The Arizona sentinel., 1888-03-31
to twenty feet deep and nearly ;

into that cut like thousand of brick, but this time the snow is the victor. Even the big Storm King, with its heavy weight behind, does not help us, and we come to a dead stop, and only rod or so into the cut, with snow in front, each side, and on top we are literally buried. reverse the engine, but the wheels only slip, and sand doesn' do any good. A foot of the whistle. anl the shovelers come swarming out. They work like beavers for ten minutes. and then run for the car, and relief gang comes out
 May be in an hour they dig us out, and we back up mile, and take an- other header into the cut to meet our former fate. A person would think that snow plo dashed against a drift of snow at the rate of from forty to fifty miles an hour would be apt 10 go through not only snow, but through pile of rocks. but it doesn't. It goes just far enough to make the men swear, and get out and shovel
 "Now, this has been only an hour or two's experience. It's quite a novelty. but by the time you have been bucking snow for week it gets monotonous. Some very Imaginable things happen, too, One time west of Bird Island. Minn., we stuck in Q cut. and the men got out to shovel. One of them, a good -natured, red headed Irishman, was in front and was shoveling for dear life 10 keep his blood ill circulation. He had just cut out huge block of snow as big as two barrels when he was startled with 'b-a-ar
 "A sheep had taken refuge in the cut and had got showed in. 'Shure, said Tom, I thought it was the divil.
 'tIt is common thing for cattle to take refuge in these cuts when they get caught in the blizzards. Several times we have run into them. Once we dug out thirty-two head of cattle after my engine had jumped the track from striking the frozen body of one of them. You can bet the boys had steak in the car that day.
 There is a man that I think takes the cake as a snow-plOw engineer l don't know whether he is alive or not now, for I haven't seen or heard of him since 1877. That was Andy Steele, of the Marquette, Houghton & OntOnagon road in the northern pen insula of Michigan. Andy was afraid of nothing, and to illustrate how fear less he was Il relate an incident
 From Negaunee 10 Marquette it's all down grade. so that runaway car starting from Negaguee woIld reach Marquette without any motive power, and going at a fearful rate at the end of it's journey. provided it diln't jump the track. Between Eagle Mil and Morgan is a cut that is nearly mile long. and from ten to thirty feet deep. This filled up with snow and pas senger train was delayed at the mill where there were no accommodations for man or woman in the two houses and shanty telegraph office. The train was put on side track, and Andy was ordered from Ishpeming with the snow blow to clear the Mor- gan cut As Andy was known to every man, woman and child on the penin- sula, every passenger got out in the snow to see him come with the snow plow A half hour later a shout went up: Here he comes!
 Just around the curve could be seen the smoke and steam, and a second more the engine hove in sight with steam on, coming down the grade like demon. There was a rumble, a shriek of the whistle, a black object shooting by so quick that it was indis- tinguishable. But we knew it was Andy Steele with big mogul engine 'Kwasind, which means strong man. How far into that cut did Andy drive that snow blow? Just ten feet sir.
 "The snow was packed solid and the engine wedged in so tight that the passenger engine couldn't draw it back. and it had to be shoveled out, at which the passengers took a hand. | Andy and his fireman were slammed up against the front of the cab, but were not hurt further than few bruises. When Andy alighted from hls cab and saw the conductor of the passenger train coming down the track, he shouted: I say, Mac. I'll bet the drinks that was going hundred miles an hour when struck that cut, , and haven't the least doubt in the world that he was going that fast.
 1.-The revolving snow-plows now in use are great invention. They work on the propeler-b blade style, and cut swaths about eight inches deep and throw the snow out Now, the only thing that is wanted is machine that will pick the ice from between the rails. If man could invent such a machine he could sell it for $1 000. 900 and a royalty that would make a prince of him.
 "What 1 mean is this. In some cases a road is showed up for months, as the Hastings and Dakota division of the St Paul road was, I think, in 1880 Over hundred miles of road was closed west of Bird Island all win- 1 ter. When case of that kind takes place Ice forms between the tracks, caused by the sun on warm days melting the snow, the water draining through and freezing. This necessi- l fnt lol- st -,.I .al- l,r-