The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1889-03-20
THE BLIZZARD LAND.
A Little Talk About SHOWS and Blows In
Northern Dakota.

A Little Talk About SHOWS and Blows In
Northern Dakota.
North Dakota, according to the tenn
perature maps, is the coolest part OF
The United States. This is accounted
Tor by the fact that there are no mount
aims to break the force Of the storms
originating in the Arctic regions.
From Manitoba they come rushing and
bowling into our Territory with great
force, packing the sand-like snow so
firmly that new-formed drifts four or
1--WE feet high will bear the weight OF
horses.
During one of these billiards it is
impossible to be comfortable out doors
even when the mercury does not fall
below zero The snow packs into the
clothing so that no shaking will dis
lodge it, and the sharp particles cut
like glass or steel. 1t is impossible to
face such a storm, and persons and
horses naturally turn their faces from
the blast, and doing so even in the
slightest degree causes them to lose
their way on the plains.
The snow looks exactly like granu-
lated sugar; we never see it fall In
large, Carbohydrates, as it does in
other parts of 1.-THE country. When it
SHOWS it invariably blows, and very
building, large or small, has its circle
OF drifts.
Occasionally for two or three days at
Il time the north wind will take the
snow flying past, and apparently not a
grain of it touches the ground.
Straight south it will 60 in such
masses that you can not sec an object
a few rods from you; then in a few
days the south wind will hurl another
mass back to the north.
But the Northwestern winter is not
all storms and billiards.. There are so
many bright calm days that even when
it is thirtyfve degrees below zero, if
one is warmly clothed, he will not suf-
fer from the cold; the air is so dry that
it Goes not seem to effect one as real
cold day, down-to-zero day, further
south does.
But you must take care to cover ears
and fnger-tips and as much of your
face as you can, or Jack Frost will be
sure to bite you before you know it and
leave white, waxy-looking spot.
Children play out of doors, on calm,
bright days through the cold weather.
Girls and boys attend school regularly,
though some OF them have to walk
two or three miles across the prairie.
A young, rather delicate girl in the
writer's family has walked two miles
when it was 80 deg. below zero, and
did not appear to mind the cold, al
though she was Southern Pennsyl-
yania girl before coming here.
wish the Times boys and girls could
sec the amount of wraps it requires
when one wants to make call on
cool evening; it's a burden to carry
them all. A great many hen and
women, and even children, through
the country. wear buffalo coats that
cover them from head to heels.
Ice three feet in thickness forms vn
the Red river and its tributaries. The
ground freezes to a depth of six Or
seven feet. and snow is often found
under straw or hay piles in June and
July.
The houses are mostly frame. A
very few brick ones are built, and
these, unless painted. are light yellow
In color, owing to the clay from which
they are made. Early in the winter
the houses are banked, some of them
to the window-sills, with earth, straw
or some other material to keep the
cold out. Each window has a storm
sash screwed on outside the frame,
leaving space of several inches be-
tween that and the inner sash.
Small sheds are built at outside
doors, and every crack and Granny
through which the wind or snow could
penetrate is closed.
When the snow melts in the spring
The ground is full of immense cracks,
stretching out in every direction.
which make it look like huge map.
Philadelphia Times.