The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-03-22
THE STORMS DEADLIEsT WORK.

The deadliest work of the late blizzard
was manifest in Connecticut. The re.
turns from the Gland of steady habits
come in slow, but the suffering must
have been intense. AS an illustration
we give the story as told by Prof. W. q.
Hardy, who is known to some of our
people. He was for five days on train
that was showed in near Danbury, Conn.
His experience was terrible one and
resembles a romance more than reality
In letter to his father, Prof. Hardy
describes his adventures as follows:
lis it truly so that | can at last sit
down and pen you letter? At one time
| thought / should never write to you
again or look in your faces while in life,
as death was so near to me. 1t was ac-
tually looking me right in the face, but
God was good and has spared me. How
can thank Him for His goodness! II
seems that can never live the length OF
time to show Him how grateful | am.
Well. it was a dreadful experience.
shall never forget the circumstance. !
will try to relate the terrible time had
/ left Danbury at S:45 o'clock Monday
morning for New York. There were ten
men and three ladies, or rather two Ia
dies and 7-years-old girl, on the train.
They told us at the depot that we
could get through to Norwalk all right,
so we started. We had gone about
twelve miles, when between two sta
tons, five miles from either place, we
ran into dreadful drift. 1t was blow
ing and showing like the evil one. We
could not move and there was not a
house in sight. We huddled around the
stove as it was very cold and the wind
was something terrible as it had such q
sweep on those open fields. 1t carried
telegraph poles into the air.
While standing around the stove il
began to hiss. We ran from it, when
suddenly the stove exploded. The end
of the car was blown out. Everyone ran
for the next car. The explosion caused
panic, and in the excitement the lady
and the little girl jumped into the suow
The other lady was scalded from her
hips down by the steam. | escaped Sc
far all right.
In about an hour we missed the lady
and her child. The conductor at once
commenced to look for them and in
about an hour they were found in the
snow by the side of the car the mother
was frozen dead and the little girl only
| lived few minutes afterwards. We had
two dead bodies, therefore, on the car
All the afternoon we passed in silence
We could not see house, and the wind
was increasing. Two windows were
broken by the explosion, letting the
wind and snow into the car. The fire
was also low. 1never expected to live
to see the next morning.
We sat in that car all that night and
until Tuesday noon without thing to
eat. The plush was cut from the seats
to tack over the windows. | had my
night shirt over my head. Tuesday noon
it was blowing terribly, but the conduc.
tor suggested that we start out to find
some house. Some Of the men started
We took the bell rope and tied ourselves
all in a long line. Two of the men would
not go. We were about starved but
walked for an hour through drifts up
to our necks. At last we came in
sight of house.
Some of the passengers froze their
hands and others froze their feet. froze
my ears. Fortunately l had fur gloves
with me and my hands were not injured
All this time we could do nothing for the
woman who was scalded by the explos.
ion. She had to remain in the car and
suffer. We were all exhausted when the
farm house was reached.
The two men that were left in the cars
became frightened at being left there
alone and started hand in hand to follow
us. One of them reached the house,
The other was found Wednesday frozen
stiff in death only little way from the
train. Some of the men went back for
the suffering lady and carried her to the
house on their backs. We stayed in the
farm house until Thursday afternoon,
when the track was cleared as far as
Danbury, and they sent car down after
us. The three bodies were taken to Dan
bury with us. 1t was a heartrending
sight to see us and to witness the father
look upon his dead wife and child. The
man who was frozen was from New
York. l shall never forget the sceue j
feel ten years older.