The Penn's Grove record., 1886-08-21

ever. Suddenly / thought somethiae
had broken the force of the wind for
the moment, which could only be caused
by some building or haystack. l i'm
mediately led the team toward what /
hoped was the haystack, and was de-
lighted to find that l soon ran full tilt up
against the very thing | was looking
for.
BY dint of very great effort l managed
to unhitch the horses and let them run
loose. l thought it was only fair to
give them their liberty and let them run
home if they could find the way.
And now my main troubles arose. L
found 1 could not pull out enough hay
to make a covering for myself, and my
hands were becoming SO benumbed that
l was hardly able to do anything. by
this time the darkness of night had set
in and to the other terrors was added
the certainty that / must soon succumb
to the fatal drowsy feeling that was
stealing over me. | wanted to get on
the lee side of the stack and lie down
out of the wind and sleet. 1t was only
by a most determined effort that L
aroused myself and strove to think how
[ could SAVE my life. Again the eXl-
gency of the danger seemed to sharpen
my wits and l saw that my sole chance
lay in setting fire to the stack and warm
ing myself by its flames.
NV fingers were so numbed and pain
full that | could with difficulty find my
matches. There were only a few In the
box I~.discovered, and the furious twind
made me more nervous than ever. L
knew that | must set it afire from the
leeward side or the fire would not last
long, for if it had the wind to fan it
there would be no chance of its contlnu-
ing till morning; so / tried to light IL
from the sheltered side. | first of all
pulled out enough hay to make a little
pile, and then l carefully struck a match
by rubbing it on my trousers. Forum
ately the first one was enough, and l
soon was surrounded by a nice blaze.
The flames increased rapidly, and L
thought the whole stack would soon be
consumed; but luckily the Snow that
had collected on the sides and the top
melted as the fire approached them, and
in this way partly subdued the rapid
spread.
In about a quarter of an hour l was
thoroughly warmed through and
through except my feet and hands.
These extremities | now knew were
frozen, but how much they were frozen
| was unable to tell. The heat thawed
the snow from the ground, and L was
able to stand on the bare prairie sod.
After q little rest l pulled a lot OF hay,
and placing it in a heap, sat down IL
waited for the dawn. When | look back
at it now it seems like hideous night
mare. Surely never was there a more
desolate position for a human beng,
and surely the means to ave a life were
justified. But at the same time The
fact of setting another mans stack on
fire never struck me as being unreasoll-
able.
l sat and watched the greedy flames
dart out and flare up with the most IN
tense interest. My only hope was that
the fire might not go out. Toward
morning the last vestige ef hay was gone,
and nothing remained but the embers.
| As a last resource / was compelled to
STIR up the ashes and stand In the midst
of the last remains Of the fire. / was at
times almost choked by the fumes, as
they were swirIed by the furious wind
into my face.
When daybreak came at last / looked
round in the gathering light, and
thought / saw a shanty down the
"slough" valley. AS the light in
creased | was able to see clearly, amid
the falling snow, it was a house.
The farmer received me with every
hospitality. He would not listen to my
offering to pay for the stack, but seemed
1eIiphtpd To hin that H. had saved a