Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1901-02-21
Terrific COastinu.

Hare'ueVll ahd Jnrllllng adventure
than that Of two men sliding down
a steep, ice crusted mountain, one
IN prospector's pan and the other
IN miners shovel. Yet such a
hazardous undertaking was accom-
plished February 9th, instant, BY
Pete McGoff and yankee Bll'
Murphy, miners and prospectors in
the Sierra Madre mountains, when
they flew like the wind down one
aide OF the treeless Qaartzsite
Mountain. distance of two miles
With descent OF about $50, and
'anded IN twenty-five feet Of snow
irlft in the fortv.feet chasm of
! Cow Greek, few miles west OF
Grand Encampment Wyoming.
Pete and yankee Bills" love
Of adventure will brook perils OF
any kind and a. any time for the
oure love Of sport --perils at which
he tenderfoot would stand aghast.
Both are known for the chances
they take with their lives The
greater the danger, the move ready
they are to enter into it. Peculiar
"cusses" these two rough miners,
and it was in iesring wager simply
that they raced down this noun
tain, Pete in the pan and Yankee
Bill" squatting on the shovel, both
finishing with record breaker snd
what might have been a neck treak.
err.
They climbed TO the top If the
peak over two feet Of snow N the
day OF the adventure u wt.h out
decomposed quartzsite, which show.
ed rusty iron ore, and which led
them to believe would c4rfy gold.
In the afternoon it turned of cold
and froze crust on the snow, so
that the surface % the mountain
resembled glass. It was near sun.
down when the two men finished
prospecting and started to retraca
their way down the mountain. The
slippery iced snow impeded their
progress, making the journey slow
and dangerous at best.
Less than 100 feet down Pete
iestingly proposed to" Yankee Bill"
that they slide down on the pan
aud shovel.
"I'll beat you down." said Pete,
sulting the action to the word by
getting into the pan.
lyon can't beat me-" replied
yankee Bill" at the same time
'qnatting down on his shovel I'M
mindful Of the possible danger
ahead.
AT FIRST both slid along in jerky
fashion, for they were obliged to
oush themselves along at times.
Suddenly, however, the descent be-
came much more abrupt, aud the
two men launched into ozone and
shot down with accelerating speed
like comets through space. The
sensation they felt can neither be
described nor imagined They tore
down the mountain side like an av-
blanche, each 5olding on to his
metal sled with Vselike grip. A
mile was covered in apparently an
instant, when a ridge formation
turned them off their course, and
they flew still faster at an acute an.
gle. The forty feet chasm Of Cow
Creek was inevitable, and before
they had time to realize the danger
they had eaped over It's edge. clear
ed Cow Creek and, as II human
drills, bored the snow drift twenty
five feet.
When dug out Pete and CYAN
kee Bill" did not exactly need the
coroner, but there we're not enough
plasters and linlment in camp to
soothe their bruises. They came
up smiling, however, each stoutlY
maintaining victory The shovel
and pan will be exhumed next
Spring by nature.
- ~.------
al hobbled into Mr. Blackmon's drug
store one evening" says Wesley Nelson.
of Hamilton, Ga, "and he asked me 10
IA.