The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1888-02-25
BRAVING A STORM.
The True Story Of a School
Teachers Heroism.

The 31st of December, 1856 is re-
membered by many persons as the date
of the beginning of one of the widest
and most fatally destructive winter
storms that ever swept across the
wide, unprotected prairies of the West.
The inhabitants of Illinois. Iowa, Wis
consin and Minnesota, and of the West
generally, suffered severely.
In Middle Illinois the storm broke
with almost the suddenness of q tor
nado, resulting not only in great de-
struction of domestic animals, but in
the loss of many human lives The
season until then had been uncommonly
mild, and even on this last day of the
year the roads were deep with mud.
The morning dawned with deceitful
brightness; gentle, spring-like breeze
came from the south, the sky w.,
cloudless, and the old-fashioned VI.
fence east distinct zigzag shad ha'
along the south side of the road, esl
Mary Rast, a girlish school-teacher, chat
several of her small pupils, all in hihat
glee over the approaching New Yeated
holiday, picked their way carefully Che
ward the school-house. This buildinet
stood out by itself on the prairie, a, +,
the only dwelling within half a N, or
was that of Mr.. Kent, in whose fam W
Miss Rast boarded. Nn
The attendance on that dav was Z
usually small: only twelve scholars u
ported themselves; and these w|"'
mostly from the nearest families; pct
the older settlers. accustomed to tc
capricious weather of the West, h
viewed the brightness of the mornitia
with suspicion, and kept their childtty
at home. By noon slight haze oy rn,
cast the SIM, but the air was still qu +,
and mild, Three boys, who lived abe :. y
mile distant. and q cousin stayf ~
with them, ran home across the tieUR
to dinner, and. somewhat to the teach
er's surprise, did not return.
She was thus left with a flock IF
MIR. Kent; two of the others lived mile
and half away, while the remaining
two, Willie and Mary Wood, who were
only ten and eight years old, respect
lively, came from house fully three
quarters of mile west of the school
house.
At about two o'clock the day sud-
denly began to darken, and there came
few short, but fierce pufs of wind
from the southwest. The young teacher
looked out anXiously, wondering at the
change, and saying to herself that she
must hold short session and send the
children home in good season. For
half an hour all was quiet again. but a
thick, murky gloom came creeping over
the landscape, and few flakes of snow
fell slowly and silently, melting as fast
as they touched the muddy ground.
An older and more experienced per-
son would have known what to expect
from such signs, and would have fled
with the scholars to the nearest place
of safety; but Miss Rast, as we have
said, was only girl, and, moreover,
had never wintered in the West before,
so that she knew little about the fierce
ness of q winter storm on the prairie.
Again the wind blew in angry gusts,
this time longer, louder and more di-
rectly from the west, and again followed
a short. interval of strange silence. The
temperature fell with great rapidity,
until, in few minutes, the air was
freezing cold; then all at once. with a
wild, thunderous roar, the storm burst.
From west to north stretched black,
heaving sea of cloud, tossed and torn
by the wind, that now shrieked and
screamed like storm demon. In
trembling haste the teacher set about
preparing the children for their terri
bic journey. There was no staying at
the school-house, with neither food nol
fuel for the long, bitter night, and she
determined to take the whole company
to her own boarding-place, knowing
how welcome they would be-if only
they could get there.
BY this time the frightened children
were clinging about her, and little Mary
Wood began crying to go home. Pool
little thing! she could not bear to be
separated from her mother, even ovel
night Willie sturdily declared thai
they could get home well enough, bu
the teacher would not consent to theil
making the attempt By going east
with her they would have the wine