The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-02-08
The Blizzard.

Although the term blizzard " is not
fonnd in Webster's dictionary, it needs
no definition to the minds of most peo-
Pile. The combination of circumstances
which it describes is peculiar. The
word has no synonym. Few, however,
really comprehend what blizzard is;
only those who have made it's personal
acquaintance have full knowledge on
the subject. People at the East some
times speak of experiencing "bliz-
zard," but no true blizzard ever ven
lures East. Its home is on the prairies
of Dakota, Nebraska and Minnesota,
and even there its occurrence is rare.
Old settlers, who are most familiar with
the ups and downs of northwestern
winters, insist that there have been but
two genuine billiards. for sixteen years
and more. One was in the winter of
1873, when the word blizzard " was
coined. Given an open, treeless prairie,
a temperature of from ten to twenty
five degrees below zero, the air thick
with falling snow driven along by the
wind at the rate of fifty miles an hour
let this condition of things continue for
three days, and you have blizzard"
Such was the blizzard of 1873, and al
though nearly every winter since has
witnessed storms approxmating that in
severity nothing has at all equaled it
until the fearful snow hurricane of two
weeks ago. This was not so long in
duration as the storm of 1873, but was
even more terrible in its consequences.
One popularity of the late storm was
its vast extent. 1t reached from Mani
fah oil 70 ho G,,1f 70
seemed to be almost due south, the most
disastrous effects occurring between
the twentieth and twenty-fifth merid-
ians. Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska,
Iowa, Kansas, Indian Territory and
Texas were thus visited. Eastern Mon
tana, Wisconsin and Northern Illinois
also felt something of the force of the
storm. Southern Dakota and northern
Nebraska tell the saddest tale, although
the more southern states probably ex-
perienced as much suffering on account
of being unprepared for such an ex-
IRENE change in the weather.
Another popularity of this most re-
cent blizzard was its deceptive charac-
ter. AS experienced in Dakota, the
snow fell heavily all day Wednesday,
but without much wind. Thursday
morning opened clear and still, and
apparently the storm was over. 1t
proved to be only lull, however, when
the elements seemed to be gathering
themselves together for the most fearful
onslaught. Between nine and ten
O'Clock the snow again began falling,
when suddenly, before any one was
aware, the wind commenced to blow
with terrific force. To illustrate the
suddenness of the change: A lady
working about the house was asked by
her daughter TO notice how gently the
snow was falling. Another moment
and she heard shrek. fastening to
learn the cause of it, she found the
front door torn open by the violence of
the wind, and it required the united
strength of her two daughters and her.
self to secure it again. No wonder that
people lured from their homes by the
treacherous brightness of the morning
were bewidered" when the blizzard
struck them. All day and all night the
storm continued with an intensity i'm
possible to describe. The snow was as
fine as tlour-more properly it might
be termed ice-dust-and was swept
along by the wind with such force that
it would actually penetrate through
ones clothing. The air was so thick
with the flying snow that buildings and
other large objects close at hand were
entirely concealed from view. To face
such storm was out of the question.
The only safety for any one caught in
it was to travel with the wind.
But the most awful feature of the
ton In IN ho ho, g IA:
attending it. 1t was bad enough to
have the railroads blocked and business
brought to standstill; it was worse tC
hear of thousands of cattle frozen tc
death-in one county in Dakota the
railroad cuts where they had sough
shelter were found filled with theil
dead carcasses; but that which soberet
mems hearts the most was the number
of human bodies found lying in the snow
stark and stiff If the newspapers two
weeks ago last Friday had announced
that two hundred persons had beer
killed in an earthquake or railroad acci
dent, what cry of agonized horror would
have gone up all over the land Yet i
is fact that on that day and the dav
preceding even more than that numbe
were frozen to death here in the North
west. 1t is fact hard to be realized
even by those of us on the spot. W.
knew it was cold; we felt the fierce
ness of the blast; some of us haC
fingers or faces nipped by the frost
but we were startled beyond measure
as we read the morning papers The
next day. The great blizzard of 1885,
deserves place along with the Charles
ton earthquake and the Park theate
fire in Brooklyn.
But it is not needful to multiply in
cidents to show the real nature of {
blizzard. 1t is thing to be dreaded
as much so as a cyclone-and it will b'
welcome day for the jewellers upor