The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-04-13
SNOWSL!DES IN
COLORADO Mines.
Strange Freaks and Antics Played
by Avalanches Are Tn
paralleled.
DYNAMITE SAVES A TOWN.
Dangerous Season Begins With
Spring Melting of the Shows
Continues Until the
Middle of May.

WRITTEN . H SUNDAY REPUBLIC.
Denver, Colo, April 12.-The recent snow
slides at Telluride, In which thirty-two
miners lost heir lives, marked the begin
ming of the avalanche season in Colorado
a season that begins with the first melting
of the SHOWS in the Rocky Mountains and
that continues unul well into May. Teilu-
ride is in the center of the snowslide dis
ttict, and the annual loss Of life there Is
large, though the recent slides that over
whelmed The buildings of the Liberty Bell
mine were the most destructive in the his
tory of the entire West.
The strange freaks and antics that are
played by these avalanches In the Rocky
Mountains have no parallel unless II be
in the cyclone. Some of the narrow escapes
Of miners and prospectors sound like fairy
tales. Yet there are men in Colorado who
have ridden on the crests of snowslides. and
there are many witnesses who can vouch
for the incomprehensible and freakish
things that have been done by these plung-
ing masses of snow, trees and rocks.
The recent slides at Telluride were re-
markable for their number. The first slide
swept down upon the Liberty Bell bunk
house and cut off a small wing on one end
of the building. In this room were two
young mining engineers. While rescuerS
were striving to dig out the bodies of these
young men another slide came down the
path, burying close TO a score. Then
followed another and another, until six
slides had been coInted, and 1t was esti-
mated that the bodies of the first victims
were buried under q mass of debris eighty
Remarkable Incidents.
Following the Liberty Bell snowslide, the
San Miguel mine. in the same district. was
markable features. The slide caught the
camp cook, Herman Goettinger, who was
getting n dishpan full of snow to melt for
thinking purposes. The cook was carried
100 feet down the gulch. sitting In tho
dishpan and literally tobogganing in safe
ty. The same slide caught a trammer who
was working on the ore drum. This man
and his ore car were carried 1000 feet into
The gulch. The car was battered beyond
repair. but the man was I'm injured.
There is something absolutely unaccount-
able about a snowslide. 1t may follow a
certain path Cor years, and then something
viii turn il. and Ii will plunge over a course
that has been deemed out of the way OF
danger. The Ophir slide, near Telluride, is
year a great mass of snow packs in a GER
tain place. far vi the mountain SIDE. and
every year. when the warm rays of the
early spring sun have sufficiently melted
it. this slide come laundering down into
the gulch below. Before the Denver and
Rio Grande road was built past this slide
statistics were taken and the course of the
slide was very carefully averaged. Then.
being satisfied that they had selected a
all danger. the road builders went ahead
gnnd laid their tracks. The first spring aft
er the road was buiit the ophir silde took
shot off ct a tangent: Twenty-Five loaded
freight cars were buried. most of them be-
ing ground into kindling wood. Last year
this slide was watched by n great number
Of persons. When the great mass of snow,
~ feet high. came laundering down the
mountain side a rush OF air filled the gulch
for miles. Giant powders were snapped
like marbles many feet up the opposite side
Of the. gulch.
Miners Buried Under SNOW.
There are some grim jests played by these
mighty evalanches. Recently, in Ouray
COUNTY. a young man was riding along n
mountain trail when he was caught. in a
great slide. The avalanche buried the
young man nearly 100 feet deep. but the
horse did not even have any snow en- Its
feet and was unframed. AT Telluride two