The Red Cloud chief., 1881-01-20

stove and furniture il. our cooks tent
were completely hidden fr.sn view.
The night set in upon n gloomy ga
awful. We had two light canvascrnts
in each Of which slept four y'sn, viii
Just blankets enough to ke>P l"e,h com
Portable in ordinary we'fher. o"' no~
we must provide 81 h guide. Two
drivers and a norser, h had Usually
sInn, IN ,ha ions and rs thsy were
hn, s;rnIv crowded with clothing. we
-, -. our stock with them. So
80 ,he larger tent W. o them.
There was but little sleep in the tent
that night, for the cold was intense. and
the wind was so terrible in its effects
that we feared every moment the larger
tent would fall. though we had strength
ened il by poles and cords in every con-
ceivable way. With the morning light
it seemed a il all the spirits Of tie air
where let loose. and all day long the
storm roared with ever-increasing fury.
The snow had 30 beaten in that when
we awoke we found ourselves buried
beneath IL, and now we we're obliged to
gather all our bedding into the middle
of the tent to keep it from being wet
through. No man could long endure
the storm outside, and we stood hrd-
died together from morning till night.
stamping our feet 10 keep from suffer
ing. Even then we could not keep
comfortable. For hours together we
stood with our backs braced against the
tent to keep it from giving way under
the great weight Of the snow and the
terrific force Of the gale. / know of no
language which a be used tn convey
TO any person inexperienced in such a
time any adequate conception of the
fury of the storm.
During the second day we succeeded
in digging our little stove out of the
Snow DRIFT, and setting it up al the
entrance to our tent we managed
TO keen a little fire through the rest Of
the day and night. But our store of
wood was very small, and there was no
more To be had within we knew not
how many miles. The other tents
company had no stove and no fire.
During the second night of the storm it
was impossible that all should sleep at
once, even if they could sleep despite
the cold, for what with the stove on
n side and all our provisions, brought
in from the wagons, on the other, there
was not room for all to lie down. Be-
sides it vas necessary to keep the fire
going, lest we might all perish together.
So we stood bending over the stove all
night, two at a time, while the others
tried to sleep. 1t was an awful night.
To add to our anxiety the guide and
drivers declared that the horses and
mules were likely To perish. They
were a pitiful sight, indeed. Two of
them had no blankets, and the others
were little better off. At times it wa
difficult to conceive that the creatures
before us were horses, so literally COW
cred were they with a coating of ice.
After two days and two nights the storm
ceased.
1t was now Sunday morning. We
knew not where we were. and we
doubled if the guide had more definite
knowledge than we. Every man was
desperate. Some declared itdangerous
to attempt to move through the snow.
and that our only safe coursc wa TO re-
main, and, i'm case of necessity, Use the
wagons for fuel and the horses for food.
Others declared their purpose to move
at all hazards and without delay. Final
ly we determined to move. We threw
away all luggage that could be dis
pensed with, and i'm grim silence started
in the direction which we thought would
bring us to the nearest hut. Ii was diff
ficult travelling through the driited
snow, and it was bitterly cold. But all
day long we pushed on, never stopping
to feed a horse, breaking through the
drifts with our ponies SO that the cams
could follow, till about five p. m. when
we came in sight of hay stacks, in the
vicinity of which we knew there must
be q ranchman's hut. | never saw q
happier set of men than were these
when it became certain that what we
saw were hay stacks. and not the terri
BILE sand hills which had SO often de-
ceived us during the dav. Grave men.
merchants of Worcester, swung their
hats aloft and shouted for JOY. 1t had
been a march for life. Worcester
glass; Spy.