The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-30 00:00:00

A TRAIN IN A SNOWSTORM.

At 6 o'clock on the morning of New Year's-day a train on
the Michigan Central Railroad plunged in an immense drift,
which lay directly across its way. The powerful locomo-
tive pushed ahead right royally at first, scattering the snow
in glittering clouds upon each side, as easily as a ship would
part the foam. Further and still further into the drift and
slower and still slower went the engine. It laboured and
struggled as if loth to give up the contest, but finally
stopped. The engineer then sought to back the locomotive ;
bat the powerful engine was now within the grasp of a
giant, in whose hands its strength was but that of a child.
The train, still 7 miles from Chicago was imprisoned in the
snow. There were over 100 passengers, many of them
women and children, with but a short supply of weed. One
by one out into the blinding storm went those who were
able, and digging down through the snow drifts tore up the
fences near the road, and brought them as fuel to the cars.
The boards were broken up, and the fast cooling stoves soon
gave out a generous heat. The wind, as it rushed along,
drew the flames up through the kindling pine, until stove
and pipe were heated red. Then a new peril broke upon the
passengers. The roof of the car bolt fire from the heated
pipe, and as the wind caught the flames they roared and
crackled and curled downwards
towards the passengers, as
if in mockery of their misery. With great exertions the
flames were quelled, hut the car was no longer tenable; and
all the passengers were huddled together in the other. It
was now nearly two o'clock in the atternoon, and appre-
hensions of a horrible death had begun' to seize upon
them, when a train on the Michigan Southern line
arrived at a crossing 400 yards off) and was stop-
ped. The work of transferring the passengers was im-
mediately commenced. The distance between the two
trains was filled with a drift nearly ten feet in depth, and to
make the passage from one to the other was a work of great
labour and difficulty. The storm was at its height and the
cold so intense that the faces of the women and children
were frozen almost as soon as they came in contact with the
wind, turning white as instantly as if they had been plunged
in boiling water, Scarcely any one made the passage from
one train to the other without being badly frost-bitten ;
many quite seriously. This newly-arrived train was already
16 hours behind its time. Some wedding cake, the only
food in it, was confiscated to the necessities of the occasion,
This train, with its double load, after starting afresh, was
soon effectually buried-in a drift, the wheels clogged with
snow, and the engine frozen up. Another night was com-
ing on. Two strong men were now started for the town,
and reached it after great toil and danger. They made
their way to the Fremotit-house, which was full of guests,
and told their story. The alarm was given, and sleighs
started with provisions .'and blankets,, but only two suc-
ceeded in getting as far as the train. After unload-
ing they started at eight o'clock for Chicago, with
several of the passengers. The drivers, however, after
travelling a short time became conscious that they were
lost, No one could tell in what direction to go. They wero
in the midst of an illimitable labyrinth of snow-drifts
running in every direction, and some of them of great
depth. In the gloom the presence of a drift could not be
known until the'horses were plunging and struggling up to
their sides. Both sleighs were turned over several times,
and frequently both. the men and ladiez-were compelled to
get out, into the deep snow-drifts and extricate the horses.
Finallione of the sleighs broke down, and the men were com-
pelled to trudge along through the snow, waist deep in
places, and lead the horses dragging the broken sleigh.
On, on, on they went, one snow-drift succeeding another,
as billow succeeds billow upon the ocean, and still no sign
or trace of the "lost city." About half-past 10 o'clock a
light was seen in the distance, towards which the horses
were immediately headed. Arriving they found it to pro-
ceed from the residence of a hospitable German, who made
hem comfortable for the night. Awakening in the morn-
ing, they found themselves just half a mile from the train.
Happily, the beacon light which had been kept burning by
the passengers who were left in the train served to indicate
its locality to the agent of the railroad, who succeeded in
reaching it with some more provisions and blankets about
ten o'clock that night, after having blundered around among
the drifts for several hours. 'With these advantaged the
passengers on the train managed to pass a tolerable night,
considering the prospects before them when evening set in.
Early in the morning they were brought up to the city in
sleighs, some of them severely frost-bitten, but no life was
lost.—Chicago Times.