Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1881-04-04

snow. Our chief interest was in the
thermometer. That subtle instrument,
which seems to have such powerful in
fuence upon the temperature (?) spoil
ed all the old stories, by sinking below
zero nearly every morning,-often rang
ing from 20 to % degrees below.
"Pshaw !" says some old Vermonter.
'.that's nothing, I've often seen it 40
below p yes, indeed, but 40 degrees be-
low zero in the dry mountainous air of
Vermont without wind-for it never
sinks that low in Vermont when the
wind blows-and % below in the damp,
heavy atmosphere of the prairies, with
the wind moving from 40 to 60 miles
an hour are two quite different affairs.
January 10th came our first sleighing.
In December we were quite out of sorts
with Montreal's weather prophet, be-
cause he did not produce his promised
"eleven feet of snow" Now. however,
he is in equal disfavor because his snow
storms appear at the promised hour.
Indeed, l heard railroad man say, last
week, that if he dared to visit the
States, he should be lynched. We have
not had as large an amount of snow as
| have seen in Vermont. l we'll remem-
Der its awful depths in sugar season.
Our snow has been given US in quite
uncomfortable shape. Nearly all the
railroads in the Northwest have been
blockaded for good share Of the time
for two months. The ticket agent of
our place, was ordered to take charge of
a station on the Chicago and Northwest
ern road, in Minnesota; he went on in
December, and his wife and baby fol-
lowed in January. At that date we
had no snow at this point, but two
weeks since, she had not reached her
destination Two weeks ago 200 pas
sengers were snow bound here within
80 miles of Chicago, from Wednesday
until the next Monday. They lodged
in the cars and were boarded at the no.
tells at the company's expense. Last
Sunday, two trains filled with passen
gers lay here; ten miles west a trair
was stalled in snow bank.-the snow
actually drifted over the tops of the car
and had to be shoveled off in the nigh
to give the passengers ventilation ant
another train was in cut seven mile
east of here, while it is nearly a weel
since train has passed between Chica
aud Rockford. In some places the snoy
has drifted over the top of the telegrap
poles"
but why should trains become S
!, easily snow bound in the West?'' Mos
, of our storms have commenced wit
: rain and the snow has been damp an
) heavy. Then turning cold the "slush
, freezes to the wheels or presses into il
> upon the rails, and the train is throw
from the track. Fifteen miles nortl
: on the "Fox River Line" the road W;
closed for nearly two weeks, and in tn
: way For three miles the track was Ill
: der water, some of the way from fftee
!, to eighteen inches. At point whe
S the water was deepest, passenger trai
o was thrown from the track. Before
e could be gotten on again, a cold bla
r froze the train in,-the ice being stror
}, enough to hold up a horse. Anotb
s train going to its assistance, the engil
s was thrown bottom up in the ditto
e And so, at one time six dead engin
l. were packed in there all helpless.
e open the road the ice had to be chopp
It away for over three miles. The scare
IS ty of coal has been almost univers
n throughout the Northwest. For thr
e months our dealer has delivered by t
IL basket; from two to four basketfu
st being the most he could furnish al
family at one time. During the me
l. severe blockade of the winter, there W
'e but one-half ton of hard coal in IL
re market. Our inconvenience, howev,
g has been trihing compared with the
farther west, where fences. depot bull
y lngs, and often the railroad ties ha
OF been used for fuel. Last winter we q
% not have snow for single days sleie
~ ing, and only twice that below zero "
1e indicated. We trust our friends W
to not form an unfavorable opinion of Il
lg delightful land, on account of this {
u ceptional winter. But some you
~ readers of the MONITOR may be askil
n what we mean out west by "blizzard
is Possibly Webster may have been c.
OF suited more than once, for the ex
~ meaning of SO striking term, only
learn Webster never heard of it. Blu
man fresh from Manitoba, would | Fl
cy, look with disgust upon so pref
I'll word so unique and full of meani
en- And herein is the real difficulty. CIR,
lr- and Latin roots evolved it not but
g. word sprung upon us at bound,
ITS grown and fully developed. 1t came
lat technical as though used to define ex
~, nhilosophical terms for canturv. fo,