The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-02-16
SNOW STALLED.
\ story of a Minnesota blizzard
How the Cow Saved the Baby.
BY LILLE c. FLINT.

BY LILLE C. FLINT.
Copyrighted, 1895, by Lille C. Flint.)
1t. was in the winter of 90 that 1 had
occasion to go from Des Moines to Min
neapolis Friday morning was clear and
cold, about twenty degrees below zero,
colder than is usual in Iowa. l fortified
myself with as good a breakfast as one
can eat at $50 a. m. and with unusual
fOrethought took luncheon enough Tor
one meal.
The train consisting of baggage car
and two passenger coaches, moved slow
ly out of the depot, and settled itself for
a long pull of three hundred miles to-
ward the north.
The windows were SO frosted that even
after a. m. When ii was light enough
TO see. we could not catch glimpse of
the country through which we were pas
sing. Taking my knife I scraped d place
on the window and found that the air
was full of snow, fine needle-like makes
that came against the window like sand,
and there was strong wind blowing.
Iowa and Southern Minnesota are al
most as level as a house floor, the wind
has sweep of nearly TWO hundred miles
without any obstruction, and 1t came
against the car with all its accumulated
force.
we went on very well for about a hun
dred miles, and then the storm had in
creased SO that nothing could be seen
two feet away from the car, the air was
so filled with snow
At one of the stations snow-plow
with three engines was sent ahead, and
our train began TO strip for the contest,
everything possible was taken off, the
| extra car Was SIDE tracked and the pas
sengers of whom there were only about
a dozen, put INTO our coach, the little
| freight that was in the baggage car was
put off, the engine took on water and
we followed the snoW-ploW.
| The country was not so Well-Settled as
now. the stations were fifteen or twenty
miles apart, with no houses between or
near the track We stopped and took on
man who was trying to tramp from
| one station TO another, as he had no
money. fortunately he knew enough not
TO leave the railroad track, and try to
| reach his destination, although it was
much nearer across country.
His hands and feet had both been frozen
and some one had done up his hands in
a bread and milk poultice which had
hardened and panied him considerably
1 heated water in "a cup and poured it
| over his hands until the poultice was
moistened and more comfortable.
Notwithstanding that the snow plow
was ahead, the train. moved slower and
! slower, and at last it went chuck into
| a snow bank and stopped In q few min
uteS d man came back from the snow
pillow to say that although it was only
sible for us to get through the snow
was drifting too fast, and that we had
| better try and pull back to Corwith, a
little station about three miles away
BritZ. the next station about twenty
miles distant.
The trainman sent to tell us that we
could not get through, was exposed only
ten minutes, yet his feet, hands and the
front part of his body We're frozen. The
train hands worked over him three hours
and wrapped him up in coal oil and cot
| ton waste, the only remedies at hand.
! 1T was about 1 p. m. when the train
stopped. and L divided my lunch among
! the three little children, whose mothers,
[
sengers on the train. About 4 o'clock the
! conductor came in and said that he had
| found a place where the ladies could stay
and the men would have to do the best
! they could in the car.
There were net more than six houses
in sight, and I turned Up the collar of
my CLOAK and ran across to the little
! fire and we were comfortable.
! They killed a sheep and cooked it, and
that with. some biscuits, was the food
that we had for three days, At night
! as we gathered around the fire, stories
were told of how they put down food
enough to last the cattle three or four
days, and then made no attempt to get
| to them until the storm was over.
Saturday the storm that had continued
during the night, ceased. and Sunday
morning the conductor came in with the
welcome intelligence that the snoW-plow
was coming. Straight away ten miles,
| | could see it put on steam and with all
possible force run into snow bank,
| then the other engines would hitch on
and pub it out to have it repeat the same
| process. and thus it slowly worked its
way toward us, until it stood putting on
| the track at the station with d hundred
men who had done their part toward
shoveling us out.
Half of the men were to go on to see
| that the rest of the road was clear, while
the remainder were to help our train on
north. We left Corwith at 8 a. III. and
went for about seven miles, when sud
denly sharp and clear came the whistle
Down brakes" and the train stopped
1 stepped to the door of the car.
What is the matter, conductor?'
asked as some of the men crowded out
on the platform and looked across the
| prairie.
AN HEROIC COW.
cts Andersons cabin" he replied, Il
| always look for the smoke when I go
past here in the morning. There isn't
|