Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-03-02
A Western Blizzard

A Minnesota farmer gives his experience
In Western blizzard in the following
good description.
We were still two miles from home
when suddenly the sun was obscured. and
the air grew cold and chill in a moment.
a darkness as Of smoke swept over every
thing. Then remembered why we were
going home, and gave the hroses the
whip in earnest, lashing them into a rup.
A light breeze sprung up, grew stronger,
and1n one minute became a gale. The
wall came down with railroad speed. the
roar of its approrch every instant grow
ing louder. From the top Of the knoll in
the prairie we could see our house, and it
came very near being the last glimpse of 1t.
No words will ever convey an intelligent
idea of blizzard, Of the frightful roar with
which it rolls down uponyou, the bowling
and Kissing of the wind. If you try to
speak, the wind dashes the syllables from
your lips so quickly that you do not hear
your own words. In thirty seconds from
the time the first snowflake fell l could not
see my horses. The atmosphere seemed to
be all snow, and every flake of it was in
hurry to get somewhere before the rest
could get there.
| could feel the motion of the sleigh, so
that knew the horses were moving. The
cold was intense, tried to ask my wife if
she was suffering, but could not hear my
own words.
During the two or three minutes that in
teryened between the time saw the storm
approaching and the moment it struck us,
the horses had run at the top oftheir speed,
so we were not much over a mile from
home. In ten minutes | was chilled
through, and felt that was freezing.
The horses were still moving, although
could not see them. L lashed them with
the whip. 1t seemed hours since the storm
had shut us in, and l was just becoming
convinced that the horses had got out of
the path and that we were lost on the prli-
rie when there came sudden lull of the
fierce wind. The air was still full of the
whirling snow, and l could see objects
about me, and it didn't take long for me to
ascertain that We were i'm the barn and
were safe. l had left the barn door open
in the morning, and the horses had found
their way back; L think by instinct, but
my neighbors think it sheer accident and
wouldn't happen again in thousand years.
Although we had reached the barn, we
were not in the house yet. From the barn
to the house is about twenty yards, but as
far as seeing it was concerned the house
might as well be in the moon. The little
woman helped me unharness the horses
and put them in the stalls. Then /
told her to remain where she was and
made break for the house. 1t is difficult
for any one to believe that In binding
storm he cannot 60 twenty yards in a line
straight enough to find house, but try it
some time!
After got into the house took ball of
twine. tied one end to the door knob and
succeeded in getting back to the barn, and
by following the string we reached the
house again. For three days and nights
thereafter neither of us even opened the
outer door. When the storm ceased we
could not see the barn, for the snow had
been piled in between the barn and house
so deep that it covered the windows on
that side of the house. On the east side of
theI house, however. there was very little
snow. The shovel happened to be in the
house, and the little woman and succeed
ed in tunneling through to the barn; but
we had to carry every sbovelful through
the ho1se and throw it on the east SIDE"
Were the herses all right when you got
to thcm9
You can safely bet they were glad to
see me. They were about half buried in
snow, and had even eaten the bedding from
their stalls. 1t took me nearly all the rest
of the winter to shovel the. snow out Of the
barn.