Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-08-04
A Boys Experience of Peril In West
ern Storm.

teen feet wide at the bottom.
I'VE throw a thousand tons Of rock
over into the canon at a shot, when our
foreman, old Joe Rogers, pushes the
slide Of his battery. We load eighteen
or twenty holes which we have drilled
ten or twelve feet deep, putting twenty
FIVE pounds of black powder into each
hole.
1.-The powder goes into a pocket which
Is blown in the bottom Of the hole by
the use of stick dynamite. Then an
exploding cap attached to a wire Is
lowered to the powder, and the hole Is
tamped with dust and sand. The loose
end Of the wire Is then attached to a
lead wire which connects with an elec-
trio battery, and all the shots are sent
off at once.
1T rained hard all last Wednesday
and while 1t was raining and blowing
in camp, 1t was showing and blowing
overhead, a fact which we didn't suf-
ficiently realize in our drenched quar-
ters.
"A blast had been ready to fire. or
nearly so, when the rain stopped us
from work, and Thursday morning ev-
erybody but the cook and two Of US
who had been detailed to cut wood were
hustled out on the works.
"A fellow named Quin lwson and I
were set to chop close to the lower
edge Of camp. We were making the
chips fly when we heard old Joe's voice
rolling across the canon:
""Ware all! Battery! Battery!'
80 we ran out Of the woods near to
the first tents to look across and over
into the canon. It's quite sight from
the camp side to see big rocks go
bowling into the gulch, knocking over
trees, hitting up puffs Of dust that
squirt out like the smoke Of cannon
shots. Every big bump sounds like a
cannon shot, too.
"They had in heavy charges in "a
mountain. even on our side. We saw
a mighty upheaval Of dust and stones
and felt the shock under our feet, and
then the echo Of the shots and the clat-
fer Of rocks was drowned in bigger
roar that sounded high over our heads.
"Quin, who had been sitting on a
stone, jumped to his feet and yelled:
"'Slide! Slide! Snowslide!"
!. ..=ssAfid then he ran for the woods back
of us. I was paralyzed for the minute.
and then a big white wave struck the
camp in front Of me. saw tents, wa
CONS. wheelscrapers rolled up and bur-
led: and the first Of the slide shot by.
"Then in flash the tide rose and
swept me off my feet. found myself
suddenly dropping down into the ca
non. T rode on the crest Of big snow
wave, lying on my back and going feet
first.
81 can't say that I felt any fear; In
fact there wasn't much time to be
afraid in, for my big drift slumped into
the creek channel and was buried so
deep that the first sensation that came
to me was Of an awful silence.
81 was packed in tight, my ears and
eyes were closed, and I seemed to be
wound up in a frozen sheet But l
wasn't hurt. and 1 wriggled a hole TO
turn round in. was nearly in an up
right position, and I soon made stand
ing room. When I got my eyes open,
the light was simply a clear cold
whiteness. It made my eyeballs ache.
"The snow was light and fine, and
not packed so hard as it had seemed
tefore 1 moved; and quickly began to
badger my way upward. Taking the
slant that would give the fastest prog
ress, / dug a hole big enough to work
I'm. and packed the snow to one side
and behind me while I wormed ahead.
presently my hands and fingers got
so numb that I had to stop and thaW
them out by breathing on them. When
I had done this, fished big bandana
handkerchief out Of pocket, tore 1t IN
halves and wound each hand In piece.
That helped some, and l went ahead
till 1t seemed as If l must have been
buried hundred rect deep.
II suppose, though, that l didn't get
very far with all my frantic paving.
was pretty tired when the snow began
to grow less dense, and my mind got
easier until my hands struck a hard
surface. and found myself up against
a solid wall Of rock.
Now thought l. If there's half a
chance to get foothold, I'll soon push
my way to daylight
But there wasn't. l soon FOUND
there was rock overhead as we'll as In
front. 1 had crawled up under the roof
of a shelving ledge, such a ledge as l
knew jutted out over Bowstring creek
which runs through the canon under
our camp.
Suddenly, as I was treading and
digging to turn out from under the
ledge, one of my feet went into a soft
slush. l felt the water oozing In
around my ankle!
Il remembered the flood that was
now roaring down on the heels Of the
rain. and l realized that its tearing
current would fill all the snow that had
dropped into the canon in almost no
time. In fact, it was already filling It.
and l was in instant danger Of being
drowned in the snow.
Il just lay on my back, clawed at the
rocks, and bored my way out from un-
der, all the time feeling the rising wa
ter slushing up at my feet. The snow
was lighter than it had been, at least
above the water, and I wormed along
pretty fast till could find no rocks
over my head.
Then all at once my eyes popped
out into the open on the side OF the
drift. with the sun blazing all AROUND
me. 1 yelled with JOY and walloWeo
out, sinking to my hips as I tried tc
| walked on the slope Of the drift.
looked about. The ledge under Whicr
Bowstring creek ran was on one side.
had Just crawled out from under 1t
out Of a ridge Of snow which has
slumped over from the top of the slide
I had slumped with it.
"Ir ia oopa under the bottom OF the