The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-03-30
LOST IN THE GREAT STORM.
Eoarch for the Dead on the Plnins-A Sut
Story.

A letter from Syracuse, Ka., says
Although there have been many colder
days in Kansas than those experienced
! during the recent blizzard, there never
was Il tierccr wind nor Il more binding
and cutting snow. For days it seemed
as though the earth was wrapped in
vapor. and objects not fifty feet away
were not distinguishablc.
When the storm subsidized and the in
tense cold had moderated sufficiently
to make it safe for men to venture out,
reports were received of many fatalities,
and since that time men havc been busily
ut work securing the plains in search of
possible victims of the blast, and for the
purpose of visiting remote habitations
and relieving distress. Riding yesterday
In the face of a keen northwest wind
that secured the prairics bare in some
places, and in others polished the heaped
up masses of snow until they looked like
brightest silver, a rescuing party came
upon n little plain board shanty about
twenty miles west Of here that told
plainly enough that death was within.
On one side of the building the hard
earth was swept clean, while on the
other side the glittcring and hard- rus
cd was piled from five to ten feet
high. Against the door of the shauty
the nov had beaten until it could scare
ly be distinguished from the side of the
house, while all about the place were
violence Of recent settlement and the
hard beginnings of a pioneer life in the
wilderness
One of the hOrscmen ~dismOunted at
the cabin door, and kicking the ice and
snow away, finally forced his way into
the wretchcd abode. Not a stick of
furnaturc remained. The one stove was
cold, and the floors and sides of the
house were covered with frost. In some
places on the north and west exposures,
where little cracks were to be seen,
some of them partly stuffed with rags,
the snow had driftcd in. A glance at
the furthcst corner revealed Il mass of
bedding, and under it, stiff in death,
with frost on their hair, but eyes closed
as in sleep, were the bodies of a young
woman and two little children. One OF
the latter was wrapped tightly in the
mothers arms, and the other was cling
ing tightly to her back. No one spoke,
but 4 further scrutiny sntficcd to show
how bitter had been the struggle, and
how to the very last the oman had
fought against the inevitable. The
handle of the axe with which she had
demolished the furniture had bccn burn
ed, the blade itself being fished from
the cheerless hearth, and so close had
been the economy of fuel that. though
everything that could be split had been
used not Il splinter was to be found any
where. Pinned against the door was q
scrap of paper, on which the woman
had written:
We are going to bed. have used every
thing that l could lind. and the fire is almost
gone. We have had nothing to eat to-day. If
YOU would only come. Little Mary cried for
You tonight, and before we went to bed we all
prayed for you and for us. I'm afraid about
you the s'orm is dreadful-blt I also fear
that if you come you will be too late.
"Where is the man?" some one
asked.
Lost of course" was the reply of
nearly all the others in concert.
One by one the men filed out into the
bright sunshine INC swept the horizon
with their hand-shaded eyes. Every,
where snow and bleak, bare spots
stretching away for miles and touching
at last the blue above. Slowly the men
mounted and by common consent began
q search of the country within q mile of
the claim. After q half hour or more
spent in this way one of the riders
spied an object which had been partly
uncovered by a preceding horsemen and
a moment later the body of a man was
brought to view. A little to one side
where the snow had been blown away
were discovered the footprints of the
wandcrer and, without much difficulty,
though they were lost sight of frequently,
they were traced in one instance to a
point not more than fifty rods from his
own home. AS he was empty handed it
was evident that he had never got more
than half a mile away on his search for
relief, and that perhaps ut the very time
when his faithful wife and little ones
were lying down to their last sleep he
may have been plodding aimlessly but
painfully in the dreary circle almost
within sight of his own door.
The mans remains were conveyed to
the house, and the men returned here to
make arrangements for the burial of the
u~nfortunates, whose names are at present
unknown. Many other such cases are
reported from the frontier counties,
and it is hardly probable that a full list
of the casualties can be had before tho
end of the week.