The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1890-04-23

1ul glance at the bright fire. The two
mile tramp, or rather stumble, for about
a foot of snow had fallen, and it yielded
and slipped under my feet, was unevent-
full beyond being fatiguing, and
was at the village in fair course of time.
Here, however, l was delayed. There
were many people ahead of me in the
store, and all there, and moro besides,
wanted to chat with the newcomer,
| and it was seven o'clock when, with
my purchases strapped in military fash
ion to my shoulders, 1 started home
! ward bound.
BY the time 1 had reached the out
skirts of the village l lhad made
two disagreeable discoveries. First,
the snow was falling faster and thicker.
Second, a strong wind had arisen and
was steadily increasing in velocity.
| had read and heard of those frightful
| billiards. which scour over the Western
prairies, their breath as pregnant with
| desolation and death as that of the
tabled dragon, and made up my mind
that this was half-grown blizzard.
Nothing daunted, l plunged onward.
| How the wind howled and the snow
fiew Nothing adolescent about this
blizzard; it was in the prime of vigorous
manhood and growing stronger every
moment. Then I hesitated; the disa-
greeable had merged into the fright
full. l was terror stricken. Wildly
swept that razor edged blast,
bearing with it mass of
snow PARTICLES that stung my face like
fine shot from gun. 1t howled. it
yelled, it whistled in my ears, it hurled
the snow between my cap and coat col
lar, it drove my breath back into my
nostrils, benumbiDg, bewildering in it's
horrible violence. l hesitated; it
seemed madness to proceed; and then
thought of my wife frenzied with fear.
She might leave the house in her mad
grief to search for me, and be lost. 1
| plunged forward. The wind, full of
malice, piled the snow here in cratic
drifts; there it nearly swept the ground
clear. Now it barely covered my ankles,
then it reached my waist, and then
ali! headlong 1 plunged into a mighty
drift. In despair, breathless, strug-
gled to my feet. dashing the snow from
my eyes and ears. l must return-it
was suicide to proceed-so prepared to
retrace my steps.
Where lay the village? Where? 1t
was not dark; there was spectral,
grayish appearance in the atmosphere,
but an object three feet distant would
have been entirely invisible in the
whirling, driving snow vapor. The
village might be in any direc-
ton, and also my house. had fallen
number of times. l had been confused
and worried by the terrible choas in the
atmosphere, and l knew not how to re-
trace my course. God in Heaven-I was
lost! 1 must either lie down and die, or
wander aimlessly until death struck me
down. Perhaps l was near either the
village or my house; but for all practical
purposes they might as we'll be a hun
dred miles distant Knight pass within
twenty feet of my home unknowingly.
A fearful despair almost crazed me;
out l must move. Even as hesitated I
imagined I felt that benumbing sensa-
ton that precedes death by freezing.
1t may have been fancy, but it nerved
me to plunge forward into the yelling
storm. slipped; 1 stumbled; 1 fell
PROSTATE, wrestling with the demon
that clogged my feet and blinded my
eyes; wrestling for life. My breath
came in laborious gasps, drops of ice
cold sweat stood on my forehead, but /
plunged on through the drifts. ''Oh,
God, let me live, if not for myself, for
those dependent on mel" l groaned,
and the wind, as if in derision, screeched |
"Useless, useless!"
made last effort; the snow was up |
to my armpits. Igasped for breath, my !
head swan, and / fell heavily forward
AS fell l was conscious of stunning |
blow on my forehead. The force of the |
blow seemed to rally my senses. put
out my hand and touched something.
Further groveling amid the drift showed
the object to be a tree. In Heavens
name where was 1? Between the village
and my house the prairie was treeless;
only few small bushes broke the level |
monotony. l must have wandered far
from my course, away from village and |
home.
No use in further exertions, I was
doomed to die in this wintry desert; and,
with a sob of anguish, tried to throw
my arms around the tree. That was
besides the eternal wind and |
snow and void. l could pass my arms
around it and die at its foot Then |
arose to my feet, flung my hands into
the air, and in a quavering voice |
"My God, 1 thank Thee!"
AS clasped my hands around the tree
they had come in contact with some
thing movable; it was chain, trace
chain. Now, the reason for my wild |
cry of thankfulness was that I myself |
had nailed that chain to that tree. I |
had so utilized piece of broken trace
chain as means of fastening my horse.
/ had lain down to die within a hundred |
feet of my house.
Carefully passing my numbed hands
over the chain, 1 found it was nailed to
the tree on the opposite side, and in
that direction was my house. Collect
ing my strength, l madly rushed for
ward and fell in dead faint on the
back door-steps.
When I revived l was lying before
the fire with all the blankets in the
house heaped upon me. My wife, with
a half-crazed look in her eyes, was
bending over me, and Baby Nav