The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1886-11-25
THE SNOW STORM.

THE SNOW STORM
The storm of last week, although Sc
we're enough, does not rise to the maj
esty of an old time blizzard. AS the
''returns" come in from other parts of
the country, it is found that it was not
general enough over the northwest to
rank among the great snow storms. 1t
came from the south and did not reach
to the Red River Valley, where Indian
summer still prevails. Moreover it
continued only two days and nights
while the genuine blizzard runs three
days and nights.
The thaw which came on Monday |
last and took part of the snow gave
further reason to hope that one o: the
old.fashioned hard winters had not set |
in, but cold wave followed in its |
wake and brought cold Thanksgiv- |
ing season, which is the rule in this |
climate.
We shall he glad to catch at some |
straw or weather indication that prom !
ises mild and open winter, and by |
"open" we mean exempt from block |
ades, the railroads kept "open." But
heretofore heavy snowfall has always |
followed dry season, and we have
never escaped severe winter, with
more or less blockade, when it shut |
down upon us with snow storm in
the middle of October or November.
We hope to escape this time, but
forewarned is forearmed, and the AD-
VANCE has sounded the note of warn
ing for some time. Better to be pre-
pared than to be caught mapping with.
out supply OF fuel and the staples of
lite.
Old settlers may not need to have
their memories logged, but the new
settlers among our readers may be ben
efitted by being told of former hard
winters. Twice, we think, this COM
munity was saved as to fuel, by a sort
of especial providence.'' The first
time was during the winter Of 1928,
when Prof. Humiston got in 200 tons
of coal and piled it up in the yard of
the Worthington Hotel. He was
warned by an old settler and got the
coal in just before the blizzard of Nov.
l3 shut down on us and the road was
blockdded all winter with the excep-
tion of one train which worked through
after the first blizzard. The second
time was the blockade winter of 1880
l, when parties from above Mankato
became 'possessed" with the notion
that they must send wood to WORTH
ington. They were laughed at by our
own people, but they went on piling up
hundreds of cords in front Of the park
and on the common in front Of the Nc
Manus House. The ''possession" this
time was by good spirits, for before
spring came every chip of those big
rows of cord wood was snapped up a.
So a cord, and then we had to fall back
upon the railroad coal sheds and de-
pend npOn ration of one barrel of
soft coal at time. This was eked out
and distributed around until trains got
in.
The blockade lasted over 40 days as
to passenger trains, and we notice in
looking over the ADVANCE files, that
the first freight train in for eleven
weeks arrived at the depot on Sunday,
April II, 1881. 1t left SO, 900 pounds of
freight on the platform and merchants
and others did not wait for Sunday to
pass to dispose of the freight. The
town had long been out of kerosene
and had about got out of tallow dips.
A little brown sugar could be had, but
only enough to sweeten a ''tooth.''
Teaming or wheeling had to be
abandoned for several months of that
memorable winter and men took to
snow shoesfo get about and some be-
came quite skilled as skaters on snow.
Our Scandinavian and Canadian
friends had the advantage of US then,
and seemed quite ''at home" on sled
shoes.
We hope our people will not see an.
other such winter, but our advice.
given for what it is worth and in full
knowledge of the past, is to lay in sup
plies as much as you can conveniently.
Since our last issue two eminent per.
sons have died. Ex-President Chester
A. Arthur died at his home in New
York on Thursday last. and Charles
Francis Adams died at his home in
Boston on Sunday last. Two scholarly
gentlemen who have occupied large
space in the public eye, one in Office
and the other nearly always refusing
Office. have gone to join the great ma
jority."
The Worlds Advance Thought,
sreaklng of the poem publ, led in this
issue. says that no poet is 1T his best
IN following a model, or imitation.
Yet there are instances wnere they
were at their best. Pope's works were
modelled after Dryden's. The Ode upon
St. Cecelia's Day was modelled upon
Dryden's, almost close imitation, and
yet Dryden's is almost unknown, while
Pope's is known and is vastly superior
to the original. So it was with much
ct P0pe's verse in the heroic measure
He was an enlarged and improved Dry
den. and virtually absorbed and hid his
master.