St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1873-02-07
ST. Suhnsburp Galedunian.
St. bloomsbury. VT. Friday. Feb. :. 1873.
From the Banks of the Mississippi.
MINNEAPoLI>. Jan. -. l-E3.


storm. with which this section has re-
Gently been visited. have reached the
eve of many # your readers. and those
who previously had their doubts about
the country being inhabitablc. are now
thoroughly convinced it j. only tit for
Swcdcs. NorwegianS and the like. some
here are inclined to think 50. and all
agree with an old settler who says for
chilly, if not elegantly. THAT this is the
darndcSt biggest winter since I-j7."
We had previous t. the storm very
40 degrees below zero. clear, still
weather. Upon the 9Th it was quite
warm and plcasa.rt until afternoon.
when the storm came without warning.
raging for sixty hours with perfect fury.
and the thermometer H. To ~ below
zero.
In the city we knew but little COM
par;itiVcly of its severity. Upon the
prairie with It sparsely settled country
and no road which could he followed.
and no fences for IL guide, it WAS nearly
certain death. The accounts came in
thick and fast, many of which are not
published, and no doubt the death list
will double that of the Indian massacre
of lS62
have known wind blow as hard and
longer Oft Cape Horn, hnt without the
intense cold. Upon the plains of South
America, Il "Pampcrio" would equal it
in violence. but there it was warm.
Such wind and intense cold. with the
SNOW, WAS more than flesh and blood
could possibly stand. Among the sad
cases which have been noticed. one is
of IA party of young people ENJOYING IL
sleigh ride, six couple with their driver.
all found frozen to death.
A man Went for Il physician for his
wife about to he confined. and the ply
stefan not daring to go, warned him
that he would freeze if he attempted to
return. Poor man attempt it he must
and the next day the physician found
mother and child frozen to death in
bed
The facts already published will
have a tendency to discourage immi-
grafton, and railroads and land corpo-
rations of other sections will hold ii up
Al,
One noticeable fact here is. that al
though the mercury goes lower, it
seems no colder than in Vermont, and
aside from that storm. which all agree
unprecedented. think the winter
easier to bear than Il Vermont winter.
1t is one steady cold pull, with the
snow as dry as meal. Not one day
since snow came would it he possible to
make IL snow ball. The ice crop on the
Mississippi, which is now being gather
ed, is us You may imagine, splendid. 1t
now measures good three feet thick.
clear as crystal.
OF the city of Minneapolis, no smart
er, pIetticr place have seen. Situated
as it is by the Falls of St Anthony.
with an immense water power, and
rich fertile country around it, it has an
advantage over most places. and is.
destined to he one OF the great cities of
the west. L. ID. VI.
The above correspondent also sends
lis the following account of the storm
published i'll Il western paper.
In the Tempest of Death.
A GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE TERRI
BILE PRAIRIE STORM.
Mr.. A. W. Lathrop. of Benson. fur
nishes to the Press the following thrill
ing account of Il trip which he and Rev.
Mr.. Crump. of Litchtield. made from
Benson To Appleton. on the day of the
great storm.
They left Benson on that cver-to-he-
remembered Tuesday. i'll sleigh drawn
10y Il spirited pair ufhorScs belonging to
Mr. H., and when about eight milr,;
from Appleton they met the storm.
which did not, as storms usually do.
send ont Il >kiImi>h line to give warn
ing of its approach, hut confident in its
own irresistible power hurled itself. Il
mighty avalanche of destruction. I'M
mediatcly upon them. The course Mr.
Lathrop and his friend We're travelling
WAS almost directly towards the point
of the compass from which the tempest
came. Fully realizing the deadly peril
of their situation. these gentlemen set
themselves to work in Il systematic,
commons ScnSe way to
SAVE THEIR LIVES.
Finding that the horses would not of
themselves keep the road, and being
unable to sec it themselves when sitting
in the sleigh, they took turns leading
the team. One of them would lead the
horses as long a. he could face the bit
ing blast, while the other wrapped up
in buffalo robes. would set in the sleigh
with his back to the wind. and rest
himself. The noStrilS of the horses
would fill up with ice. and their eyes
become blinded 10y the driving. pelting
snow, and every few minutes the one
who WAS leading would stop and re-
move these instructions 50 that there
would not he any interruption in the
breathing of the team. Now and then
the leader would he unable to tell Ger
tainly whether he was in the road OF
not. until he had got down on his knees
and brushed the SHOW away.
Sometimes they would stray from the
road altogether. and then halting the
team, one would stay with the team
while the other Went in search of the
road. being careful never to go out of
hearing of each other. At last they