The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1904-11-02
ON THE MOUNTAIN.
All Night Woes of Telephone Mer
The Rain Beat and Winds
Blew.

Two men sitting in a buggy, try
ing to sleep the night away on the
summit of Alsea mountain, inky
darkness all around, the signing
and meaning of heavy wind that
came and went in 6tful gusts,
and the patter of pitiless rain,-
that was scene about seven O clock
| in the early hours of last Saturday
| night. 1t was indeed, melan-
cho1y occasion for neither the men
nor their team had had mouth
full of food since a slender lunch at
noon It was melancholy, and yet
| it was amusing for both travellers
/ came out of their troubles, when
they ate good breakfast in Cor
Wallis at 10 O'Clock the following
morning, nearly "a hours since
they had tasted food.
The men were w. D. DeVarney
and Superintendent Lowe. They
had been in Alsea on rural tele-
phone business. They started from
there at four O clock figuring that
they would have two hours of day
light, in which time they would
get over the mountain.
It was dark at FIVE 1t was
darker than a stack Of black cats at
half past five. It was worse, if
worse could be. at six. and about
that time Lowe gave up the reins
to his companion and crawled out
of the buggy to see where the rad
was, or if, in fact, there was road
at all. There are precipices. grades,
narrow places and steep pitches on
that road, but the travellers pressed
on. - Il ssz4
It was about seven o'clock when
the horses suddenly stopped. They
refused to bulge, and Lowe for the
12oth time crawled out to recon-
noitre. It was stump. 1t rose
up sheer in front of the team and it
was impossible to 60 ahead. But
the road went on either side of it,
| and DeVarney attempted to steer
his steeds to one side. Then a
horse fell down, got mixed aft in
the rigging, and couldn't get up.
| Then there was council of war.
"We'll have to camp here" re-
marked DeVarney. ''That's what
/ I think" said Lowe. whom De
Varney says, had been aching for
that proposition for more than an
hour. Ht
It was troublesome to unhitch
that horse in the dark. The only
way they could find his head was
; to follow the lines and the only
;. way they could get aft was to fol-
low tug back And then there
was fear that the animal might
struggle in the effort to rise, and
land an upper cut or right swing
with his hoof on somebody's jaw.
It took an hour to unhook the
horses and get them hitched to a
tree, 100 yards away.
Then the men couldn't find the
buggy. They passed it long way
and then had to turn back. They
walked side by side with their
arms extended to each side, so they
would strike the vehicle as they
passed Remembering that it was so
dark when a-hold of the horses
they couldn't tell the white from
the black, finding their way in the
hunt for that buggy was ticklish
But they found it. They had to
it was their only place to sleep. The
wind blew aud the rain beat. Bolt
upright up in the rig with we
buggy robes about their limbs, sal
the two travellers, and tried to sleep
The buggy leaned to one side, ane
so did they, The rain pattereo
) and the wind blew, and the two
figures sat, sat, sat, waiting 70,
dawn, like two barnyard hen!
waiting for the eggs to hatch. Al
: was silonce, but the rain and th,
t wind.
t "What time do you think it is
t Lower" It was DeVarney's voice
They thought they had been Their
a long time. ''Oh I guess abou
IL o'clock was the reply. Tha
was hopeful, and though he hae
but four matches lett, DeVarne,
! determined to see. He looked
,, He sighed. It was nine O clock.
= That was too much--that sit
: ting bolt upright in a slanting bug
! gy and waiting for the next day
"Pm going to haye FIRE" said De
Varney. "Oh everything is to-
: wet; you can't make a fire, here
said the man on the lower side o
the buggy seat. DeVarney ha
been thinking, and planning. H
had two matches. There was
! ! L