A RACE WITH A RUNAWAY RIVER.
Though the Postboy of the Kanawha was not borne on by his gallant Jack
in that fearful ride with the flood of Tripping Waters, he sped down the
post road at a flying pace.
The blooded bay that he rode seemed to have a realization of the awful
peril from that pursuing wall of water.
Higher and higher rose that deafening thunder, until it dulled the
postboy's hearing and fairly made his senses reel.
Glancing wildly back he saw that the foaming avalanche of water was
sweeping everything before it!
The narrow valley was completely filled from mountainside to
mountainside!
There was no way for him to scale the rugged heights overhanging him in
season to escape the flood.
His only hope lay in continued flight—in reaching the mouth of the
valley before he could be overtaken by the monster at his heels!
Every moment saw it so much nearer, but while life and his fleet-footed
horse were left him he was bound not to lose courage.
Just before reaching the extension of the mountain gorge, the defile
made an abrupt turn, bringing him who followed its course into a sudden
view of the wider regions beyond.
Almost the first sight to greet the comer's eye was a rambling wooden
building standing half on the land and half over the stream.
This was called Swett's Mills, and a few rods below stood the house of
the owner.
Even under the spell of his own great danger, Little Snap realized the
deadly peril of every one at this place.
Thus, as he dashed on, he shouted to them a warning of their impending
doom.
"The river has broken through the dam! Flee for your lives!"
The men at the mill had already been called from their work by the
unaccountable noise up the valley, and as the postboy sped into sight,
they saw behind him the frightful wall of water.
Instantly Mr. Swett recognized peril, and shouted:
"Run for your lives, boys! Help me save my family."
Little Snap was already abreast of the mills, and he saw Mrs. Swett and
her little child just leaving the house, with cries of terror.
"Run, Mary!" shrieked her husband. "The flood is upon us!"
In her fright, the poor woman started to run, catching at her child and
missing it.
With a loud cry the little one fell to the earth, Mr. Swett running
toward it as fast as he could.
Little Snap sped past him, and reining his bay close to the struggling
child, he leaned over in his seat until he could reach the helpless one.
Then he lifted it up in front of him, and keeping on with unabating
speed, swept down the valley.
Mr. Swett's companions had sought safety on the mountainside, and he
himself ran down the road after his terrified wife.
A short distance beyond, the valley of the Kanawha was reached, and the
great danger was mainly over.
None too soon was this escape accomplished, for Little Snap had not
checked the speed of his horse, as he dashed up the side of the
declivity near the road, when a deafening crash told him that the
runaway river had reached the mills.
The next moment the floodwall seemed to burst, the water spreading out
on either hand with startling effect.
It was such a sight as those few witnesses had never seen before and
never wanted to again.
The deep channel of the Kanawha was suddenly filled to overflowing, so
the entire valley was under water.
Trees, earth, rocks, many of them of large size, and _débris_ of
everything it had found in its course was scattered high and low by the
swollen stream.
"It was a narrow escape!" exclaimed Mr. Swett. "We owe our lives to you,
Dix Lewis, for in saving Flossie here you gave the rest of us a chance
to get away. See! the old mill is gone, and everything in it! But we
must be thankful that no lives were lost."
The flood subsided almost as quickly as it had come, leaving the marks
of its awful desolation.
Not a tree was left standing in the whole range of its fearful path, nor
an object that its giant power could move.
The road, as far as could be seen, was entirely obliterated, only a
rock-strewn gulley showing where it had been.
Not a piece of the timber of Swett's Mills was to be seen, and the
foundation itself had been swept away!
The house had been lifted bodily up and carried several rods, but
standing higher than the mills, it had escaped the heavier part of the
onset, so it had not been utterly ruined.
Mr. Swett was inclined to take his loss philosophically.
"I don't understand the cause of that breakage, for it was only
yesterday that I was examining that dam, and could find no sign of a
leak."
Seeing that he could be of no benefit to the sufferers, as soon as he
had given his horse a breathing spell, the postboy resumed his journey,
feeling extremely thankful over his providential escape.
"I shall prize you next to Jack now, Tom," he said, stroking the
faithful creature's neck. "If you had been one whit less fleet it would
have been all over with me. How I tremble now, though it is all over!"
At Hutsland, Little Snap's first stopping place—in fact, the first town
he came to—he told of the disaster in Tripping Waters Valley, his story
being listened to with open-mouthed wonder.
With as little delay as possible, a gang of men started to the scene,
ready to do what they could toward restoring the fortunes of Mr. Swett
and his family.
Meeting with no adventure, the postboy reached Upper Loop, and upon his
return he was accompanied by a party of a dozen men, who were going up
to see the work of desolation.
Thus when Little Snap got back to the place he found a large crowd
gathered about the mouth of the valley.
"You will have hard work to get through, Dix, but I suppose it would be
hard work to stop you. Some of us will go up with you, if you wish it."