Year: 1879

"By the horned spoonl" suddenly call
ed out Mcdonald, "weve struck it!" ~


The three ran forward to a rocky ledge


where they discovered what all ha,


agreed was evidence of chloride ore. an,


they instantly began their preparation


for blasting away the ledge, so as to &c
at tho valuable stuff. =:
i It will be borne in mind that this worl
was being done In the canon, with tn,
rocky walls separated by less than fift,
feet, and rising perpendicularly to NOR
than four times that height. The .rocl
was dark and lgneous, and on the sid,
where the miners were working, a shor
distance below the supposed silver ledge
the cliff projected onward some distance
over the path.


This natural roof offered the most in
vlting spot for a camp. The miners lean
ed poles against it, and walled it in with
bush and dry grass, thus forming sor1
Of cabin, which was extremely useful il
providing against cold. There was ne
hesitation about kindling fire, since al
the Indians they were likely to encoun
ter were of friendly disposition towards
the whites.


The men toiled away all day with mod
crate success. Silver certainly existed
there; but it remained to be seen wheth
er or not it was in paying quantities
They were still quite hopeful when they
ceased their labors and went into camp.
When night closed in, the snow was
falling, and it looked very much as if il
would continue long time. Wrapping
their blankets about them, they turned
their feet to the fire and sank to sleep
not one of the three opened his eyes until
morning.


They then discovered that the snow Law
to depth of six inches, and it was still
coming down. The wind was blowing,
and the dry fakes were hurled about in
such eddies that the miners could not see
a dozen yards from their cabin. The
wind moaned through their p1imative
hut, as if to let them know that winter
had come upon them IN a night, and it
had fairly caught them.


Mccoy once more urged retreat, but,
in the hope that the storm would abate,
it was decided to defer their departure
for awhile. There was danger Of becom-
ing lost, when they could not see where
they were going, and it looked simply
prudent to wait. However, it proved a
great mistake. The snow-storm was one
Of the severest ever known in that section.
For six days succeeding there never was
aminute of CESSATION.


Sometimes, Of course, the fall was more
than at other times; but the flakes were
drifting downward all the while, and
when the crystal clouds finally exhausted
themselves, the snow lay fully eight feet
deep in the canon, while mountainous
masses curlod into all sorts of shapes and
hung over the cliffs. The sight was sub
lime, but enough to appall the stoutest
heart.


1twas fortunate thing they brought
so much provisions with them, else they
would have Jared ill, for it was out of the
question to proceed hundred feet in any
direction from the canon. BY hard labor,
too, they dragged in enough broken
limbs and tree-trunks to keep the flame
going. The cold was ESPECIALLY severe,
and they were we'll provided with blank
cts, but the fire was needed for cooking
and its warmth was pleasant at all times.


On the third day it became apparent
there was no saving the mule, and he was
shot, dressed and placed away in the
snow against all contingencies. It's a
good deal better to eat mule meat than to
star7e to death.


With the abatement Of the storm, the
sun came out and shone with great
strength. This started thaw, which
continued q couple Of days, though it was
not to be expected that it wonld last un-
til the snow disappeared. It would re-
quire weeks Of such weather, and that
was improbable at this time of the year,
for November had grown into winter.


During all these long, dismal dayss sof
the storm, the miners remained within
the hut, smoking, sleeping, eating and
passing the time as best they could; but
with the appearance Of the sun they dug
their way out, and climbing up the ledge,
where they had been working, cleared
away the snow and resumed labor.


They kept up good hearts, for the men
were old miners, whose experience was
mainly history Of bad luck, and they
tried to cheer themselves with the belief
that their good fortune had come at last.
But such was not the case. There was
chloride ore beyond question, but it
| didn't "pan out" we'll.


The three men were pegging away as
hard as ever toward the close Of the day,
when, as the twilight gathered in the
canon, low, rumbling sound caused
them to stop and look at each other with
blanched faces, wondering what it could
mean. It sounded like the muttering of
an earthquake, and the miners would
have set it down for that, but for the
fact that there was no perceptible trcmor
IN the ground. The terrible grumble
grew louder and louder, until, looking
up, they saw an enormous mass of snow
sliding down from the cliffs far above
their heads.


"Go for camp, boys! !" yelled Nc Donald,
leaping from the ledge, and scrambling
desperately through the snow, his COM
panions but few seconds behind him
They were only rod or two from shell
ter, but the snow was upon them before
they reached it. But the avalanche as it
may be called, did not fall at once; it be-
gan like torrent, rushing through a
bank, growing more massive, alarming
and stupenduous each second. Thus it
was the miners succeeded in plunging
into the cabin, head first, just in time.
The frightened men had barely oppor-
tunity to crawl into their prison, when
down came the main body of the avalanche
composed Of snow, ice, trees, earth, and
boulders, burying the party under depth
of forty feet.


The projecting rock and strcng poles
saved the party from being crushed to
death. Some OF the supports gave way