Smyrna times., 1883-02-14
A Blizzard.


from the West, and it is coming fast.
The telegraph announces that it has
reached Morris. That is forty miles
from here, but it is coming at the rate |
of forty miles per hour, so you have |
got no time to spare if you are going
home to-day.
He rolled up our purchases as he
spoke, and appeared in a hurry to get
rid of us. When we got outside the
store the first thing that attracted my
attention was the fact that of all the
teams in the street when we arrived
not one, excepting mine, remained.
Everybody had scuddod for home.
Even then | did not hurry. The sun
was still shining brightly, with not the
faintcst suggestion of storm apparent
anywhere. Before we got a mile from
town | had forgotten all about the
coming storm, and the horses were jog
ging at their will.
We were still two miles from home
when suddenly the sun was obscured
and the air grew cold and chill in q
moment. \ darkness as of smoke
swept over everything. Then l re-
membcrcd why we were going home,
and gave the horses the whip in ear
nest, lashing them into run. Away
Off to the left there appeared to be u
leadcn wall sweeping toward us.
There was hum in the air. A light
breeze sprang up, grew stronger, and in
one minute became gale. The wall
came down with railroad speed, the
roar of its approach every instant
growing louder. From the top of a
roll in the prairie we could see our
r house, and it came pretty near being
our last glimpse of it.
No words will ever convey an intel
ligent idea of the blizzard of the
) frightful roar with which it rolls down
upon you, the bowling and kissing o.
the wind. If you try to speak the
wind dashes the syllables from YOU
lips SO quickly that you do not hea
your own words. In thirty second:
from the time the first snowflake fell
could not see my horses. The atmos
/. phere appeared to be all snow, ant
every flake of it was in a hurry to ge
n somewhere before the rest should ge
/, there. | use the word fake" bu
y that is wrong. No flakes could b
Z. distinguished. The whole atmospher
:, was filled with one big fake that hem
IL med US in on all sides. Althoug
d Mabcl's head wasn't over q foot fror
IL mine 1 could not see her features, an
d could only dimly see her form. Itrie
1t to peer downward beside the sleigh an
IA see the track, but might as well hav
W tried to see the earth beneath a sno,
A. bank. l could feel a motion to tn
3 sleigh so that l knew the horses wei
ID still moving. The cold was intense.
lie tried to ask my wife if she were suffe
st ing, but l could not hear my ow
a words.
n During the two or three minute
ep that intervened between the time l sa
u the storm approaching and the momel
Id it struck us the horses had run at IL
lis top of their speed, SO we were n
&c much over mile from home. 1t d
- not seem possible for the horses to keC
TO the track. No one could live an hOl
III in that storm. The only hope lay
IN the horses being able to keep to
al track that was being buried deeper al
=" deeper every instant. 1t isn't pleasa
uu to sit still and freeze to death. In t
lNo minutes | was chilled through, and
ny felt that l was freezing. The hors
az were still moving, and although cOu
5Ss not see them l lashed them with t
III whip. 1t seemed hours since the stol
e'- had shut us in, and was just becomi
convinced that the horses had got O
Is of the path and that we were lost
'A' the prairie, when there came a sudd
ICY lull of the fierce wind. The air "
're still full of whirling snow, but I COT
on' see objects about me, and it didn't ia
lS long for me to ascertain that we we
IN in the barn and were safe. | had
VI .ne the barn doors open in the mornil
ne and the horses had found their W
INC back; l think by instinct, but /
iSC- neighbors think it was sheer accide
GU and declare that it would not happ
again in thousand years.
-, Although we had reached the b,
we were not in the home yet. FIR
- the barn to the house is about twel
~ yards, but, as far as seeing it was C,
ano cerned, the house might as we'll h;
49, been in the moon. The little won
49,, helped me unharness the horses q
- put them into their stalls. Then | t
her to remain where she was, and m;
a break for the house. 1t is difiC
- for anyone to believe that in a blind
-e,I storm he cannot so twenty yards i
tha line sufficiently straight to find
on1 house, but try it some time?
has Do you see that pump? l stumh
and over it. 1t is twenty feet to the ri
,me of the path from the barn to the hol
om- If it hadn't been for that pun
ma would never again have found cit
house or barn. knew that the han
of that pump pointed directly tow
YER the house, and that it was not over
anita yards away l raised the handle
ated felt for my bearings. let go of
hav- pump handle and plunged toward
,ose house. When tell you that !
tion "smack" against it you will un
rical stand that seeing was out of the q
the ton, After got into the house t
a;ng ball of twine, tied one end to
Last door-knob and succeeded in get
? back to the barn, and, by following
I s4r;nor xya raoahad tho houSa 90