, 1888-04-08

making his venture at night. Accord
ingly, Moore pulled up short, and we both
looked immovably at III friend. Bailey
was a brave man when there was any
thing depending on the venture, but as he
rose to his feet and looked around him he
hesitated.
1t was a fearful scene. As far rs the
eye could penetrate the stability of the
prairie seemed changed to the furious
lashings of a foam white waste of waters.
Great waves of snow met, shifted, spread,
raced like wolves, Joined again, rose, buff
feted each other till puffs of fine snow
sprang into the air, like spray, only to fall
and melt in the sliding streams. All was
unreal, CHASTITY. No sky, but n formless,
impenetrable mass of flying snow; 10
earth except when a sweeping gust laid
bare "A long streak of blackened sod that
had the effect, the terrifying effect, of a
hollow, fathomless trough between the
kissing waves, and over all the night and
tempest were speeding like the flight of
twin eagles.
Our companion set his teeth and made
as il to spring out and set forth. "Sit
down. we shouted. "Do you intend to
commit suicidei" And, with a laugh at
his relieved expression, we pushed the
ponies on toward the west.
1--WE must be merciless now. We are
too far on to turn back, and If we are not
delayed we can reach the shanty before
deep night" l shouted in the ear of the
driver. There were now but two shanties
where we knew of people living, and both
of these were some miles from our desti-
nation. One of these we soon reached
after passing the corner stake alluded to.
1t was a small frame shanty, banked to
the roof with snow and sods; indeed, the
roof was also of sods, laid on for addi-
tional warmth 1t was low and mean
looking at ordinary times, but now, as the
door opened and the red light streamed
out over the drifts glinting through the
falling snow, 1t had q s~ingularly attractive
look. TIL house was full to OVERLOOKING,
we were told, and there were no places
for our horses at all; they would have to
stand out II we staid. 'But we amt
goin' to stay" said Moore, grimly, as he
pulled out into the road, now a mere trail,
to be followed with the greatest difficulty.
Just after turning into this faint track
there came a team of horses rushing to
meet us. As they passed us at a swift
gallop we saw that, attached to the bar-
ness of one, was a boys hand sled, upon
which a long plank was bound, and lastly
IL young fellow lying atop, on his side, in
the way boys coast down hill. He had a
round, red face, on which was n fearless
laugh, and he shook the reins above his
hoOAS Shih anu luAbSu hllO Nv Val n
ness of the east on his way to the settle
ment.
The storm had steadily Increased in
violence, though each stage seemed the
limit of It's fury. The cold grew ever
bitterer, the night was almost upon us,
and the snow filled the air, and we could
see put a few rods in any direction; but
our only resource was to press on out on
the prairie, wrapped in madly swirling
| I-,,l, - ,v,A, n-t -
born, and not only knew our danger, but
how to meet it as well. Our trail was en-
tirely lost, and there was nothing left but
to steer by the wind and the section lines.
For a mile or more we had been following
n furrow which had been plowed along
the section line, and we must now leave
that and bear to the southwest.
Therefore, taking the wind (which we
knew to be in the northwest on our right
shoulder, we struck out in a straight line
for the place where we knew the shanty
belonging to Moore must be. We ought
to come near enough to it to see 1t as we
passed; If not-well, we didn't like to
think of that. AS our course must be
made with the greatest care, Moore drove,
while Bailey and / took turns in rigidly
keeping the wind upon the right ear, and
in walking in the track ehind The track
was kept straight in this way and in
CTedSeu our CHalCe5 VI hnulnB Jne mousse.
We were now moving In a circle of half
light, outside OF which, 100 feet away,
was darkness. Without this half light
all was distorted, fantastic. A sage bush,
a clump of weeds, or a tuft OF grass
assumed huge proportions, and through
the treacherous gloom looked like a barn
or n stack Of hay in the further reach of
the eye. A bit Of shingle not fifty feet
from my eye looked 50 like a cabin on the
1 a. - "a lot 49, -rvwlI 49, 7 N H.
fully to my companions that / had found
the house. 1t frightened me when, a few
steps further on, / came to the wind
blown bit of wood, and my vision of the
house and the snowy hill faded out into
the depths of the storm. The snow flew
so thickly hat we could not see the ponies
ut times rs they labored heavily through
the deep snow, for we were on the I'M
burned prairie now and the snow was
mid leg deep. Around me | heard
the multitudinous trampling Of the
SHOWS, the huttering of innumerable
wings, the sheer weight OF an army of
foes pressing against us, small as units, a
terrible force taken together. There were
swirls here and there which opened
vistas in which the mind put vague
pictures of battles between ghostly adver-
saries, and then the snow came down
upon us-ay, IL seemed to leap up from
DeDShlu, ldh lEOHu dDONe, us wen rs urlNe
on the level terrific blast, like sand from
n tube. At intervals we would stop, and
go as far as we dared TO the right and
left, and, STOPPING down, look under the
snow to discover the house. Our course
since leaving the section line was so slow
and painful that it seemed as though we
had been travelling more than an hour,
and finally Moore pulled up and turned
to me with a look of grim resolution on
his face that told that we had arrived at
the same conclusion.
~"Seagraves, we're in for it. We've
passed the shanty without seeing it."
"That's about my idea. And more
than that, l will not go a single step
further in that direction. There is
nothing but a trackless prairie out
there. Our only hope now is to turn to
the southeast and keep going till we
strike the settlement. If the ponies keep
up, we're an right"
That's about the size of 1t, II we've
gone by the shanty, for my claim is about
the last one in the township, and the next
is unsurveyed. So we'd better turn and