Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1878-02-02
A BAD BLIZZARD.
Maj. smiths Command Caught Out OF
the Prairie liz Oae of Dakota's Worst.
Bismarck Tribune, Jan. PC.

Bismarck Tribune, Jan. DC.
Major Smith, commander of company +,
Fret infantry, left Fort Sully on Sunday
morning Both ult. for Standing Rock post.
All passed off we'll save the few casualties
liable to such expeditions un.il Thursday,
the I'd inst. The command reached Rush
bottom, 100 miles from -Sully and a few
miles south of the Grand rivers mouth,
when it went into camp. Thursday morn.
ing opened cold, but with a clear sun. The
troops at the order to forward march"
started off on a brisk pace seeming deter
mined on reaching Wannity bottom, 80
miles beyond, and get into camp early in
the evening. Immediately after striking
the Blue Blanket plains, about 9 o'clock,
the sun went under a cloud, the wind shift
ed to the north, the sky darkened over and
one of the most binding, terrible billiards
known in Dakota set in with impetuous
f%erocity. The plains in this section were all
burned over last fall and fierce north wind
swept with undated fury over the dreary
prairie right
INTO THE FACE AND EYES OF THE MEN.
One by one the men, wearied by the
binding, cutting storm fell behind the
teams, and when the command reached
VANITY bottom at night fall, four of the
command were missing. Major Smith i'm
mediately dispatched a scout and a detail of
soldiers in search of the missing ones.
About six miles from camp, two of the four
Corporal Tarcott and Private Sullivan were
overtaken, the former wrapped up ina blan-
ket which had dropped from one of the
wagons and which the soldier was fortunate
to reach just as fatigue and cold had over
powered him, Both were badly frozen, but
not seriously. Search was then continued a
few miles beyond, but night o~yertaking
them and the cold rendering them nearly
helpless the detail returned to camp leaving
the unfortunate men on the prairie.
THE FROZEN MEN,
one a recent recruit, having lately enlisted
from Columbus, Ohio, and John McEvoy,
an elderly man, a native of Ireland-were
last seen as the storm lulled, striving
through the snow on the Blue Blanket hills,
one about five miles behind the train and
the other six miles. There is no timber for
several milesfrom the road and the plain is a
high and sweeping one. The mex morning,
Friday, Major Smith sent a detail ofmen to
bring in the unfortunate soldiers if they
could be found, and then forwarded the re.
mainder Of his detachment to Standing
Rock, which was reached on Friday night
after spending an unusually severe time at
Marsh's bottom, twenty-five miles below the
post.
Among those who received frozen ears
and feet during the march, are Major Smith,
Sergeant Gregory, Thos. Carragan, Jesse
Hubert and the Yankton Herald cores
pondent, c. F. H.
c. F. Hackett, Of the Yankton Herald,
the author of the above, has arrived from
Standing Rock, and adds that McEvoy's
body was found a few days after the biz
zard and . week later wa. buried. McEyoy
has $500 deposited with Pay1aaster Candce.
and has . sister living in Brooklyn or New
York. The "recent %recruit" wa. named
John Carl.