St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-12-01

Y'HsAN1 cumstances. If there was
one commercial traveller in the Northwest
| who deserved the honor Of being placed at
| the head of this organization, 1t was otocA-
dale, or Stock" as he is Familiarity called by
| the boys on the road. He represents whoie-
| sale grocery house in Minneapolis ana mas
| sold goods in Dakota more years IMAM any
| other man on the load. His face IL as 1anu-
| lar among the merchants of the northwestern
| part of that territory as the races OF tneir
watches, and wherever he is known there ne
! has friends .sStock' tried farming several
| years ago down in Minnesota, but the grass
| hoppers hoped on to his wheat fields ana ate
! him nearly out of house and home. AS soon
| as he Quit farming the grasshopper quit
| Minnesota, and it looked very much as
| though the hand of destiny was mixed up
| with his affairs. He became a travelling
| salesman, going into Dakota with his sample
| case when there was hardly mile OF rail-
road completed north of the forty-sixth par
| alel OF latitude, and he has Travelled there
! ever since, building himself pretty home 10
| pleasant part of the city or minneapolis.
| lie tells many interesting "reminiscences OF
| the early days in iDakota. He has mad
several narrow escapes from death that ne
| aOw recites with smile, but acknowledges
| that he wasn't smiling to any great extent at
he time He speaks OF one time when he
| first began to travel in the territory. He was
| 10 Pembna, and having finished his business
there, he concluded to reach point aoout
| twenty miles southwest of there, where he
| nad customer who kept combination hotel
| and store. 1t was sort of travelling post,
W ere the Indians bartered pelts aud buffalo
ZONES for provisions, tobacco and trinkets.
a
| Chicago hardware store, and as he wanted TO
| so to the same place, he proposed to Stock
se that they hire team and make the trip
| ON runners. 1t was clear day and the
prairies were level with snow that had fallen
the previous day. Stockdale agreed to the
proposition. A pair of horses were secured
| md hitcned to a broad-bodied sleish, and
| nto it "Stock' dumped his sample cases.
and the hardware man threw in two or
hree sample hoes, rakes and shovels. With
buffalo robes piled around them and muffied
IN heavy fur coats and caps, they started on
| their journey. They had gone about fifteen
| miles when one of those sudden wind storms,
| so peculiar to the prairies of Dakota, swept
| Town on them. 1t was a veritabIe blizzard,
md the air was so full of snow that the occu-
| PANTS of the sleigh could hardly see the heads
| II their horses. To turn back would have
,een the height of folly; the only thing to do
| was to give the horses full rein and trust to
heir instinct to lead them to some human
| labitation. To guide them was out of the
| uestion. The wind Wa now blowing per-
.ect gale and the snow was sweeping over the
| plains in vast icy clou d, and drifting Dallf.
| FOR an hour the horses stru Igtd on against
| these terrible odds, and finally came to
| lead stop, buried to their rumps in tremen-
| dous drift where they lay as helpless as
| though they were dead. Stockdale and his
| companion recognized the fact that they
| must take immediate action or perish, and
| laundering out of the sleigh they sank waist
| leep in the snow. The hardware man man.
| aged to get couple shovels out of the sleigh,
| and together they began to dig into the drift.
| they realized that if they could get far
| enough under the snow. with the robes
| and coats they could manage to keep
warm until the blizzard subsidized. They dug
| d few feet down and then started horizontally
| towards the center Of the drift. After an
| hours hard labor they had dug well under the
| pile of SNOW, and bringing in their robes they
| found that they could keep quite comfort
| able. Sef-preservaton is the first ltw of
| nature, and to do anything for the horses was
| out of the question, and the unfortunate
| beasts stood buried to the bellies ami frozen
| 20 death. the snow drifting around them and
| ,nclosing their rigid forms in an immaculate
| tomb. With their watches the men kept track
| of the flight of time. ''StocK" happened to
| have a pack of cards in his pocket and the
| hardware man had a quart of excellent
| whisky, which he always carried with him for
medicinal purposes. The hours wore slowly
| away with seven-up, auction pitch, eucher
| and poker to tighten them, and now and then
| the bottom of the whisky bottle would be
pointed at the roof of the snow cave. and
| there would be gurgling sound followed by
| d smack of lips and the game would go on.
| At last it got so dark that they couldn't tell a
| queen from knave, and striking match
| they found that it was after o'clock in the
| afternoon. Wrapping themselves in their
buffalo robes they lay down. Starkdsle says
he never slept SO soundly or more
| contentedly than he did that night
under the snow drift. When they
| awoke morning had broken and the light was
| stealing into the CHASTITY cavern. "Stock"
| went to the door and looked out. The wind
| was blowing less frrcely and the snow was
| drifting but little. efore him stretched a
vast waste of snow piled up in great mounds,
| the sides gashed and twisted into thousand
| fanciful shapes by the freakish fingers OF the
gale. Near the opening he could see the out
! lines of e horses as they had stood when
| covered with snow, and they looked like
| blocks of marble out of which sculptor had
| begun to cut equestrian figures. II looked
| IS though they would have to put in another
| day in the cave, and .'Stock" walked dubi-
| ously back TO the hardware man, whom he
| found on his hands aud knees with his ear
| pressed to the bottom of their snow house.
"Whatre you doing?" queried Stock"
"Come here and lsten,'' replied the hard
ware man.
| stock walked over to where his COM
panon was kneeing, and. bending down, he
placed his ear to the snow and listened. A
look of surprise and wonder overspread his
face as he raised up and looked over at the
| hardware man.
What is it?' said he.
II don't know" was the reply, "let's dig"
| The suggestion was Immediately acted
upon and grasping their shoves the men
began digging down into the bottom of their
cave The work was slow, as each shovel
| full of snow had TO be carried to the door of
the cave and thrown out. They mad dug
down a oout three feet when "Stock's" shovel
struck something that gave back a dull
sound. He threw up few shovels full of
snow and scrapiug the bottom OF the hole, he
laid bare a patch of dark, weather beaten
shingles.
sWe're on top of house," he shouted, and
the men, renewing their efforts, soon cleared
several square feet of shingled roof. in the
center of which was found scuttie or trap
door, These doors are built in nearly every
house erected on the prairie in Dakota, and