Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1888-02-06

their way home.
Some of my scholars, living a mile
and half from town, went home
safely, but I think l should hesitate
to have them attempt it another time.
When we5 hear of the children, and
even grown people, lost in other
places, we are very thankful to have
been spared similar trial.
The following characteristic and
interesting letter is from our old
friend and citizen, |. P. Gage, who
is doing work in Nebraska under the
auspices of the Sunday School Union.
He wrote in response to a letter
sent to him to get an accurate and
detailed description of the blizzard:
Dear Editor,-P be glad to COM
ply with your request for ga detailed
account of your blizzard,' but how
can [? In the first place it wasn't
mine. I'll never own it. There was
plenty for everybody to have a share,
and l am more than willing to divide
up. Then again you mistake when
YOU think it was a s'detail." No, no
it was a full line of battle, division
front, guide centre and it was not
more than ten seconds after it was
started before guides were every
where in great demand. I've seen
cold weather before; we rather
brag about our winds out here-the
tired kind, such as Longfellow de-
scribed as ''weary with travel'-but
nowhere in our history has anything
quite equalled this last. No back
tracks for us you see we are ''boom-
ing still.
But to start out intelligently. Win
ter with us began in November
Thanksgiving Day-and has been I'M
usually close and quite cold ever
since. We've experienced several
cold waves and been on the outskirts
of several more. One could not Of
ten get into sight of a weather signal
station without having their black
flag flung at him; and snow has fall
en- continually. The blizzard came
on the 18th instant. Thursday
morning the wind was southeast, land
snow falling; rather moist, and not
exceptionally cold or disagreeable.
Prophecies of a thaw and rain were
freely exchanged. Farmers turned
out their stock, people went to mar
ket, and everybody grew thankful.
So matters went on until between two
and three o'clock in the afternoon,
when without any warning, the wind
changed to northwest, and blew a
regular hurricane-the blizzard was
upon uS-duo Tic oil was IulI VI
binding snow; eyes could not be
kept open an instant, and not one
ready for it. People were away from
home; stock scattered; our thous-
ands of school-houses filled with chill
dren, whose homes were, in some in
stances, miles away. Thousands of
people were frost-bitten, and hun
dreds were frozen stiff. The loss of
stock is very great. Even in the
two weeks since, it is impossible to
compute all the sad results. Incl
dents of heroism in Drawing the storm
to save life are being repeated by the
hundred. Scores of other incidents
will never be recorded by tongue or
pen. The centers of interest seem
to cluster about our schools and
teachers. | could easily tire you by
trying to write out the thousandth
part of what is already known. The
policy for safety lay every time in re-
naming at the school-house, or wher-
ever one found himself secure. Men
away from home of course were anx-
ious to get back, and many ventured
ont in the effort. There was no ex-
cuse for school children, and gener-
ally they were kept by the teach
every exception to this resulted dis
astrousiy, In one district a brave
little woman teacher kept every schol-
ar amid many discouragements. First
the door of the school-house was
blown ins then heavier current of
wind pnroofed the building and
threatened to demolIsh it, The near
est dwelling was good three-foarths
of mile away, but fortunately, the
direction was with the wind. Tying
the children together with their tip
pets, she took the smallest one ia her
arms, and leading the others by the
plunged OPT into wind
and snow-drifts-now down ,apq eli ~
a heap, again up and Oft was
two full hours before the coveted shell
ter was reached, but she took the
flock safely through. All honor to
her. In another district, two girls,
whose home was scarcely eighty rods
from the school-room, pleaded so
hard to be permitted TO try and reach