The Elbert County tribune., 1906-09-06
ARUNAWAY MOUNTAIN
UNUSUAL TASK IN COLORADO
PULLING ENGINEERS.
Great Mass Of Earth Sliding Down
Hill, and They Know No Way TO
Stop it-Freaks Of the
Landslide.

Golden. Col.-Any one who knows
OF good way in which to snub
sliding mountain can sell his knowl-
edge on favorable terms to the Colo
rado AZ Southern railroad.
A mile from Golden is spur of the
Rockies known as North Table noun
tain 1t rears square head some
thing like quarter of a mile into
the atmosphere, and is pretty husky
sort OF mountain, taken all in all
Recently portion of 1t has taken
to sliding. and the railroad people
have found it necessary to keep a
force of hundred men busy shovel
ing the mountain dirt off the tracks
So far they have been able to keep
ahead OF the slide, but even with the
aid of steam shovel the task is a
difficult one.
A quarter of the way up the noun
tain runs a fiume through which are
conducted the waters of Clear creek
over into the farmers irrigated lands
to the west. On one slope lower down
is the Golden smelter Below the
ditch and above the smelter runs the
highway, and bordering this are
farms.
Engineers say that the cause is an
unusual one. Far down in the
ground is a stratum of hard, dry pot
ters' clay. smooth as glass, and the
great weight of the earth resting upon
1t is simply causing the mass to move
slowly down toward the level.
1t is scarcely an avalanche, as in
the mountains this term is under
OF. A1 70.
great masses of earth The only diff
ference is that this mountain is NOV
ing with almost imperceptible speed.
about ten feet a day.
The county officers have already
expended thousands in trying to keep
the road in passable condition. In
the last week the road has dropped
four or five feet in some places,
while other portions are twisted and
heaped up. 1t has become necessary
to put up fence rail barricades at
night, inasmuch as no one knows
what will happen within an hour.
The slide started below the level
of the ditch. which has not yet been
affected. Up above on the mountain
side are number of springs. and
these are supposed to furnish the SOL
vent which causes the earth to slip.
The side of the mountain is torn and
scanned with great fissures.
At points these are eight or ten
feet wide, giving the appearance of an
earthquake. Every few minutes, in
some spot, there is loosening of the
overhanging earth. dull thud and
new fissures appear on the mountain
side, with a fence gone here and a
part of the road there.
The smelter was thought to be in
danger of joining in the slide, but the
work done by the railroad men has
SO far protected it. These men say
that they cannot think of any way of
solving the problem. but to keep right
on moving away the dirt as fast as
1t comes. and carrying the mountain
away piecemeal on the trains.
On the south slope James Taylor
had a fine orchard. Trees, earth
and all have been corralled In the
slide, and the orchard is several hun
dred feet further down the mountain
than 1t originally was. Taylor whim-
sically asserts that If it keeps on
moving he will have a hard time
dSIttiu6 Win meat utlBuDOf III
whom title to the orchard rests.
The earth has slipped down upon
the dwelling of William Carpenter. an
other farmer, and has torn away cor
ner of the house. The residence Is
built at the bottom OF sharp slope.
with a two-foot foundation under the
upper part and a six-foot on the
lower. Carpenter has braced the
house with a dozen upright beams. but
it is ur likely that he will be able
to save lt
Another house that was situated 40
feet from the foot of the mountain
now has the mass of earth at its
back door. The barn on Ole Peter
sons fsrm was formerly about so
feet from the house. The moving
earth HIS not affected the house, but
the bar1 is $50 feet away now, and
there IL q big chasm between 1t and
the house. which Peterson has been
comDelle1 tn bridge