Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1896-12-10
MARK TWAIN'S
BLIZZARD STORY,

In that most delightful OF all hi
stories. .Roughing IT, Mark Twair
writes of snowstorm i'm the Rock
tes. It is filed with the author
quaint and irresistible humor. bu
nO other American writer has eve
furnished better commentary {,
he accompanying picture OF bIix
gard.
4 have scarcel5 exaggerated |,
detail of tia cafi|as elx<u<ar<,
@zys 42ssn. u o0earre3 AIln3.
rxactly as have stated it,
The story contained in the chap
ter. "A New Start for Carson run.
thus:
We (Ollendorff. Ballou aud y
mounted and started. The snow
lay so deep on the ground that
there was no sign of a road percep.
tible, and the snowfall was 90 thick
that we could not see more than q
hundred yards ahead, else We could
have guided our course by the
mountain ranges.
For an hour we poked along wea-
rily enough, but at the end of that
time we came upon fresh trail
and OlIendrff (who hid been the
leader of the partly shouted proud
Iy:
i knew i was as dead certain as
\ compass, boys! Here we are.
right in somebody's tracks that
will hunt the way for us without
any trouble. Let's hurry up and
join company with the party
We hurried along. and at the end
Df an hour the tracks looked still
newer and fresher-but what sur
prised Us was that the number of
travellers in advance of US seemed
TO steadily increase. Somebody y
suggested that it must be com pa
ny Of soldiers from the fort, and
so we accepted that solution and
logged along n little faster still. for
they could not be far of now. But
the tracks still multiplied. and We
began to think the platoon Of sol
ilrrs was miraculously expanding
into regiment-BallOu said they
had already increased to five hun
dred ! Presently he stopped his
horse aud said
Boys, they are our own tracks.
aud we've actually been circussinp
round and round in a circle for
more than two hours. out here in
this blind desert! By George this
Is perfectly hydraulic J!
We certainly had been following
our own tracks. Ollemdorff and
his mental compass were IN dis
grace from that moment. After
all our hard travel, here we we're on
the bank of the stream again, with
the inn beyond dimly outlined
through the driving snowfall.
Presently the overland stage ford
ed the now fast receding stream and
started toward Carson on it's first
trip since the food came. We hes-
rated TO longer now, but took up
our march in it's wake, and trotted
merrilly along fer we had great con-
tidence in the drivers bump Of To-
c,lity. But our horses were no
match for the fresh stage team.
We were soon left out Of sight ;
but It was no matter. for we had
the deep rats the wheels made for
guide. By this time it was 8 in
the afternoon. and consequently it
was not very long before night
c,me-and not with lingering twi.
] ght, but with q sudden shutting
down like cellar door. as is it's
hsbit in that country. The snow
was still as thick q ever. and Of
course we could not see Is steps be-
fore us. but all about us the white
glare OF the snow-bed enabled ma
t" discern the smooth sugar-loaf
m 'unds made by the covered sage
bushes. and just in front of us
the two faint grooves which we
knew were the steadily filing and
slowly disappearing wheel tracks.
Now. those sage bushes were all
about the same heigh.--three or
four feet they stood Just abou,
seven feet apart. all oser the vas.
desert each of them WAS mere
snow mound nov /; in any direction
that you proceeded, the same m in
a well laid -ous orchari-you ~ould
ind Yourself moving in a asll-ds.
fined avenue. with a row of thea