Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1886-11-17
Touching the Landscape
TRANSFORMS the Scene to
one of Winters Own.
A Night of HoWIing Storm Places
an Embargo upon all Human
iiy's Best Efforts.
Ours is the Champion Storm OF
Twenty Years--Buried Rail-
roads, Showed in Trains
and a Grand Victory
for the Elements,

This is the worst blizzard we have
had in twenty years." remarked n old
settler to another old settler this morn
ing. The second old settler bowed ao.
quiescence and we hasten to place it on
the record that modern Dakota has at
last encountered an experience which
buries all the frigid claims of ancient
Dakota, and hat the old timer yields
the palm to vigorous young winter just
overwhelming us, at a season too when
palms are an unreasonable plant.
Last night was one filled with storm
%terrors. The bowling gale, the
binding snow, the fantastic
drifts reaching roofward and burying
landmarks and all earth in their chilling
blanket made it a night when humanity
shrunk from exposure and expanded in
the genial glow of in door anthracite.
There was scarcely anything abroad ex-
cept the storm. Early the lights went
out in the business places and gloom
crouched beneath the white powdered
sky and under the breath oil the blast.
-hSho Y u q ohiok uhutSH-UuS anu
express drivers and the like-whose duty
forced them into the tug of the elements,
and they sailed forth and went it blind
and hen came back and went to bed.
There was nothing humanity could do
except sleep while the blast ratified off
the hours of night. 1T was late in lift
ing the curtain of dawn and when lag
gard day stole in upon us there was q
scene to behold.
During the darkness the breath of the
blizzard had wrought, and dull, sodden
light revealed a transformation wierd
and frigId. The streets were filled with
snow, piled high in places, and buildings
were clad in the ganzy garb of winter.
Pathway and roadway were obliterated
and chaos reigned. Struggling pedes-
trains plowed their way knee, waist and
neck deep through the yielding snow
and disoouragingly remarked that there
was no use going anywhere on an
occasion like this. There was q
booming gale from the !. north, the
northeast and the northwest, ans:
witnessed testify that it blew
from numerous other directions.
The wind indicator on the signal office
had a restless, lerky motion, as its point
sped back and forth and around in a
fruitless effort to officially record the
direction of the blast. 1t blew from
everywhere and the binding snow went
1t.
At eight O'Clock @ vantursome jehu
esssyed to break g Efaca through the
snow piles of Third street, bat the
drifting mass closed in behind
his sleigh nj and
himself and his team were but a
struggling speck in the whitened waste,
leaving not even the sign OF q mark to
show that they had been there. AS the
day waxed the storm kept up its force
and the ordinary transactions of BUSH
ness life nave remained in suspense. 1t
has been one snowy blank from morn
ing until night.
On THE RAILROADS
all business is in a state of enforced sus-
pension. The tracks are in full possess
ion of the snow and no trains are moy-
ing.
The train which left Yankton on the
Milwaukee road for Mitchell at 3:40
O'Clock yesterday afternoon proceeded
no farther than the insane asylum, two
miles out, where it now lies, embedded
in snow. When it was found impossible
to proceed or back out the locomotive
was detached from the train and started
to Iesterville to warn the expected
down train of the condition of the
up train. The locomotive has not
lyet reached baskerville and
its whereabouts ere unknown
The passengers on board the train which
left Yankton for Mitchell are being
cared for at the insane asylum anG
i, ~rations have been sent out from the cit,
{. to the gang which is trying to dig thu
train out. Conductor Conley walked il
from his stalled train last evening ant
procured a gang Of shovelers. De Camp
made an effort TO reach the train witt
his buses, to bring in the passengers
but had to give it up as q bad Job
The down train from Mitchell i
: stalled in assnow bank.two miles mort
of Scotland. The regular passenger trail
from the eaat over the Milwaukee, du
here at $40 p. M, was delayed unit
i, l:30 this morning. Most of the tim
4 was lost at Elk Point, waiting for til
Sioux Falls train, which in turn was de
layed at Canton waiting for a trai
delayed by q derailed locomotive on th
/. & ID. division.
l. On the Northwestern road the accom-
" mediation train due here at $50 lal
q evening halted IN a snow bauk two mile
east of Wakonda and is still there. 3,
:. tween Centreville and Beresford tw
freight trains are showed under and til
Yankton passenger train, due here {
$40, is in warm quarters at Hawardel
The passenger train from Huron cas-
w ward is blookaded at Centreviile.
ne This afternoon an effort was made /
n take a locomotive out from the our
house to the train stalled near the asylum
but it had to be abandoned. The pa