, 1903-02-05
KILLED BY SNOW SLIDE.
Death on the Continental Divide While
Repairing Telephone Line.

DtAohiS
Co, at this place and afterwards
manager at Encampment, but
lately with the electric light com
pany Mt that place. and Peter LIE
Mieux, also of Encampment, were
engulfed m a snow slide just
above Station No ,. at the head
of Cow creek, and the l. dies of
both men were recuNcrts! Satur-
day. Corners body was fodnd at
the top of the slide under about
five feet o snow and lie Mieux's
body was found about 30 feet be.
low under about 10 feet of snow.
Wednesday word was sent from
Rudefeha by Superintendent
Bunce, of the North American
Copper Co, to b. McCatfrey at
Encampment, that linemen were
needed to repairthe telephone
lines along the Tramway.
The weather was stormy and very
cold, and it was thought consider
able difficulty would be expert
enc,d III repairing the lines.
Conner was thoroughly familiar
with the line along the tramway
and in company with lie Mieux,
who is a French-C Canadian and an
expert snow-shoer, started out TO
do the repairing They went
around by Battle and made some
ropairs on that line and reached
the Rudefeha Wednesday even
ing. Thursday morning they left
the mine to follow the Tramway
expressing their intention to
reach the second station that
night if the line was not too bad
ly broken. Within three hours
from the time the men left the
mine the telephone line was in
working order between the mine
and Station No. 3, the first station
out from the niue, but the men
failed to put in an appearance at
that station or any of the other
branch offices of the telephone
line. 1t was a very stormy day
the snow blowing in clouds, and
MIR. Bunce wanted the men to
stay over that day at the mine
but they decided to risk it.
Thursday night or Friday morn
ing very little anxiety was felt
concerning them, as it was
thought they had taken refuge in
one of the miners cabins or on
one of the ranches. Friday after
noon messages began to come in
from the different stations that
nothing could be heard of the
missing men, so the alarm was
given and searching parties were
organized, with the result that
the bodies were found Saturday,
Corners in the morning and LIE
Mieux's in the aftern jon.
The snow slide occurred at what
is known MS Station B., on Cow
Creek near the top of the divide.
The tramway ome over the Di-
vide and crossed Cow creek canon,
Where the tramway goes down in
to the creek, there is n precipi.
Gus in line for many ~thousandtu
feet. and it was down one portion
of this incline the snow slide oc.
cured. The snow passed under
the tramway wires and piled up
40 feet deep near the bottom of
the canon, about "A quarter of a
mile from where it started. The
slide was at no place more than
so feet in width.
Both Conner and LIE Mieux had
webb snow shoes, as the snow was
too soft for skiing, and it is sur
missed that instead OF going around
this incline they undert ,ok to 80
down it with the webb shoes,
which will not slip, and started
the imease banks of snow which
had been piled up storm after
storm since the winter set in.
Mr.. Conner was well known
in Saratoga, and was a very eff.
cient workman. He was held in
the highest esteem by everyone,
and Lie Mieux was a mountaineer
and miner of more than average
intelligence. One particularly