Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1883-02-09

1 MOmtuS. AcEOsS thc EGo8cM
Prairie in AN Ice Boat-Cheese
Diet.
| Milwaukee Sentinel.
The Billiards and blcckades of the
present winter recall wildly to the mind
OF those who were so unfortunate as to
| be "snowed In" the inconvenience.
| priyatlons and suffering experienced
during the four months of almost con-
tinual blockade of the winter of 1880 81.
On many of the railways in the west
| the tracks were covered with snow
from the first of December to the last of
April following. Trains left stations,
encountered storm of wind and blind
| ing snow when far from towns and
| help, and remained there for weeks,
abandoned by passengers and trainmen.
| Perhaps an attempt was made to force
the engine through the drifts and arrive
at haven of refuge before the line was
entirely impossible. At last, dozen
miles from the nearest habitation, fuel
and water running low, provisions ex-
hausted, and storm raging with Sc
verify which covered and totally obscur-
ed every landmark, hiding telegraph
poles and completely burying the
track, making it impossible to e.half a
dozen PAGES aaead through the whirl-
ing mass, effectually cutting of aid and
succor, the train covered with drifts
was finally abandoned.
With view to learning something
| concerning the method of procedure
under circumstances of this kind, Sem
tinel reporter called upon we'll known
conductor in the employ of the Chica-
go, Milwaukee & 81. Paul Railway
Company, who as train man has pass
ed twenty winters on the road. He was
found occupying q comfortable room
at the Plankinton, and when the re-
porter's errand was mentioned, remov-
ed his Havana from his lips and slowly
exhaled cloud of the fragrant fumes,
watching them curl toward the ceiling
with half-closed eyes. "Want to learn
something about being showed in, do
you," he finally said, meditatively.
swell, l could tell you considerable
about it, but we have instructions not
to talk about railway matters to re-
porters. Guess can't favor you this
time"
"Do you consider this hard winter
for the railway companies?"
Not at all; the lines have not been
seriously blockaded, and the snow fall
hasn't been so heavy yet as to mater
tally interfere with the running of trains
ade
TWO YEARS AGO.
| was running on the Southern Mime.
sofa Division then. We left La Crosse
on Dec. 81, went to Dell Rapids on the
Big Sioux River, in Dakota, 428 miles
west of La Crosse, and the train was
fast in the snow until about the 1st OIL
May following. Talk about snow
There were miles of the roads in Da
kota and Minnesota that winter which
were under the drifts for four months
One train on the S. M. was fast in the
drifts in the Chanarambeau Valley 8
dozen miles from Pipestone City, com.
pletely covered with snow and entirely
abandoned by trainmen and passengers
remained there until spring."
"Will you give me few points on
the blockade"
the trip down Jan. l, it was showing
and blowing 80 the engineer couldn't
see cars length ahead of the train
We had about fifteen passengers, most
ly travelling men, and laid in a good
supply of light provisions-crackers
cheese, dried beef, and so on. Twas
hard work running through the snow
but we worked along down until we
passed Pipestone City and got into the
Canarambeau Valley, about twenty
miles from our western terminus
where we got stalled. Ever in the val.
ley =? Well, it's about q quarter of a
mile wide, with almost perpendicular
sides about sixty feet high. The road
follows this ravine some fourteen miles
and in summer it's one of the finest
PLACES in the whole line. In the win
ter, with fall of snow and high
wind, the drifts pile in and fill the val
ley. 1t was so then, and we hadn't
made half-dczen miles through the
sink before we got stuck. Old Jim
McLinden, the engineer, came back TO
the baggage-car and said twas no go
we'd got to tie up-the engine couldn't
turn wheel. l went back through the
train and told the passengers. They
took it cody; the boys even playing
cards and chuckipg the coal into the
heater, cracking jokes and telling stories.
This was all right for few hours, but
it didn't last. Along toward morning
they began to feel the
NECESSITY OF A SQUARE MEAL,
and rush was made 10 the baggage
Car where the provisions were kept.
Accordingly barrel of crackers and a
whole cheese were taken into one of
the coaches and put on tap, and in half
an hour there wasn't piece of either
to be SEEN"
How long was the train held there %
| How longP Until the 1st of May.
The boys held out for time, three or
four days, think, and when the storm
had passed we all walked back to Pipe
stone City. Getting showed in on the
prairie is different matter from being
in blockade on any of these eastern
divisions. Here you can find fuel, wa
ter and provisions within q few min
utes walk; farm house every little
ways, you know. Out in that country
it's different. A man could travel over
the country for days and not see a
| house or meet a person. There we
were, ten miles from the nearst sta
ton, about ten inches of water in the
tank and not more than two buckets
of coal. The engineer banked the fire,
but the snow had cot so jammed and
packed in around the wheels and boiler
that it melted and then froze. The
wind kept piling it in, and the freezing
process continued until that engine
was packed in solid casing of ice.
The coaches were in just about the
same condition, and after four days
storm they were completely buried.
There's one popularity about these
prairie billiards.: the snow will fail and
drilt in huge piles or ridges extending
fo- miles across the prairies, and in an
hour after the snow ceases to fall it
will be crusted over by the cold and
wind with surface sufficiently hard to
sustain the weight of a man.
GLOW long do these prairie storms
generally lastf"
Sometimes a week, and again per-
haps only an hour. The one l spoke
of held on four days, and it was the
worst of that winter; didn't last as long
as some, but while it was storming
IT WAS A SoCKDoLAdER.
The whole country was covered with
snow for months"