Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1883-08-17
The Children In the Snow.

1t was winter time; the snow lay thick
upon the ground. A sale of domestic
furniture had be en- announced to take
place at the house Of some proprietor
in Longdale, at a distance from the COT
tage of the Greens of about five or six
miles It was long past sunset when the
auction had concluded, and the time ar
rived for general separation.
In the Green's cottage at Easedale, by
the side off peat fire, crouched their
six children. waiting for their return.
Agnes, the eldest of the family, was
niue years old. They depended for
bread upon the labors Of their parents.
Let only day pass, and they must in
evitably be brought to the brink ofstar-
vation.
At length Agnes told her brothers and
sisters that they must 60 to bed. They
obeved, but tearfully.
Alter midnight the snow began to fall.
Next morning the ground WAS very
thick}y covered. The poor children
found themselves completely prisoneu,
A stream skirting the cottage garden
was too wide for them to leap. The
wooden bridge or ssing it was unsafe.
There was 20 sign of George and Sarah
Green.
Gradually, a sense terrible enough if
incomplete, o: the awfulness Of their sit
uat;on began to awake in the minds OF
these poor little ones.
They hudIled together the second
evening Of their being left alone round
their hearth fire of peat, and held lit
tie family council rs to what was to be
rI hat fnr fh~i1
ents---for h hope had occurred to them
that possibly some howell or sheep-fold
upon the mountain side might be sh.l-
tering the missing ones, although they
might be snow-bound by the heavy
fall of the morn ny-and, in the next
place, to make known their situation to
the neighbors: in case the snow should
continue, or should increase. For in
many days of confinement to the house
it was too certain they would perish Of
starvation.
Meantime the eldest sister, Agnes,
though gyayely ala clned, exertod herself
to take all the measures necessary for
the welfare Of the little community.
The little gill caused her brothers and
sisters to knGel downanu cay their pray
ers, and then turned to accomplish
every household task that might be OF
service to them in a long captivity. She
took and aided all the milk she could
find in the house so as to save it from
turning sour. Then she examined the
meal-chest, made some o. the common
oatmeal Dorridge Of the country; but
put all the children. except the two
youngest on short allowance.
Next before night came On, or more
snow fell, she went out Of DOORS and
with the help Of the two younger broth
ers, carried in from the peat-stack as
much fuel as might serve them for
weeks consumption. She then secured
from the stock Of potatoes, buried II
witherea fern enough to make a sin gle.
meal She was afraid to take more IN
der some idea, that, if removed, they
would be spoiled by the heat OF the cot
taye. Then she MIXED the COW anG
succeeded after great exertlon, in get
ting down from a. loft above the out
house enough food for the animal for
one night, at any rate. These tasks &C.
compllshed she re-entered the warm
house. barred the door, undressed
and put to bed the smaller chill
dren, and then sang them to sleep.
The night passed and the morning
da9ned. More Snow hid fallen. Asec-
ond and third day passed, little Agnes
coDsoling her flock, and taking sucn care
1OE their comfort as she could.
On the fourth day the snow Yves found
to have Jrifted. Banked up on one
side, passages were left exposed on the
hopeless]y impracticable, but, avoiding
the brook, it seemed possible that road
might be found into Gras,nere. With
the assistance of her brothers, Agre:
was at last enabled to escape from the
cottage, and to gain the pathway into
Grasmere.
In such case the first house she came
to was the right one to enter. The ne VS.
the frightened child brought was sure
to secure hera hospitable greeting and
the warmest sympathy. Soon it was
known throughout the vale that neither
George nor Sarah Green had been seen
by their children since the day of the
sale at Langdalebead. Some sixty men
decided upon searching the mountains
for the missing ones. They divided
themselves into exploring parties, and
arranged plan of communicating with
each other by means of signals,
in the. event Of per
nous mlsts rising, or further turns Of
snow. The men of Grasmere willingly
sacrificed their daily earnings to toll
without. recompense in quest Of the IN
happy Greens; yet, day after day, the
exploring parties returned from fruit,
less labor Every inch of the pathway
from Langdale to Easedale. had been ex-
am1ned, and large margin had been i'll
vesrigatea on either side of it, vet the
traces sought could not be discovered
"We'll 20 up day after day until we fn,.
them" was the sturdy cry.
For some five days the march was IN
eHectual: Yet there was no 1jnching
from its further prosecution. AT length.
sagaclous dogs were taken up and at
MONDAY shout was heard high among
the mountains amid dense cloudy vol
umes OF cloudy Napor; caught up and re-
peated by bands and bands Of the ex~
plorers, the news was CONVEYED from
distance of several miles, and. as it were
telegraphed to Grassmere. The bodies
had been found
George Green had been lying at the
bottom offs precipice from which he had
fallen. Sarah Green was found at the
summit of the pEecipice. From the DO
sltlon OF the bodies it was coniecture0
that the husband had desired his wife
to pause for few minutes. wrappino
her meanwhile in his own ereat-coat,
while he advanced ana sought to recon
hotter. He had probably been blinded
Dy the snoE-storm, for the precipice~
over which he had fallen was but 6.
few YARDS from the point St which rs
had evidently Quilted his wife.
He had probably died without a strue-
gle; it might be without groan. It was
remembered sfterward in. Iangdalehsad
that on the night of the sale a furious
wind had borne with il the SOUND of
wind-shTieks from the, mountains. It
was thought that those wore the aeon-
lzlng cries OF the pooa, wife. Her posi-
tlon had been a frighaful one. Sannos-.