River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1895-01-24

In the accounts of the storms last
winter frequent mention was made of
the great blizzard of 'T3." and some
short descriptions given in the papers
carried me back into the very heart
Of that frightfuI tempest and caused
me tOre-live. in the most vivid manner,
the whole of the three days expert
ence l have been IN many similar
storms Of snow but never in any which
had the same sustained, memorable
fury.
As matter of fact. a blizzard on the
prairie corresponds 10 a tempest on
the sea. which never affects the sailor
twice exactly alike. Each nOrther
seems TO have a character Of its own;
one may be short. shaT high-keyed
and spitefuI; another slow. steady, re
lentless. wearing out the prisoned peo-
pie by day after day of storm
siege while another would be simply
appalling with the suddenness and in
finite weight of its snow and the in
teusity OF its cold.
Then again each storm has its spe-
cial mode Of attack One threatening,
mutieTing and lowering for days, while
another, like the great blizzard"
leaps like "a stalking tiger on the trav-
eler d. is this storm which Is SO de-
strUctive To life. Coming almost in
Etautlv out of a clear sky. il finds the
traveller Tar from home. the children
~ school and the husbandman UMPIRE
pared FOR the assault. Such was the
character Of the blizzard in February,
ISIS.
All day on that memorable date the
ueighburs in their sleighS stIeamed by
the schoolh0use where we youngsters
sat listening 'wistfulIy To the music
n the bells" Everyone was tempted
out BY the brilliant sunshine and the
warm south wind. Farmers went by
with wood racks, bound for the tim
her Ehich grew along the river several
IL fc~ below. Others jingled past in
Ight sleighs. with their wives seated
beside them, on the way to the stores
81 the neiyhboring town
All day. until IIalf-past three, the sun
shoue warm and the caves dripped
uerrly. The windows To the south
were open and the children PLAYED
without mittens. Eat about quarter
10 four the scholars on the north side
~ the T7om looking out saw a wide,
- nmles~. gigantic dome of slaty-blue
cioJj rising. swift, OminoUs and noise
les. sweeping on Ia the south like
the shadow Of night 1T its upper
edges there was "a beautiful fringe of
silver-white vapor which was in mo
tion, Waver.ng 70 and fro, sbimmering
like frost. But the mass of the cloud
had dense, sinister look.
At four o'clock the sun was still
shining, but the edge of the cloud had
crept. or, more properly, shot across
the suns disc. and it, light was grow
ing pale and cold. In few minutes
move the wind from the sOuth ceased
there was "A moment of breathless
pause-aud then. borne on a powerful
IN wind, the streaming clouds
swept upon rs Large fakes of snow,
damp and wide-wiuged, drove in a
level line into the face % the trav-
eler, sticking TO the clothing aud
check and melting rapidly. II was
nos vet cold enough TO freeze, but the
thermometer must have been rapidly
falling. We dashed home merry with
the beautiful now.
By the time we had reached home. a
half mile awav. the wind was a gale
the snow vast binding cloud driving
through the air with a peculiar faint
whisper!uss murmur, edjying and sour
rying in fantastic and beautiful lines
Is the wind spoTSn. with it. Darkness
came or almost inStaaN = and the wind
constantly increased in p<yssr. We
now felt is serso .-sness ami hurried 10
finish the chores.
When the men retursed about five
o'clo-iS, the famil iaT fdces of tie horses
WEE lost III their thick coating OF ice
and Sow. lc5Gles Of frozen foam hung
from IN, II lias, their mares .2d tails
were clumsy mass % half-meIted
nov. The Ipal Of wool was noun
tain of Stainless 81 Is pillars. and IA
ther in MS .-reat- lo.,ilel like a
pgl lar bear. ie the -l.t it could not 7
las, coming from tia quarter
Ns we we're rubbing the ice fro.u the f.
fe-loc' OF the tired horses. the men /
predicted that we were in for ~ all I
night storm. Tho hired man said he /
ney-s'j seen il snow 50 fast but once I.