The herald., 1893-11-12
THE HEROINE OF A BLIZZARD,
The Wonderful and Timely In
stinct Of a Scotch Collie.
How Brave Teacher Saved Her
School From a Catastrophe.
a south Dakota School Ma'am Now In
the City and Her Experience With
Death Dealing Storm =
Thrilling Incident.


the most thrilling episodes that ever
occurred in this country. Her name is
now Mrs. Sherrar, but at the time
when she proved her courage, endur.
ance and self-containment she was a
Miss Hungerford, and was the teacher
of little country school in the settle.
ment known as Grand View, in South
Dakota.
She is here on a visit from Salt Lake
city, where her home is at present. A
few days since she dropped in at the
Sxteenth.stree school and made her.
self known to the teachers. She took
great deal OF interest in the discipline Of
the schools and in the way in which
the little ones were put through their
PAGES, and when the noon hour arrived
she consented to relate to the ladies the
incidents of the thrilling event in which
she was the central figure.
The day opened beautifully for winter
time in that region, and the sun shone
brightly through a crisp and biting at.
mosphsre. Miss Hungerford boarded
with q family who had q fine Scotch
collie dog that had taken q great liking
for her, and always accompanied her to
the ecnool house, which was about
mile away. On this particular morning
the dog acted unusually queer, and gave
strong manifestations that he disap-
proved OF her going to school. Indeed
she had to coax him to make his usual
morning trip. However, when she start
4 H.. fo,k f,rl M taA hnr
On arriving at the school he planted
himself at the foot of her desk, and re-
fused to return home as he usually did.
Not wishing to keep the dog in the
&C chool room, as he would divert the chill
dren from their studies, she had to re-
sort to extreme measures to drive him
away; nor did he finally leave her until
she had used the school birch pretty
forcibly in compelling him to scamper
unwillingly off.
She had proceeded in her usual rou-
tine duties but short time when, as
sudden as fash, one of the most furi-
GUS blizzard6 ever known in that section
burst upon the settlement. IL came
wi3h noise so loud that no converse
tion could be heard. The heavens
darkened and the air was filed with
small particles of snow scudding furi-
ously before the racing wind. She saw
at once the hazardous position in which
che was placed, with fourteen helpless
and panic-stricken children in her care,
and the frightful blizzard increasing in
velocity aad intensity every minute.
Some of the isrges~ehil ildren broke for
the door, but she headed them of and
locked it. Her only hope was in getting
these little ones back to their parents
before it was too late. If they ever got
outside and separated they were ire
coverably lost, for it would be impossi-
BILE for any one to be sure OF his way in
q tempest. such as was then beginning
Her presence of mind stood her in
good stead at this appalling juncture.
She tore some of her spare garments into
strips thst would do to fasten the little
ones together, selected four of the chill
dren that lived nearest the school house
and marched them out into the storm
all tied TO each other. The rest of the
children tried to rush out but she
quickly locked the door on them. telling
them she would return in q little while.
After wandering through the dense
storm for some time. and Drawing the
piercing blast as best she could, she be-
gan to despair OF finding the house sbe
was seeking. For q moment the sun
broke through the dense atmosphere
and revealed to her the house they were
seeking, and the parents of the children
starting out to grope their way to the
school. She lost no time in handing
over to them her precious charge, and
then made her way back to the place
where she had left her little flock trsm-
bling with terror.
She again reached the school house
and quickly tied the littls ones to each
other and called forth to reach the set
tlement. 1t was terrible journey. The
blizzard had increased in intensity, and
shot fine particles of snow inside her
garments wherever there was the slight
est opening. The atmosphere had be-
come sharper than rasors, colder than
ice and as penetrating as the blzzar9it-
self. Some OF the little tots staggered
on exhausted through the terrible storm,
but some, weaker than the rest, wanted to
lie down. Had they not been fastened
together, they would have done 30. The.
voice could not be heard through the
deafening roar of the tempest and all
she could do was to shake the little ones
into keeping up when they showed
signs of sinking down. In this way
they wandered FER time that seemed
to ner, oh, go long, 30 much longer than
it really was. And then the doubt and
uncertainty that hung about this terri
BILE journey, for che knew not whether
she was going in the right direction or
diametrically away from it. Her agony
Of mind was maddening when she
ehought that she might be wandering
North into the lone prairie to perish with
her precious charge, for no sooner were
their footsteps in the snow left behind
than all signs OF them were at once
obliterated.
She might have been gone from the
schoolhouse an hour, but measured by
her suffering and anxiety it might have
been days. Her courage was failing
her. Her blood seemed to be chilled,
and became thick and sluggish in her
veins. The little ones ceuld not last
much longer, and she was crazed with
the awful picture that impressed itself
vividly on her wandering mind, OF her.
self and the dear little ones all lying
down and pershing together. Hope
had almost bid her farewell, and in
utter despair she was thinking OF giving
up the unequal fight when che heard q
distant eound thar came family to her
ears like the ghost OF bark. In the
hope that her brave collie--with that
my sterious instinct that makes these
faithful animals in times OF peril more
acute in understanding and wiser in
natural knowledge than their huma n
urotectors-had an infuitiva capaa of