Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1903-02-06
D!dc!k a.
I1 AdIentdre.
Thrown Down a Canyon.

| Thrown Down a Canyon.
~ Il. and Mrs S. S. Porter, for
merly of this city, but now
| of Marietta, Ohio, have been
| in st. Louis for a few days
past visiting their son, V. Mott Porter,
a well-known attorney and clubman,
en- route to their home from Colorado,
where they spent the summer. While
at small mountain camp in the Rock
les called Twin Lakes, about eighteen
miles from Leadville, they had a Won
derful escape from instant death.
"Our friends tell u.s." said Mrs. Por-
| ter at the home of her son, that when
the chances against death We're one in
a thousand for us, we ought to feel
predistined for some good in the world.
We had spent few days at Twin
Lakes enjoying the splendid fishing,
and, before starting home. decided to
| pay visit to an old miner up in the
mountains who had repeatedly urged
| the doctor to examine n gold claim he
| had. We inquired of the only livery
| man in Twin Lakes if he had a sure
footed horse, as the winding mountain
| road was n dangerous one, so narrow
! in places that two vehicles could not
pass, and extending along the edge of
n precipitous canyon 200 feet deep. 1t
was absolutely necessary to have a
sure-footed animal, as misstep on his
part would throw us headlong over
the preclpice.
"He assured us that he had, and sent
over to the hotel next morning a single
top buggy and lean. wiry-looking
| horse. whose only trouble, the owner
said, was short wind
at was beautiful, bright morning
| AS we began to ascend the mountain
we noticed that the horse wheezed and
| painted, and 1 suggested that we drive
| slowly. So We stopped every now and
/ then to rest him, then continued slowly
| on, thoroughly enjoying the invigor-
ating mountain air. The great scraggy
mountain sides to our left were COW
cred with dwarf pines and vegetation
of different kinds, while down the
| sides of the canyon We're massive
| lodges of rock, huge boulders, as il
| thrown by giant hands. There We're
also mountain ferns, flowers and
bushes springing from every crevice
Rising from the depths Of the canyon
were frs and pines. whose lean and
lofty tops easily reached our level.
I'VE were admiring the rugged wild
ness of everything when suddenly, and
without an instant's warning, our
horse shook violently from head to
foot, staggered and fell dead over the
edge of the cliff. OF course, the doe
tor and / We're thrown in the air. l
closed my eyes and said to myself,
This is deathr Well, it seems almost
too wonderful to De true, but DR.. Por-
| ter and / caught on n ledge of rock
! thirty-five feet down, and there we
hung, the doctor some five feet away
| from me- When l opened my eyes
and found l was still alive it seemed
| impossible to realize. l looked over
and saw the doctor lying still, with
blood streaming from a wound in his
| forehead. 'Oh, he's dead or else ter
| ribly injured 1 thought instantly. but
he called to me that it was only a
| scratch and no bones We're broken.
Below us the dead horse and the
buggy. upside down, had landed in the
branches of an immense pine growing
out of the side of the cliff.
1--WE lay there helpless until some
| time later, when Il man came down
| the mountain He heard our cries and
went as quickly as he could to the
nearest cabin for help. With assist
| ance we were able to crawl up the
sides of the canyon and were taken to
| a miners cabin, where the only thing
| we could get was coffee; there was
| no such thing as arnica or lotion OF
any kind, and it was several days be-
fore We had proper care.
"When the mining men heard that
| the liveryman had given us that loco
horse they were ready to lynch him,
| for 1t seems that every one of them
knew the animal had what Is called
out there the loco, or disease
brought on by eating the loco plant;
it produces short breath. staggering,
wheeling and finally fits. ending in
] death. We We're the innocent victims
of this mans carelessness, but as we
| escaped so miraculously without any
very serious injuries we are too thank
| full to bear any malice against him, as
| possibly he did not realize the true
condition of the horse."-St. Louis
| Globe-Democrat