San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-04-28


SHOWS, the futtering 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, it seemed to leap up from
beneath, fall from above, as well as drive
| on the level terrific blast, like sand from
| 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 look Of grim resolution on
his face that told that we had arrived at
the same conclusion.
"Seagraves, we're in for 1t. We've
passed the shanty without seeing it,"
"That's about my idea. And more
than that, l will not go 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 all right"
CHATS about the size of it, if 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
strike for the Norwegian settlement south
of here. But where's Bailey?'
True enough. l sent my eye around the
circle; he was not in sight. While we were
talking he had lost sight of us, and max
ing detour to see the house, if possible
might be ahead or behind us; we could
not tell. We looked at each other an in
slant in fear, then halloed in chorus. No
reply. If he were to the south his cries
could not reach us; and If to the north
ours could not reach him. Again we
shouted, and again listened. No reply,
though we strained our ears in the steady,
ceaseless roar and scream of the storm.
For the first time l was afraid. In such
a ferocious tempest and in such deadly
cold man could not live long. We took
turns in shouting, but no reply came, till
lull in the wind not only left the air
clearer, but softened the tumult in the
ear. and we heard faint cry in the dis
tarce-"Help!" 1t seemed so far off
that it had no more force than the cry
of kitten. We could not tell whether it
was on the earth or in the sky, or whether
we imagined it. but soon it came again.
"He'S at our left" said Moore, pulling
the horses about and following the cry.
At every few rods we would stop and
shout, and listen for his cry, which grew
each moment stronger, but he was not
approaching us, he was waiting for US to
come to him. Soon we were within speak
ing distance, and he was directing US
where to find him. 1t was strange that
he did not approach us. We thought he
must have met with some accident, when
suddenly he stood beside us. With a
single word, 'FOllOw me, he started off,
the horses following him. We could not
see him, but we knew he was on the
track of something Soon we came upon
a small barn heavily banked with snow,
and with hOarse cheers we shook hands
and yelled, 81 told you sop We had hit
the barn, and the house was near by and
easily reached.
Without stopping to talk of our good
luck, we sprang out, and in few mo-
ments the ponies were safe from the biz
zard, their noses deep in some hay and
oats. After rubbing the ice and snow
from their coats, and stirring the circula-
ton anew in their stiff and weary legs,
we gathered our robes and things in our
arms and made for the house, which we
reached in a short, breathless run.
1t was a frame building, 1SX24, which
Moore had erected for summer resi-
dence-a mere shell of thing, with only
one thickness of boards ON the sides,
through which the snow drifted; and as
there was no banking, the cold air also
streamed up through the floor; but rela
lively it was a palace. 1t was shelter and
light, for there was stove and some kind
ling and box of coal. Weneed not freeze
for one night, anyway. We soon had a
roaring fire in the rusty stove and light
in an unwaShed tubular lantern. We also
found a coffee can, and soon had can of
coffee sizzling on the stove. Then we took
the time to ask Bailey about his advent
ure. 1t seems that i'll making detOur
he had caught glimpse of the barn, and
though the storm the next moment COW
cred it, yet he determined to push on a
little further and make sure of it. Luck
lily we did not get quite out Of ear shot,
and the whole ended fortunately, but it
was a big risk to run. AS our frozen
mince pies began to warm up and the cof-
fee to send off a fragrant steam, Moore
sang, exultantly:
The wind howls mad out doors,
The snow clouds hurry past.
We made great picture as we sat
around the red hot stove, with our fur
caps and buffalo overcoats on. The Ian
tern threw red light over us through its
smoky side, and the open jaws of the coal
stove brought out every line of our faces
as though we were the witches in 'tMac-
BETH huddled around the caldron. On
OLE heads the siftad SNOW fell at irtarrnls