Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-01-03
LOVE BEGOTTEN IN A sNOwDRIFT
The Remarkable WOoing OF a Kansas
Maid In Which Snow Plough Assisted.

From the Chicago Herald.
Speaking Of marriages" said the Congrega-
lonal minister, lone of the briefest and most
exciting courtships on record was that OF an
acquaintance Of mine who found his wife in
Kansas. 1t was in the winter OF 1S7S-79 and
the fall OF snow was phenomenal in that sec
ton. Beginning with Christmas there was good
slelghing for i've weeks and huge drifts COW
cred the prairies much longer. The snow
had entirely stopped trains on the Kansas City,
burlington and Santa Fe road, and across a
section Of the country known as the Frenc h
Ridge the farmers had been using the cut made
through the hills by the railroad company as a
short and extremely good roadway to town
Long after the snow had melted from the
dirt highway teams were driven down this
valley, and one night this young man of whom
| speak took neighbor girl out for what
threatened to be the last sleigh ride of the sea-
son. They had never met half dozen times
IN their lives, but that did not seriously en-
barrass them, and they drove down the railway
track on the well-beaten snow. 1t happened
the railway company had secured an immense
snow plough with which they meant that night
to open the road from Ottawa to Burlington.
They had two engines behind it, and came
laundering down to French Ridge at a great
rate. and the couple IN the sleigh heard with
dismay the roar and clang OF the huge machine
behind them.
The little ravine between the hills was too
narrow to allow them to turn out, and there
was nothing for 1t but to run. So the horse
were urged to their highest speed and the
sleigh went tearing over the snow with the
monster behind and gaining every instant
Of course the engineer could see nothing
ahead through the tossing mass of snow, and
certainly did not expect anything alive on that
desolate plain. especially after nightfall. All
that horsetiesh could do was invoked, but it
was not enough, for right at the deepest place
IN the cut the great plough struck them, toss
ing team, sled and shrieking riders high into
the air. They landed in a mass more or less con-
fused high up the bank. with snow about them
50 thick they could not fall back on the track
As the train rushed past the horses foundered
out and pulled away the fragments OF the sled
The young woman stood up, shook the snow
from her muff which she had unconsciously
kept in her hand, pushed her way to the bare
railroad and said calmly:
well, we can walk homer
"a view so phllosophic in view OF the re-
markable loss they had suffered quite won the
young mans heart. He also waded out of the
snowdrlft, walked out to where she stood and
put the question direct:
will you marry me?"
. I'll think about it, responded the heroine:
and she did, with the result OF finally accepting
the young man, collapsed sleigh and all They
1--we III Kansas City now, and told me last winter
when visited their pastor that they never had
"a moments reason to regret the sleigh ride
the tossing received at the hands of the snow
plough, or the informal manner IN which their
destinies were united"