St. Paul daily globe., 1888-03-10
A BLIZZARD EXPERT
Relates How 1t Built a Roof of
Ice Over Men and Cattle, and
Saved Them From the Storm.

Relates How 1t Built a Roof of
Ice Over Men and Cattle, and
Saved Them From the Storm.
New York World.
81 was driving bunch of cattle from
Yankton to Deadwood," said the bliz-
zard expert at an up town cafe table,
"when we saw signs of trouble one
afternoOn-it was eleven years ago this
month-and made for timber. Wewere
lucky enough to strike grove OF cot
tonwOOds before night, and soon had
the stock in the center of the grove. In
the couple of hours left before dark we
fell to our axes and chopped down all
the trees we could, leaving 'em where
they fell and throwing the small
branches to the cattle.
1--WE built a roaring fire, but the wind
rose so high two of us had to stand by
and watch the blaze all the time, while
the other six whacked away at the cot
tOnwOOdS for dear life. Every tree
would be blown down by the wind be-
fore it was cut more than half way
through, and we had trouble in getting
the timber to fall in circle around us
and the stock, which was our object.
But by o'clock we were pretty we'll
hemmed in, and the snow, which fell so
fast it blinded you ten feet away from
the fire, quickly gathered on the limbs
and dry leaves of our bulwark and built
big white wall around us, which grew
at last thick enough to shut out the gale
entirely.
"There were two big cottonwoods,
regular granddaddies, in the middle of
the corral. The snow gathered so thick
on them that they soon covered us like
real roof, and there we were rooted in
and walled in, with our forty head of
cattle, as secure as if there wasn't a
blizzard in the whole of Dakota. And
we didn't have to wait long either, for
before morning the storm had turned
into regular blizzard, the famous one
of '76 that frOZe so many frOntlerSmen
and so much stock to death.
''BefOre we rolled into our blankets
by the fire it was IL o'clock, and the
wind, which had blown at first from the
east, shifted around to the northwest,
and began to roar like thousand stamp
mills. Each time it shifted it banked
our barricade deeper and higher with
snow, and by midnight we couldn't see
over it. The cattle were huddled to-
gether under the tree next to us. They
chewed away at the cottonwood as con-
tented as you please. Their warm
breath made distinct cloud that
seemed to hang around in the two big
trees over the corral as if it were too
solid to be blown away. AT this time
the wind seemed to have been abso-
lutely walled out from US; we could
hear it high overhead, but we didn't
feel so much as an eddy. l must con-
fesS that it gave me some alarm to see
the white barricadeS all around us
growing to be as tall as the tree tops
apparently.
Most billiards last three days and are
worse on the second. When we woke
up the stock was standing there, as con-
tent as ever, chewing away at the cot
tOnwOodS and quite warm and comfort
able. The air all around us was warm
and still, and the big bed of Goals to
which the fire had burned down gave
out cheerful glow that was suggestive
of dressing-gOwns and slippers. There
wasn't Speck of snow visible on the
trees or ground. Overhead, resting on
the top of the cOttOnwOodS and curving
down to the tops of the barricades we
had built and the storm had strength
ened, was cOnieal roof of solid ice
that shut us in as completely from the
storm that waged outside as if we were
in stone castle. The heat of the fire
and eXhalations from the closely
punched steers had surrounded us with
warm atmosphere, which melted the
ice in the air as fast as it came over our
corral, fusing it into continuous cell
ing, which gradually grew thicker and
heavier and must have fallen in on us
had it not had the trees in the center
and our bulwarks around the sides to
rest on.
swell, there we were, as snug as bugs
in rugs, and after the novelty OF the
thing had worn off we had good time,
L can tell you. We killed beef, made
common stock of our pocket TASKS,
and were as happy as kings in our ice
palace. One of the rippingest games
of poker | ever sat into was by that
very fire in our frost tent. The drip
was disagreeable, for the inside heat
kept up a continual melting from the
roof, but the storm repaired damages
outside as fast, if not good deal faster.
''When the thaw did come we came
near being drowned, of course, but |
think / express the sentiments of the
entire party when say we parted with
feeling of genuine regret from our
wonderful corral. That was the worst
blizzard known in the West since '56,
we heard along our way to DeadwoOd,
But we didn't feel any of it,"