The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1895-04-13
BAD BILLIARDS..


~ x1a1oa.
Tho blixsard, - the plain mans vef-
|uaeular desianetee the prairie snow
storm, u utterly incoudp dpFshensible to
one who has not experienced 1t. Gem
Grated In the great storm-breeding re-
Qions Of barren British AmeR3ca, and i
swept on arctic blasts along the vast
level reaches that stretch eastward
from the Rocky mountains, with no
forest 10 break its force, It becomes
demon Of the air, second only to the
tornado or cyclone in destfuctfvenesA
The moisture il ground as between
millstones, hurled with bullet-like en-
erpy over hundreds of miles Of level
plain, and finally transformed into
yeasty sleet by the softening eheets OF
lower latitudes, fal1s In bleak showers
on the ranges of Texas and No Name
Land.
Lack Of cheap building material and
/. the brevity Of the winter season on the
prairies contribute to make the settlers
cabin poor refuge. When the blizzard
comes every resource OF fuel is husr
banded, and It Is faced with . grim de-
termination to see it through, says the
Detroit Free Press.
But not all are prepared even 50 well
as the settler. Occasionally . belated
eniarant, en- route either to chosen
claim on the frontier or toward the
pleasantly remembered east, where he
hopes to find old friends and helpers, is
caught by the blast. He may have
tiny stove inside the canvas-topped
prairie schooner, but its heat can do
little against the power Of the storm.
Sheltered by the low bluf OF some ra-
vine or water course he may weather
the dragging hours OF suffering, but the
chances are that team and driver win
be found ghastly monument to the
storm kings strength.
The farmer who has hurried ten or
fifteen miles to the nearest village to
secure supplies for the impending Wis
itation is often overtaken before reach
ing his waiting family and perishes on
the road, for no matter how well he
knows the path, when the blizzard
RACES his way is as that Of the mariner
without compass.
At the prairie schoolhouses, where
the settlers children are gathered
from a territory covering many miles
in every direction, the blizzard brings
terror to the pupils as well as to their
parents Rescue is impossible until the
iull comes, and awful possibilities lurk
in the bosom of the storm. A Dakota
schoolmistress last winter failed to dis
miss her scholars in time for them to
reach home, and found herself and
them prisoners from blizzards ap-
proach. A night and day at least
were before her, during which her lit
tie charges must be protected. Deliber-
ately she apportioned the food remain
ing in ther dinner pals, divided
the larger bows into squads and
put the younger pupils TO steep
ON the benches Then through the
bitter night she sang. declaime0, told
stories, invented games. and kept the
frightened children amused danl sASered
as best she could. The following day
passed much the same, but -stiRi no
abatement Of the storm nor any rescue
The second night was dreary indeed
The children cried themselvogt 70 sleep,
hungry and cold. WITH her own hands
the teacher broke mp deaks and black
board to feed tho voEacfous stove.
With thu morning canne shont at the
door a. the settlers ahfvel4d away the
snow; snd then the plucky gil 70 whom
the children owed their HIVES showed
her womanliness and fAinted
The loss among stock 1od the plains
bv each blizzard fssppGlllAg. There is
less exposure Of herds and focks now
than in earlier times, yet every season
c.uaes the destruction Of thousands OF
head of cattle and sheep on the ranges
and in the unsheltered corrals. Sew
eral wears ago, during the height OF the
Texas cattle trade. blizzard in west
ern Kansas early in December de-
etroyed more than half Of 500. 900 cattle
that were being herded on the open
prairie. At one railway station after
the storm. 5000 hides were shipped;
~ another. 10000. One ranchman
fonnd but ees head alive out OF 1900
that had been grazing before the catas-
trophe. Several hundred ponies and .
score Of herders also perished.
ThA blizzard Il . permanent 1eature
Of the prairie winter. Nothing but :
decided climatic revolution can secure
20 the great trans-M Mississippi region
inmunity from its death.heering preer
ence. Better preparafaons arc yeesay
heinr made to Withstand it, fury, and
70 protect more generously the dumb
Animals who suffer equally with their
n...%e-. The sio,nal service il render.