The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-03-09
OUT IN A BLIZZARD.
The Trying Experience of a Gov
eminent Contractor.
Whistling Winds and HowIinS Wolves
Made Lafe Miserable-A Memoir
able Ride In the Night.

In the winter of 1871 a contract that
] had entered into with the United
States quartermasters department for
supplying wood to certain military
posts ON the upper Missouri rendered it
necessary that l 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, warm snowstorm set in that
lasted for three days. This storm was
followed by '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
SHOW until it would bear up the weight
of light horse anywhere.
Over this hard, smooth surface,
found myself skimming one morning
early in February on 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.
II was glorious sunrise tina.
turned my face toward that morning.
Far away to the eastward, the great
land-billows, white to the crest as the
veil of u bride, glistened and grew
tremulous to the gaze, under the daz-
ziing burst of sunlight. The choppers
were at work and the sturdy blows
that they dealt the tough elms rang
a., l,,s,
that of 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
ill about four hours of daylight re.
manned, 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. ! was startled to be-
hold a dense mass of leaden clouds
rolling up from the horizon. A resi-
dcnce 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 l had completed one-half of the
ascent, tattered 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 looked
toward this well-known landmark its
outlines grew blurred and indistinct.
and in winkling it had disappeared
from view as completely as if the earth
had swallowed it up. Then there
came distinctly to the ear dull, hol-
low roar, such as the mariner some
times hears at midnight, when be-
Gained in West India seas, in the front
of hurricane. The bronchos heard
the ominous sound and broke into
run. as | 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 we'll
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 minnie OF it was enough. That
my team was still running knew by