Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-03-09

The stars went out as though the fierce
wind had blown out the myriad lights of
heaven. Then the snow began to fall thick
eud fast, as the men sat about the feeble
Tres and talked of the coming duel. These
groups grew as white as huddled focks of
sheep. Now and then a man would get up
and shake himself, and the snow would
slide of in little avalanches thicker than
your palm. The fires began to perish un-
der this incessant, unceasing dropping of
snow. The wind ceased and the snow
then simply possessed the world. The
fires all died out. 1t was a weird, death
like darkness. The men could not see
each others faces. When they spoke, it
was as though some one called from deep
down in we'll. They CROPPED about feel
ing for each other as they tried to creep
under their blankets in the snow. Now
and then blanketed Oregonian would find
his outstretched hand twisted in the snowy
beard of a red-shirted Californian. But
there was no swearing at each other now.
Snow above and snow below! The
wolves bowling from the hill. Snow that
buried you. that lay over your shoulder
like blanket, that loaded you down, that
fastened upon you as if it had life and
sense, and like ghost of your Injured
dead would never go away.
With morning there came sense of
change. But it was not light. There was
only dim, ghostly something in the air.
the ghost of dead day. And snow, snow,
snow---nothing but snow and snow. The
men came down from the hills and left the
wolves to have 1t their own way. They
came down clinging to each other, Oregon
ian and Californian together, as best they
could. They could not see each others
faces. Their very heads ard shoulders
were bowed by loads of snow. Many
of the men in the canon did not attempt
to rise all day. They were covered
by the snow many feet deep. In
this strange new land these gold hunters
had come upon strange things, and had
come to dread that most dreadful things
might overtake them. They whispered
among themselves that the canon would be
swept full of snow il the wind should rise
again. and then surely all would perish.
Under ledge of rocks that leaned over the
canon many men grouped together as the
day wore by-hungry, starving, desperate
and dying.
But the force of the falling snow was
spent. AS night came on we could see each
others faces; we could see the world once
more. But what was it? A world of snow.
Strangely enough, little white-tailed
rabbit came timidly among the men out of
the snow and hoped helplessly over
human legs. They looked at each other in
turn at this, and then out on the world of
snow.
The two duelists by chance looked in
each others faces. There was a long
pause, an awkward one. Neither spoke.
They looked at each other steadily. The
men grouped about them, held their
breath, and all were silent, as if the snow
was indeed their shroud, as one young Cal
iforDian with practical turn of mind and
temporary religious tendencies had sug-
gested.
While the two men stood looking stead
lily and still at each other, there was a
movement under the blanket of the Oregon
ian. He evidently was about to do some
thing, and that very soon. With eyes fixed
on the eyes of his enemy, he
threw lack his blanket threw out and
extended his hand. The Californian
grasped it and shook it, and shook again
and again, ashamed and beaten-ashamed
that he had not had the courage to do what
his enemy had done before him. The
shout of wild delight that went up from
the group showed that there was life in
the savage canon still. It seemed to set
tie the storm. 1t certainly wakened many
sleepers, and they crept out of the snow
all about, none the worse for their long
nights rest. 'A
The wolves did not stay to dispute for
possession of the horses on the hill as the
proprietors went up among them. And
soon the Chinook strange, warm Chi
nook winds that make such storms pos
sible as well as endurable- over
the country, and the hills were soon al
most as bare as they had been but a week
hafOra