Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1876-09-23

10 wo VI Vuo oiu 4artar btOCk nave no C0ue
d. to be fond Of the Muskov. and prett
is trick We have played them. Hist di
10 You never hear OF the snow food ?"
! had, in the course OF my residenc
10 in Siberia, heard vague stories OF sucl
.s phenomenon OF the far northern
b steppos, aud I nodded, waiting to hea
10 more.
j. "The Russians will feel IL soon,
d chuckled Sing 81 /; "the blind moles
}, Already the wind is from tho north, al
l. ready tho threads OF the fatal spinner
Q span the sky, and we have led them wher,
Il there are no mountains to break the fury
= OF the blast; no barrier to check the
J, rush of the white wave that shall ever
Q whelm man and beast. Away, English,
a man, whip and spur, as you love youi
life. fnr avan horo you are not safe. and
! ride to the left, mark me, westward, to
> the shelter Of the hills. As for me,
CO."
, And, spurring his rough pony, off he
| clattered in pursuit Of his party. Irode
OF brisk gallop toward the camp fire.
, The snow food There crowded on nv
mind all the tales that had ever heard
OF caravans, of solitary hunters, or of
detachments OF troops, overtaken by the
resistless drift on those illimitable plains,
where not tree, not hillock, existeu
to stem tho violence Of the wind. And
as l sped on felt convinced that Sing
Sis warning WAS true one.
On reaching the encampment 1 found
my predictions of impending evil re-
ceived very much as were those of CAS-
sandra in old Troy. Count Annenkoff,
| q nfH 49,
for civilians and foreigners, ridiculed
my advice, and declined to regard my
informant Sing-Si as anything but
scoundrel who had absconded with
portion of the baggage.
"Excuse my incredulity, mon Cher"
he said, coolly, "but your snow food, as
you phrase it, appears too nearly related
to Sinbad's valley Of diamonds, and the
other contes of the "Thousand and
One Nights" to command credence;
and shall use my own discretion as re-
CARDS the route to be followed"
The other Europeans, if less supercili-
ous, were almost equally deaf to all the
arguments which could urge. None of
them had witnessed, though all of them
had heard of. the fell force of that
snowy tempest to which the Asiatics had
given so picturesque a name; and none
were willing to run the gauntlet of tho |
prowling Mongofs in order to elude q
danger which might prove mythical. |
But Ellen, who believed in me because
she loved me, used all her influence with
her father, and with such good effect
that Mr.. Merton yielded reluctant con-
sent to have his own and his daughters
hnrooc rocolI1nI o,,I ko oT
my guidance, in the direction indicated
by Sing 81.
As we left the camp, lighted by
broad, full moon that bathed the steppe
with silvery brightness, observed that
the northern sky was growing very dark,
and that the long tilaments of gray
cloud had become knit toeether. as
the loom of death. Tho wind, ilso,
blowing in titful gusts, had become
piercing cold, and our very horses
snorted and shifted the air, as though
they scented the approach of some
viewless peril.
By the time we had ridden, as I
guessed, some two miles from the halt
ing place, the northern sky had darken.
ed still more, and the slow sobbing of
the desert wind had swelled into a
shrek, while the temperature was per-
lower, 40 that Ellen shivered
more from cold than fear. We pressed
on. Mr.. Merton, as have said, had
been unwilling to take my counsel, in ,,
opposition to the SCOTS and remon-
strances of his friends, but now he said,
in an altered tone:
81 begin to think, Richards, that you
and the Tartar were right. God bless
you for your unselfsh kindness, my .
boy, whatever comes of this"
Before could reply, terrified out
cry from Ellens lips made me turn my .
head, just as the first quick snowaakes
came whirling down, and there, behind
us, throwing before it, as it came,
CHASTITY gleam of light, came from the
north shapeless whiteness, rolling pitt i,
less on.
"The snowl the snow!" we ex.
claimed, as with one voice, urging on !
our affrighted horses to their fullest
speed, while behind us, like the tide =.
rising fast over the sands of the ceashore,
swept on the white wave, and burying
beneath it, as it advanced, bush, and I.
and water course, and blotting :
out every feature of the landscape to the !
u
Then began race indeed, the alarmed |.
horses straining every sinew to outstrip :
5he pursuing fate; but with all our ..
speed the drift gained upon us, and .
we found ourselves plunging !
Ind foundering, up to the saddle griths
in snow. The moons radiance was now
;otally obscured, but afar off, to west J
ward, my eye had caught the ruddy
glance of fire such as charcoal burners
sindle among the hills, and never did
'torm-tossed mariner watch the welcome y
beacon of some harbor more eagerly =
han did this saving light. y
The fire, as had conjectured, was burn 9
ng high up on one of the wooded spurs q
# the mountain range near the sources :
VI the Amour, but to reach it was no y
rifing task. Our exhausted steeds, .
worm out by the toilsome passage =
trough the snow, could scarcely be .
Urged to fresh exertions, while the rush =
# the deepening flood, and the blind Y
ng showers that dashed into our faces, =
threatened at each instant to overwhelm II
Is. We reached the Amour at last,
lown the swollen current of which were
Ill hhB AuuCoCb VI buOW, hIlu ueI0
Ellen's horse fell, and could not be Il
aised, while that of Mr.. Merton, gasp fl
ng and spent, no longer answered to the p
pur.
"Save yourself, Frank leave us q
Vhy should all perish1" groaned the q
merchant. t.
There was some strength and spirit v
'et left in the gallant Turcoman that 1 d
and, snatching up Ellen's 81
ight form in my arms, 1 spurred into p
be river, and, struggling through, de- Ct
'osited my precious burden on the turf t.
'eyond, under the shelter of a rocky "
,owlder. then recross ed the ford, o.
nd, bidding Mr.. Merton to. cling tight g
= to my horses name, for the third time 81
,reasted the current, and, half SWIM 81
ming, half wading, We got through, it
hough on the further bank my noble
lorse reeled and fell, with faint, low
leigh, and SO died. The carcasses of IL
he Others were already buried beneath rs
he driving snow. n
The rest of our story-how, after "
ONE fatigue, we scaled the rocky ra- il