The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-04-21
NICE COUNTRY.
How Dakota People Pass the wintor-
burning Fcnces and Hay to Keep Warm.

How Dakota People Pass the Winter
burning Fences and Hay to Keep Warm.
Gary, d. T., Letter to 81. Paul Pioneer Press.
To-day the first mail from the East
| since February l9 arrived in this place
by team, it having been left in Cant y,
Minn., twelve miles distant, some tive
weeks since, and was brought up by the
| work of the citizens, who turned out with
| shovels and teams and wallowed through
about six feet of snow ON the level to
obtain it. In it we're letters aud paper.
the latest being copy of the Pioneer.
Pess, dated February %. In it I noticed
that grave apprehensions are entertained
as to the condition of tho settlers of this
section: and, as rumrrs of all sorts are
hying, take this opportunity of settling
the fears engendered thereby at rest. I
intend relating things as they are, with
no deception about it. The winter, as
you are aware, has been Of character
almost unparalleled. The oft.quoted but
not always reliable "oldest inhabitant" IL
bewildercd. 1t beats anything in his
memory-which is usually quite capa.
ciou Sotting in, as it did, on October
10, 1t took all by surprise. No one was
prepared for it. The farmer had not
threshed, and potatoes were frozen i n the
ground. The merchants of this country
had not ordered their winter .ock, and
the fuel dealers were also coIght short.
The previous mild winters had taught all
to believe that they would always last.
and that communication with the com.
mercial centers of the East at all times
would remain unbroken. The fallacy of
such thoughts will, with this winters ex..
perience, doubtless be thoroughly eradi-
Gated. AS soon as it be came evident that
WINTER IN EARNEsT HAD SET IN,
and when trains began TO move irregu.
larly an attempt was made by our mer.
chants, fuel dealers and others to get in
supplies for the balance of the winter.
How we'll they succeeded is attested by
the .act that there are now over 900
freight cars in the Sleepy Eve switch
yards awaiting shipment hitherward.
The experience OF this winter in this re-
spect will not soon be forgotten. Since
october Id the ground has been covered
with snow all the time. 1t has not
thawed to speak of, 80 that at the present
writing, on the level, the snow Is from
hve TO seven feet deep; while III the
to sixty feet deep. The timber in this
country grows i'll these guiches, 80 that it
will be seen that no WOOD c:.,i be cut.
Under ordinary circumstances wood in
sufficient quantities 20 tide over a bliz.
zard-which also means stoppaee of all
trains-could be obtained. Even this
winter the supply of fuel was deemed
ample to last until new supply could be
shipped In on the cars. But the block.
ade coming upon us on December 25, the
date OF the arrival of tho last through
train, with no intermission up to the
present time, and no prospect Of any for
q mouth hence, tie situation is
BECOMING TRULY ALARMING.
The farmers are burning hay and straw,
which also. owing to the extreme length
OF lime which they have had to feed their
stock, and having made calculations for
only an ordinary winter, is getting very
scarce, The citizens of this and other
towns have been burning cedar posts and
lumber, aud, where they can be spared.
some have taken the outbuildings for
fuel. Travel with teams is almost an
impossibility. No attempt, in fact. he's
been made to "break roads" save that
which orings the mails. So far but four
mails have arrived since Christmas.
business is at complete standstill.
Goods of all kinds, especially groceries
and provisions, -four and meats, wcrc
.ong since exhausted. Since the -four
supply gave out q ieed-mill, propelled by
horsepower, has been engaged in the
manufacture of course, unbolted gra-
ham flour, which has proved God send
TO the settlers in both tonc and co,..-y.
Many people absolutely have nothing to
eat save that coarse flour ard molasses.
and even the latter commodity is about
exhausted. Many of the settlers of this
county (Deuel), who reside at distance
from Gary, are
GRINDING THIS COARSE FIOIJR IN coz.
FEE-MILLS
Think of it! Being reduced 10 an ex.
tremity which compelled YOU to manu-.
facture your own -four in q puny coffee.
mill, or starve! And yet that is the
predicament in which many of the peo-
pie of the frontier find themselves.
Tough as the situation is, have heard
OF no cases o. starvation, but it comes so
near it there is no "fun in it," Still the
settlers are not disheartened, being con.
tent and happy in the thought that in
the East, az we'll, are they wading up to
their necks in snow, the only difference
being that there the tables, doubtless.
contain more of the luxuries and "neccs.
saries Of life" than do those of the eet-
tlers here.
The weather here has not been as cold
Gs there in one instance only has the
thermometer reached thirty-twe degrees
above zero, most of the time it being in
the neighborhood of twenty degrees or
thirty degrees below zero. The trouble
is not owing to severity o1 the weather.
but is due to the great fall of snow, and
the winds blowing the snow in great
drifts, filling IN rnad-cnts and rnads ns
fast as they are shoveled over or "broke,"
and thus rendering them impossible.
The general and only reliable means of
locomotion this winter is the Norwegian
snow. shoe. 1t consists of board eight
feet long, five inches wide and half an
inch thick. with one end pointed and
turned up. with raised foot.block in the
middle, 80 that it resembles q huge skate.
In travelling over deep snow it is of great
value, and an expert can easily travel
thirty miles on them in day. Farmers
come to town on them, and the Postmas.
ters come after their office mail on them.
Our business men drive care and the
blues away by sliding down hill upon
them, and when one meets with mishap
and turns somersault or two, the others
give evidence of their enjoyment thereat
by wild, uproarious shouts of laughter.
They seeE to be boys again. In this
manner passes the daytime. At night
surprise parties and dances engage the