The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-18
A MARVELLOUS BLIZZARD.
1t Built q Roof of Ice and Shut Wan
derers in from the Storm.

1t Built a Roof of Ice and Shut Wan
derers in from the Storm.
81 was driving a bunch of cattle from
Yanlzton to Deadwood," said the blizzard
expert of the New Orleans Times Democrat,
when we saw signs of trouble one after
noon and made for timber. We were lucky
enough to strike a grove of cottonwoods
before night, and soon had the stock in the
center of the grove. In the couple of hours
left before dark we fell to with our axes and
chopped down all the trees we could, leav-
ing them lie where they fell and throwing
the small branches to the cattle.
I'VE built 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 cottonwoods
for dear life. Every tree would be blown
down by the wind before it was cut half
way through, and we had trouble in getting
the timber to fall in circle around Us and
the stock, which was our objec. But by 9
o'clock we were pretty well hemmed in,
and the snow, which fell so fast it blinded
you 10 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 wore two big cottonwoods, regu-
lar granddaddies, in the middle of the cor
raj The snow gathered so thick on them
that they soon covered us like a real roof.
and there we were roofei in and walled in,
with our forty head of cattle, as secure as
if there wasn't blizzard in tho whole of
Dakota. And we didn't have to wait long
either, for before morning the storm bad
turned into a regular blizzard, the famous
ono of 1876 that frOZe so many frontIersmen
and so much stock TO death
Before we rolled into our blankets by the
fire it was II o'clock, and the wind which
had blown a. first from the east, shifted
around to the northwest, and began TO roar
like thousand stamp mills Each time it
shifted it banked our barrcade deeper and
higher with snow. and by midnight we
couldn't see over it. The cattle huddled
together under the tree right next to us.
They chewed away at the cottonwood as
contented as you please. Their warm breath
made distinct cloud that seemed to hang
around the two big trees over the corral as
if it we're too solid TO be blown away. At
this time the wind seemed to have been alb
solutely walled out from us; we could hear
it high overhead, but we didn't feel so much
as an eddy. | must confess that it gave me
some alarm to see the white barricades all
around us growing to be as tall as treetops,
apparently.
"How long we slept we never knew. Most
billiards. last three days and ara worse on
the second When we woke ND the stock
was standing there, as content as ever,
chewing away at the cottonwoOds and quite
warm and comfortable. The air all arou d
us was warm and STILL and the big bed Of
Goals to which the fire had burned down
gave out n cheerful glow that was sugges-
tive Of dressing gowns and slippers. There
wasn't speck OF snow visible on the trees
or ground. Overhead, resting Oh the tops
of the cottonwoods and curving down to
the tops of the barrcade we had built and
the storm had strengthened, was n c1n,cal
roof of solid ice that shut us in as com
pletely from the st lrm that ragel as if We
were in stone castle. The heat of the fl 'e
and exhalations from the closely punched
steers had surrounded us with "A warm at
nOSpher3. which melted the ice in the air
as fast as it came over our corr |, fusng il
into a continuous ceiling which gradually
grew thicker and heavier and must have
fallen in on W had it not had the trees in
the center ana our bulwarks around the
sides 70 rest ON.
"Well, there we We're, as snug ms bugs in
rugs, aud after the novelty of the thing had
worn off we had a good time, can tell you.
We killed beef, made common 81 OK of
our pocket TASKS, and were as happy rs
kings in our ic' palace. One of tho ripping
est games of poker | ever sat into was hy
that very fire in our frost tent The drip
was disagreeable, for the inside heat kept
up continual melting from the roof but
the storm repaired damages outside AS fast,
ii not a good deal faster.
"Whcn the thaw did como we came near
being drowned, of course, but think ex-
press The sentiments of the entire party
when | say we parted with a feoli Of
genuine regret from our wonderful corral
That was the worst blizzard known in the
West since SO, we heard along our way to
Deadwool. But we didn't feel any Of it,