Avalanches In Nevada

Several mining towns in Nevada suf fered severely by avalanches during the month oí March. The snow falls were exeessive - f rom flve to seven feet in the valleys, and more on the mountains - and slides f rom the steep mountain-sides were frequent. A considerable portion of the vüliage of Genoa, Nevada, was wrecked on the 16th, and many of the inhabitants were killed or iniured. The slide carne down the gorge immedaitely south of Genoa canon and gwept everything before if as far a3 Main street. No obstacle seemed to check this moving mountain of snow until it spread out and lost its force on the nearly level piece of land on whieh Genoa is built, f ully a quarter of a mile f rom the base of the monntains. During the same storm scores of avalanches feil in and near the town of Lundy, in the Ilomer mming district. Some fifty or more persons were buried, and several of them killed. The flrst avalancha at Lundy, on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 15, was shot over a lof ty precipice near the top of Mount Scowden, which rises to a hight of 2,500 feet between and at the contiuence of Lake and Mili Creek canons, overlooking the southern section of thetown of Lundy. This body of loose, dry snow dropped about 800 feet, where it struck upon a bench of the mountain. bounded out upon the air compressed beneath it, sailed over the tops of the tallest pines, and came down, vertically, 1,500 feet from its last point of contact with the earth. Severa! residences were buried by the snow; but no lives were lost. A second avalanche at the same place was still more terrif ying. It started from a cliff overhanging the business center of the town, where no snow-slide has ever been known to occur. Threefourths of the population were in the streets in the course oi the avalanche when it started, and they could not flee, as the snow was üve feet deep and soft. Fortunately, the slide struck upon a broad and elongated rock mound or benen projecting from the mountain near its base and burst into a cloud of spray, or rather the compact snow was disintegrated and sent whirling with the velocity of fine shot from a gun, the rush of air created by the avalanche being sulïicient to lift men from their feet and knock them several steps, and to drive the fine snow into planks of the building on the opposite side of the street. An avalanche that shot down Mount Diseovery, on the west side oí laKe Canon, at 11 o'clock Wednsday night, buried many persons, swept away cabins and mining works, and covered the bodies of some of its victims to a depth of 45 f eet. This slide was one-fourth of amile in ;width, had run entirely across the canon, and 500 feet up the steep mountain on the other side. Many other avalanches occured on Wednsday night and Thursday, ome of them huge ones, that did great damage. Friday morning opened with a clear sky and a stiff, cold wind from the west. . Just as the sun was pouring its welcome light into the canon, and the sleepless inhabitants had assembled on the sidewalk to.bid it welcome, three huge avalanches, running parallel and simultaneously, went thunderirig down the northern slope of Mount Gilcrest, stiking the ice of Lake Lundy, and shooting across half a mile to the other shore. The sun had notyetstruck the surface of(the lake, but as immense clouds of fine, dry snow from the avalanches filled the air be f uil width of the canon, the sun poured through and turned the whole mass to eddying gold dust. Shortly afterward two other avalanches of huge proportions fiad a race into the canon from the south side one from Deer canon and the other from the side of the mountain just east of it. The first named had a run of two miles before reaching the open country. On reaching the open moraine, it spread out like a pigeon's tail, to a width of nearly half a mile, and rolled down in a huge wall of snow, 300 or 400 feet high. In a space ofonehour and a half no lessthan uine ponderous avalanches were witnessed from the town, some of them running o.lfiür across Lake Lundy.and one