Democratic messenger., 1888-03-03
A REMEDY FOR BILLIARDS..
Forestry Should Isc Greatly Stimulated
by Dakota's Sad Experienced.

ny Aohotbb rnU EhRtftGuCcs
Forestry. by the sad experience OF this
winter. should be greatly stimulated In
Dakoia. A blizzard Is simply strong,
cold wind, moving unchecked over leagues
Of light, unpackcd snow. Il sweeps up
that which has previously fallen, carries
II away IN the color Of n vast shaken
fleece, distributes II 10 that almost each
atmospheric atom has It's little particle,
and drives along all with steady fury.
Whether fresh snow Il falling cnn seldom
be determined by people out In n real bliz.
zar,i. As far rs the eye can see upward,
and that Is but little space, the hurry Of
minute pellets hurling Through ether"
across an unrevealed sky prevails, and the
hurrying sameness on every side Is varied
only by occasional tall ard bending
wraiths whcrs the wind whirls in shifting
column. A confusion Of the senses, com.
parable to none produced otherwise,
appals one submitted TO the enormous and
binding force Of such q snow filed wind,
and scarcely u distinct thought remains
except that the awful cold fOrbi,ls crouch
Ing for rest and shelter.
To our personal knowledge, one In such
q storm Keeps with difficulty upon rail.
way track lifted three feet above the sur.
rounding prairie, aud may bc lost by five
steps the wrong way after stumbling
eown from the embankmcnt, which, being
white, becomes instantly Invisible. II is
recorded ON good authority that bands Of
tcaustcrs halting with their horses have
been showed over thirty feet deep by
blizzartis. and have survived by beating
ont breathing chambers till the cessation
Of the storm enabled them to dig them.
selves TO upper air. The formation Of q
drift about halted man, or horse, or
sleigh IL sometimes wonderfully speedy,
and the drift, once established, grows by
virtue az its obstructiy lncss. In some
well authenticated cases lost persons have
been found by the drifts over them and
dug out alive, In others the spring hrs re-.
vcaled cOrpses still untliawcd amon:, the
last white relies Of winter. In blizzar,ls
people have often been unable To sec across
the street Of a northwest town, and some.
times men lose their direction In trying to
reach the opposite side of well built
way.
This does not indicate that the blizzard
would prevail II large tracts of wood OBJ
strrctc,l the wind, as the buildings Of a
city do. The storm Is fully developed
before reaching the town. aud ragcs
through and over the comparatively small
buil,lcd space. But extensive forests or
many roadside belts Of woWl would keep
the blizzard down. Their frequent occur.
renee aud the great loss of life from them
enforce the need. which exists from other
causes, for systematic tree planting on the
plains. To branch out roads. ms they do
over lakes, rivers and plains In the Quebec
province, Is impossible on the trccless
prairie. Nor would the device always
save travellers. The Mennonites have
wisely established n post road many miles
long In southern Manitoba The posts
arc about ten inches In diameter, fifteen
feet high, and not more, 10 our rccollcc.
ton. than iif:y feet apart. Yet travellers
often stray from that road in blizzaris.
Toronto Globe.