The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1893-05-13
OUT In A BLIZZARD.
The Trying Experience of a Gov
eminent Contractor.
Forced to Camp ON n Cold Dakota Bluff
whistlInR Winds and Howiing Wolves
Made Life Miserabie-A Memoir
able Ride In the Night.

In the winter of 1871 a contract that
] had entered into with the United
States quartermaster' 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 l
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 tarmth of their camp
fires and harden ID the surface of the
show until it world bear up the weight
of light horse pywhere.
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,"
rs that section Of country was then
facctiously called.
1t was q glorious sunrise tina. l
turned my face toward that morning.
Far away to the eastward, the great
land-billows, white to the crest as the
veil of 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 elns rang
out on the still air with sound like
that of scattering skirmish fire and
awoke the mapping echoes far up and
down stream. Up hill and down, the
frce-going bronchos logged along, I'M
til about four hours of daylight re-
NAMED, enough to show me the way to
Bill Meekcr's road ranch, twenty miles
away.
had Just begun the ascent OF the
western slope of a great divide. the
summit of which was fully four miles
away. when, happening to glance to
the rorthward. / was startled to be-
hold q dense mass of leaden clouds
rolling mp 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 q
blizzard was loose on the plains. Be
fore l 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 tho
warmth and glow on the eastern hill
submits to the chill and pallor o.
death. I had watched the advancing
front of many q blizzard. but never
had seen one whose dark wings bore
It SO swiftly. onward as this was borne
Away TO the left the snowy cone of /,
lofty butte stood full against tn,
storms front, and the effect of con
trast was simply APPALLING. As Ilooke,
toward this well-known landmark it
outlines grew blurred and indistinct
and in a twin king it had disappeared
from view as completely as il the cart
had swallowed it up. Then Their
/, 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 from
of hurricane. The bronchos hear
the ominous sound and broke into
run. as / slackened the reins invo
UNFAIRLY, while listening.
In order to avoid the deep coulee
which, on the eastern bank of til
Great Bend of the Missouri, run we
back from the river, the road curve
sharply to the left, at the summit {
the divide, which point reached ju!
in time to catch the full force of til
first rush of the blizzard. The trend {
the road sent me straight into til
teeth of the tempest l had su1a
hopes Of being able to face the storI
for any considerable length Of Tins
One minute OF it was enough. Ths
- te.u, s.,ae stf1l running knev h