The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1916-03-30

the stations IS at &4acOuld, DIT tAo
summit of Snoqualmie pass.
The winter of 1912 will long be re-
embered by mountain railroad men
and mountain linemen. 1t brought
SHOWS that tied up traffic of all sorts.
Trains were stalled everywhere by
the big drifts Rotaries got lost and
buried by the slides. One freight traih
was lifted bodily off it's shelf on the
mountainside and thrown into the bed
IofI the Snoqualmie river at the foot of
the cliff by snowslide. or So
Lineman Mayo went out into one OF
the worst storms of that January.
Wiressto the east of his station had
gone down and it was his job to get
them, up. When he left the storm
was at its height, but it was his job
| to- keep that line open. A railway
man and lire patrolman are alike in
one thing. In times, of stress they
have an obsession stronger even than
religion come what may, the line
must. be. kept open. rs 3lxsiagA
So Mayo, who is husky young
mountaineer, kissed his wife and three
babies good-by and, strapping on his
snowshoes, stepped outside the door
of his little cabin at Laconia. When
he had shuff1ed ten feet from the door
he was lost to the sight of those
anxious watchers in the tiny home.
The wife turned back to her house,
keeping and the care of her babies.
And the snow fell. The day passed
and the night passed and the snow
fell, but the hours brought no word
from Mayo The drifts rose above
the windows Of the little house at
Laconia. No longer could the doors
be opened. 81. ft1
Imprisoned by Snow.
Another night and another day and
the snow falling steadily. The rail
way was tied up and the rotary crew
worked all hours. There was no idle
man or woman to dig paths for Mrs.
Mayo or even to see how she Jared.
Now the snow was above the caves
of the little house. 1t was quite dark
inside and the wood was running out.
The wood pile was ten feet from the
back door, but it might as well have
been ten miles. Worse STILL the snow
had pushed open both doors and the
woman. could not close them.
A week after Mayo left J. L. Coyle,
district foreman for the Postal, get to
Laconia. He knew the general direc-
ton in which the little company house
was located. Looking across plain
of white he saw tiny black speck,
the gable end of roof. A little curl
of blue smoke marked the spot. It
was there the lineman's wife was
waiting word of her husband.
When Superintendent Coyle arrived
at the home and dug his way in he
found the last of the fuel had been
put into the stove. He brought the
first word that Mayo was safe but
storm-bound at the next station east
of Laconia He had been there
week, called to safety by orders of
the wire chief. That was one time
that the line stayed down while and
at least one woman won't forget it for
long time.
Four years ago Lineman G.. w. Hull
was stationed at VOLTS cabin on Lake
Keechelus. Somewhere to the east
the wires went down. The snow was
deep and still falling. Hull got in
structions to locate the break. He
got Wolf to accompany him. The two
started east on snowshOes. -
/ The wire chief, watching. his board
at Seattle, noted second break in
the line not long after the men left
.Keechelus. The bridge showed. the
new break to be behind the men. They
were cut Off from communication east
or west, somewhere out in the storm.
Ben Hunegardt was the lineman at
Easton. He was sent west with
helper. At noon the helper turned
back. .4t ~,
"You may, be fool, but I'm
not going to have my friends stand
ing around and saying, Don't he look
NATURAL after they find my body" he.
declared.
{ "All right, Bill; good-by," said Hume
gardt briefly. He set his face to- the
storm and shufted on. .-a.t Ssl &
r. Refuge in Deserted Cabin.
: Night came and the storm closed
iir about him. He stumbled forward.
1t was past midnight when Hunegardt
made out a dark shape in the snow.
1t proved to be portion of the roof
of deserted cabin. The weight Of
the snow had crushed in one end OF
the building. The gable of the stand
ing end, which also held the fireplace
chimney, stuck bravely above the
drift.
Hunegardt burrowed into the drift
and, crawling under tie wreckage,
reached the unframed portion of the
cabin. He started fire in the fire.
place and stripped his socks to dry
them Sitting in the warmth he grew
drowsy. Fight as he would he could
not keep his eyes open. When he
awoke with a start he found that
morning had dAwned.
The fire had burned to ashes on the
hearth and his socks had burned with
it. Sockless, Hunegardt thrust his
feet into his heavy mountain shoes,
strapped on the snowshces and set
out again, his face to the west.
At about eleven o'clock that morn
ing he found Hull and Wolf in a de-
serted cabin, where they had taken
shelter. They had broken pair of
snowshoes and were helpless prison