, about eight inches
square and are covered with leather or
rubber according to the taste of the
maker. There are two holes in them
through which fit the points or ice picks
of the regular shoe. These shoes weigh
several pounds apiece, and are fastened
over the hoof with iron and leather
bands. Without them a horse would be
helpless in Plumas. and 1t is a curious
sight to see them. At first 1t comes hard;
the horses stumble and often fall down,
but once the trick is acquired they walk,
and even trot, easily, lifting each foot
and setting 1t down so that 1t just avoids
the other.
ITS a great day when the mail ar
rives, but It's a greater sight to see the
mall carrier-a champion ski rider-com-
ing down the mountain. When he is seen
a
the next minute he shoots down at mile
a-minute rate.
you might think that such life would
not be worth living but we get used to
1t, and we have our parties and enter
tainments under the snow just as well as
outside. The great amusement of the
country Is ski racing. Every town has
one or more clubs, and men have beaten
a mile a minute and the fastest railway
XOl NJ af ~
in our country without skis. so every one
has them. They are strips of board about
eight feet long, four inches wide and very
thin The ski maker is a big man, and
while all skis may look alike to you, there
is supposed to be the greatest differences
Ia their make, and some that have
brought their owners in winners In many
races can't be bought for love or money.
'rhe great point in the ski is to have
the groove down the center perfectly
true and to get a polish on the bottom
that will beat that of the other man; and
about every silk racer has some partic-
ular dope which he considers the best,
and no state secret is better guarded. The
ski is rubbed over with tar and beeswax.
then polished until 1t is a mirror, and
then the mysterious dope is put on and
rubbed in until it is hard work to stand
on the ski they seem to want to fly Off
into the air
When the big races are on all the
clubs meet at a famous track. which real
ly is about 1000 feet of the side of a
steep mountain, coated with icy snow.
so slippery that once started you go as
though shot out of a gun, even II you
are lying on your back trying to hold
back; and so your speed when mounted
on the wing-lke skis can be imagined.
There are purses of from $50 to $500 for
the events, and when the day comes ev-
cry man, woman and child who can get
out Is there.
THE men selected as the cream of all
clubs line up on the edge OF the glass
like slope. Each man has six or ten
foot pole with which he can push him
self off. and each man has his own meth
cd Of riding; but there is one thing they
all go at a pace that takes the breath
away from a novice. It's simply dash:
you see them whizzing through the air.
as II were and they are there. one al
ways in the lead, owing to his special
dope The winner Is made much Of, and
the crowd goes TO the hotel, II there is
one. or to some house. and ball follows
to celebrate the event; and generally
there are three days OF racing and three
Dances
"The people are very social, and when
the snow is very deep parties go out to
help keep the chutes clear. splice chin
neys, or have a dance. So the winter
wears away. and I'm summer you would
never believe that Plumas and Sierra had
been buried out Of sight many q time.
Aoout the only suspicious things are the
marks on the trees-boards that have been
nailed on thirty-fve feet from the ground
when a man could stand on the snow and
do It, these marks being nailed to trees
between towns and mines. so that when
the heavy SHOWS cover up everything else
these can be SEEN These. and the tall
chimneys and the sioping roofs, are the
telltales Of the heavy SHOWS"