Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1889-01-11
In Banks Of Snow.
A Story of the Late Blizzard.
BY II. X. COLLINS.

BY II. X. COLLINS.
ats no use, ladies and gentleman,
we can 90 no farther. We have done
the best we know" said the conductor,
in tones that he meant TO be ordi nary
and commonplace, but which had an
ill-concealed ring of apprehension in
them, despite his effort. You can
make yourself as comfortable as you
can, and in two or three hours an
engine viii start from the other end of
the road to help us out" he continued,
and passed on TO the engine,
This was provoking. There was n
whole train load of people, fully ten
miles from Pennington, on little
branch road in New Jersey, stopped by
the snow at the conductors announce
ment, some OF the men arose from their
seats, and leisurely walked out after tho
conductor, with look of intense dis
gust on their faces. The lady passen-
gers shivered as they looked out OF the
windows ut the swiftly flying snow, and
declared it was too bad. Each express
cd his individual opinion TO his neigh
Dor, and seemed to ease his mind in so
doing. some complainingly, some laugh
ingly, the great majority good
humorcdly, and trying to make them
selves as comfortable as possible, set
tied down TO wait, how long they did
not know,
The conductor went ahead to the en-
CINE end climbed up into the cab.
"WeIl, Jim, what's tho outlook. Can't
you drive old Seventy-three through
itpn
mo, George, it's no go; the bank
ahead is fully five feet deep and there
Is no doubt but that there is fully fifteen
feet of snow in the cut, and we're in
for it and no mistake. To back out is
out of the question, as the first car
would be of the track before it had
gone hundred feet; the storm is in
creasing every moment, and unless
they miss us at the other end OF the
road and send out help, there is no
knowing when we will be out OF this"
Very well, Jim, we'll make the
best we can of it; this is not as bad "a
smash-Hp. Blow the whistle every
few moments so if an engine should
DO on the road looking for us they will
the passengers"
The three coaches of the train pro-
baby contained one hundred and fifty
passengers, on their way from Fleming
ton to Bound Brook, About thirty-five
of them we're young ladies on their way
to school, and their lively chatter, with
their frequent bursts of merry laughter,
showed that they were not very sorry
eyt,, IL in
nasty, cold snow-drift The hours wore
slowly along and the storm was increas-
ing in furry instead of abating, and the
wind, terribly cold, had increased TO
blow a gale. The hour of noon came
and went, but no assistance for the
spowed-in travellers. Someone asked
the brakeman to put more coal on the
fire, as the car was getting cold. The
brakeman shook his head, and in an
aside to the passenger said that the
coal was nearly all gone. The cry for
coal came from all the cars, and soon
tho last bit of coal was gone. Tho
situation began to look desperate, and
tho men gathered in the baggage car
TO talk it over away from the women so
as not TO arouse their fears any more
than possible. All suggestions were
quickly proven impracticable, there
was no way out. At last, someone said,
"well. we need not freeze TO death, We
are standing in the woods; get axes
and I'll be one TO get out and cut wood
and another party can 60 in search OF
some house where we can get food A
search through the train brought TO
light two axes, and party OF five start
ed out into the woods; two worked at
=, l. 4. TO-, Il ii
tho wood to the train. In this way the
fires in the cars were soon going again,
though it kept the two axes working
lively to cut enough wood; but there
was no lack OF hands, as the men were
willing and anxious to work. The party
that started out in search of farm
house was not SO successful. After three
hours tramping through the cold and
snow, they were forced TO return, un-
successful, 10 the train, cold, weary
and hungrier than ever, though there
was not "A man among them who would
acknowledge that he was tho least bit
hungry. at was for the sake OF the
ladies, you know" And so the night
closed in around them, the wind howl
ing the drifts getting deeper every mo-
ment
Among the lady passengers on the
train was bright, brisk, little school
marin who was on her way TO her
school. She was just as sweet and plea
ant as though there was no such thing
as snow and cold and discomfort in the
world. She went around among the
other ladies cheering them up, telling
them that the storm was not half as
bad as it might be, and that help was
sure TO come soon. She cheered them
up immensely. There was a young
man who seemed to be travelling with
her as her escort. Ho did not take tho
same view of affairs that she did; he just
crowled and growled. first at the train
men, "they were lazy set;" then at
the railroad company. "they did not
care rap for the q mfort OF the pas