St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1913-01-22
A FLIGHT FOR LIFE
Dodging Death In the Path of an
0nruShing Flood.
THE FURY OF A cLoUDBURsT.


yon, Uprooting Trees and Toying
With Huge 5owIders-Exeitins Race
In Storm on Lightning Greek.
To understand what follows you
must know something Of the country
where the incident occurred Light
ming creek. a famous trout stream Of
northern Idaho, rises among the gla-
ciers Of the Cabinet mountains and
comes tearing down through narrow
canyons heavily forested with pine and
cedar. At all times the stream is
swift. In the spring, when the ice caps
are melting. it is torrent.
July 3, 1906. fishing party of five
were hauled from the nearest railroad
station to the end Of the wagon trail
| on Lightning creek. where we made
camp The next morning the professor
and myself decided to ascend to the
head Of one of the creeks tributaries.
Shouldering our creels, we made our
way through the timber toward the
glacier, cleaning in the sunlight Five
miles from camp we came to fan,
where we began to fish. There were
plenty of trout, but they were small.
Let's see if there are larger ones
above the fall" my companion sug-
gested.
Agreed" replied, and we clam
bered up the steep rocky walls.
Our hopes were realized. We fished
up the stream until past noon, when
we sat down to lunch. By the time we
had finished eating a tiny cloud had
crept above the mountain top and
lowered over the glacier. In a few
minutes another cloud crept up and
joined the first, then another and an
other until the mountain top was COW
cred.
1T is time we were getting out of
here" said. 81 believe we are in for
a wetting"
As if to emphasize my words fash
of lightning quivered through the black
mass, and in a few seconds the thunder
rolled down the canyon with roar
like battery of siege guns.
As we hurried down the creek the
lightning became continuous and ter
rifying in its brilliancy; the roll of
thunder was incessant- We made all
the speed we could and had nearly
reached the falls when the rain came
in a dOwnpour.
Suppose we get under this spruce
and wait until the storm is overT my
companion suggested
Suppose we get into more open
country as soon as possibleP' l rejoin-
ed and kept on.
Suddenly the lightning ceased. the
thunder died away, and there was no
sound save the dashing of rain. The
sudden calm was startling, and l paus-
ed and looked toward the mountain.
l saw a great column of fire shoot
downward out of the clouds. The gla-
cier shivered as though struck by
some titanic force. split apart and
crashed down into the canyon. There
was a roar of thunder. and l saw the
water pour from the sky as if all the
windows of heaven had been opened.
"A cfoudburst!" l cried. Run for
your lifer'
Fear lent wings to our feet. We
sped down the canyon. leaping fallen
logs. tearing through dense under
brush. clambering over rocks, fleeing
from the pursuing food that roared
down the canyon. uprooting trees and
hurting great powders before it as it
came. few rods below a small ba
saltic cliff. with some stunted FIR trees
growing on it. stood in an open space.
To outrun the water was impossible;
the cliff was our only haven.
l dashed up. with my companion at
my heels. Behind us we saw a solid
column of water that bore a tangled
mass Of drift and advanced with the
speed of the wind. We had only time
to seize upon a tree before the food
was upon u.s. 1t struck with grind
ing roar: the rock trembled to its very
base; the water surged over us; we
were battered by the rushing logs
scratched by the drift. suffocated by
the water. but we chung on desperate
". In a minute. at the furthest, the
food swept on. leaving ruin in its
wake.
About the cliff 1.-THE trees lay piled in
a tangled. broken heap We crept |
down, drenched. bruised and bleeding |
and made our way to camp. But the
spot where the camp had stood was
swept clean. We sank upon the water |
soaked ground to consider what we
should do. In a short time we heard
the voices Of our friends They had |
been fishing the main stream above
where the branch entered and thus |
had escaped.
There was nothing left for It but to |
make our way back to the railroad sta
ton, where we arrived after dark. For |
Ill.
Of our camp equipage scattered along |
the stream.-Youth's Companion.