The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1893-03-21
OUT IN A BLIZZARD.
The Trying Experience Of Gov
eminent Contractor.
Forced to Camp ON Cold Dakota Bluff
whistlinR Winds and Howiing Wolves
Made Life Miserable--A Memoir
able Ride In the Night.


In the winter of 1871 contract that
I had entered into with the United
States quartermaster's department for
supplying wood to certain military
posts on the upper Missouri rendered 1t
necessary that / should spend the
greater portion of the time in the
camps Of my. choppers, which were
scattered along the river between Forts
Benton and Abraham Lincoln.
On the Goth day of January, while
was in camp eighty miles above Fort
Lincoln, a warm snowstorm set in that
lasted for three days. This storm was
followed by a "cold wave" that sent
the shivering cattle to the corrals, the
choppers to the warmth of their camp
fires and hardened the surface of the
snow until it would bear up the weight
of light horse anywhere.
Over this hard, smooth surface,
found myself Swimming one morning
early in February on a light sled,
drawn by two of the widest bronchos
in the whole territory of "Whoop-up,"
as that section of country was then
facetiously called.
It was a glorious sunrise thai
turned my face toward that morning
Far away to the eastward, the great
land-b pillows. white to the crest as the
veil of bride, glistened and grew
tremulous to the gaze. under the daz-
cling burst of sunlight The choppers
were at work and the sturdy blows
that they dealt the tough elms rang
out on the still air with sound like
that of a scattering skirmish fire and
awoke the mapping echoes far up and
down stream. Up hill and down, the
free-going bronchos logged along, I'M
til about four hours of daylight re-
NAMED, enough to show me the way to
Bill Meeker's road ranch, twenty miles
away.
had just begun the ascent of the
western slope Of great divide. the
summit of which was fully four miles
away, when, happening to glance to
the northward, l was startled to be-
hold a dense mass of leaden clouds
rolling up from the horizon. A resi-
dence of eleven years in the north
western corner of Dakota had familiar
lied me with the local sign language OF
the heavens, and one glance toward
this surging cloud-mass told me that
blizzard was loose on the plains Be-
fore / had completed one-half OF the
ascent, battered cloud streamers-
shorn off the front of the storm by the
fury of the wind--were driving across
the face of the sun, changing the
warmth and glow on the eastern hill
SUBMITS to the chill and pallor OF
death. | had watched the advancing
front of many blizzard, but never
had seen one whose dark wings bore
IL so swiftly onward as this was borne.
Away to the left the snowy cone OF a
lofty butte stood full against the
storms front, and the effect OF con-
trast was simply APPALLING. As Hooked
toward this well-known landmark its
outlines grew blurred and indistinct,
and in twin king it had disappeared
from view as completely as If the earth
had swallowed it up. Then there
came distinctly to the ear a dull, hol-
low roar, such as the mariner some
times hears at midnight, when be-
calmed in West India seas, in the front
| of a hurricane. The bronchos heard
the ominous sound and broke into a
run, as i slackened the reins invol-
UNFAIRLY, while listening.
In order to avoid the deep coulees
which, on the eastern bank OF the
Great Bend of the Missouri, run well
back from the river, the road curved
sharply to the left, at the summit OF
| the divide, which point reached just
In time to catch the full force of the
| first rush of the blizzard The trend OF
the road sent me straight into the
teeth of the tempest | had small
hopes of being able to face the storm
for any considerable length OF time
One minute OF 1t was enough. That
nv team was still running knew by
the tugging at the reins and the bound
ing of the sled. for the rising blast
drowned out every sound and the
singing ice-needles that filed the air
limited my range of vision to the
length Of the sled. Respiration, at FIRST
difficult, soon became well nigh impos-
eible, So to avoid being suffocated out
right brought the bronchos around,
all to the storm, and narrowly escaped
capsizing the sled in doing so. l knew
that down in the Missouri bottom,
about five miles away, lay Bob Flavin's
beef ranch, and while the prospect OF
finding it under present circumstances
was slim enough, l determined to make
1.-THE attempt. 1t was SIMPLY impossible
to travel in the opposite direction, and
even the toughest cayuse must soon
freeze to death, unless it were kept on
the move, for the air had grown in
tensely cold. AS If divining my inten-
tions, the bronchos galloped off mile
or so toward Flavin's while / was
. debating in my mind what was
the best thing to do. let the
brutes have their heads while the
daylight lasted and the ground was
level, for knew that near the river
the country broke into coulces tina
wound In all directions except the one
in which wished TO travel | STRUCK
q narrow one just as darkness was set
ting in. IL was half full OF driftet
snow, and the bronchos sank into l
till their ears were scarcely visible
The little brutes fought out OF 1t, bu
the struggle tanned them down and In
clined them for walking. After abou
an hour Of cropping around in the dark
ness, during which time ! had not tn
slightest idea as to my whereabouts
the sled bumped into narrow wash
out, in pulling out of which the fasten
ing Of the sled tongue gave way, hold
ing together just long enough to draI
the sled to the summit of q slight rise
when 1t parted and the team, plunginl
violently forward. jerked me over th
front Of the sled. struck the groun
with stunning force and was dragge
some distance before ] could loosel
the grasp Of my benumbed hands o
ths reins Wh4n ! wa AHA 70 gaf y