The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1902-06-06
3
zONEBOY'S PLUCK.


twenty miles east OF the Dakota
line, in the southwestern part of Min |
nesota, Rock River finds its way in a |
southwestern direction to the Big |
Sioux. Its course is down a valley |
varying III width from, three hundred
to four hundred yards. For miles the
prairie is unbroken on either side of
the valley. when suddenly there is a
sharp descent of Sevepty-tiVe or one |
hundred feet TO another level. The OPP
posite bank is equally abrupt and the
valley looks rs If it had been formed
by q part of the prairie sinking and
leaving a perpendicular bank on each
side.
The engineers who surveyed the line
for the railroad found 1T hard to de-
termine how this valley should be
crossed. the problem not being solved
until narrow. gulch was found leau-
ing from the east to the bottom of the
depression. From the mouth of this
gully the line makes Il sharp turn
northward. running zip the valley
snort distance to Il point where anoth-
er ravine leads up to the prairie Level
westward.
The men who constructed the tele
graph system avoided the dip into the
valley by running their line of poles
| directly to the top of the descent. on
! the very verge of the precipice. Here
a Spite. one of the kind used in bridge
work had been erected. and on the
| opposite side of the valley another
stout post had been placed. From
| these two poles the wire was strung
across The valley. saggipg in the mic
die, aud hanging but n few feet above
the tops of cars passing on the track
below
When Hardrrbble reached the poict
where the teiegraph-line led slightly to
northward from the railroad, he lifted
his light velocipede from the track
and walked across the prairie toward
the descent. AS he approached the
| spile supporting the eastern end of the
wire suspended over the valley. he saw
that an insulator bracket was loose,
permitting the wire to sag. His climb
ers were strapped to his feet. and be
quickly made ready to replace the loos'
ened bit of wood.
With his task finished. the boy rest
ed his weight on his steel climbers anC
gazed on the scene before him. The
top of the pole at an elevation of TWEEN
ty feet gave him Il view of the prairie
| for distance of dozen miles in eth
{ or direction. OFF to the west the lira
l of rails, winding and twisting acros!
tie prairie, led toward the three spires
3 and twoscore brown roofs Of Pipe
stone. where d dark blot on the land
I scape indicated that the east-boun'
e through passenger train was at tina
o moment leaving the station. Mort
Il tho comb
reach. stretched the valley of the Roci
e and down it's centre roared the river
Il in summer tiny stream that Nigh
be fordcd anywhere, but now tol
rent, fed by melting snow.
IL The water was brown and white an
8 yellow, and here and there great cake
Is of ice had damned, sending the Gu
D. rents back against themselves unit
X parts OF the valley were TRANSFORMS
10 into lakes. He saw that at the raj
ie road bridge below him one of theE
fe dams had formed, and that the ice w:
d, piled high against the structure. Ar
III then he saw what caused his heart
. beat faster and the blood to leave h
~ cheek. The western end OF TIE brid:
60 had been torn from it's fasteniugs
= the pressure of ice and water, and Il
\, rails from the west led out OF the 81
~ ly and around point of bluff, and en-
- - ed over gulf filed with a foamil
Az tide and masses of grinding ice-cakt
This meant disaster to the comil
~ train and perhaps death to train ere
nc and passengers, unless warning of t
-. danger We're quickly given
"a |. For miles in either direction no brid
- SPAWNED the river, and to wade
" swim the stream was impossible, t
- strong current and moving ice maxi
-, the attempt almost certain dea
Where the gorges had formed, the
IVA was a grinding mass, and Il glance
an veaIed the fact that these could 1
al be trusted.
ire Young Hardrubble's glances VIZ
We dered up and down the valley and, til
Ter across the prairie to the wGstwa
ale where the faint blur OF smoke of n Fl
n minutes before had increased to q Iol
rm black cloud. In ten minutes She IL;
the would be swinging around thu sht
os. curve of the gully into the valley.
ian Then his gaze returned to the NV
ect The only thing spanning the curry
ma was the rusty telegraph wire, lead