The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-11-19
FORTY BELOW
A blizzard Experience In the North
west.

A Blizzard Experience In the North
west.
The story of the blizzard cannot be
told without some reference TO Cecilia
domestic arrangements, because aM our
peril came from the departure OF Linka.
the strong-armed Norwegian hand
maiden. The manner of her departure
was abrupt She appeared at the sit
tfng-room door, where Cecilia and
sar sewing. late one cold November
day, and said: 'Peterson's sled is mere,
Mrs Gor1on."
To me the communication WIS VOID
of interest: in fact, a mere idIe an
nouncement. But for Cecelia III was
fraugnt with some hidden, baledul
meaning. for she dropped her sewing
exclairndng in dismay:
''L:nka!'
Yes, ma'aan, I got to go and make
them q day or two visit. am sotIy
when Mr.. Gordon's away; but Karl
comes and gets in your wood ana
coal"
Kari was an ancient Morse, who.
three times a, week, tn a. mofh-eaten
fur cap and a frost-bltten buffalo over
coar. charged around Cecelia's back
ward. like a huge bear trained 30 do
nes9ic duties, getting in the coal ana
wood.
Cecilia with some reluctance gave
her consent to, or, more properly,
agreed to Linka's departure. and five
minutes later pretty Linka, with her
head envelolpsd in a pink and blue
spangled "fascsnator,' jingled off IN
the snow w.sh half-a-dozen OF her
Petersen kin.
81 wish those Peeersen's were in
Jericho" said Cecilia; they always
come and snatch Linka from me when
Bob's away
why don't you say no?'' said
''Ycu know Sc little about the north
western servant" said Cecilia with
commi5egauing s7nGle. DO you KNOW
Linka IS about the only desirable ser
want here in Forkinglson, who is will
ing to work and not eat with the fam
ily? If | should deny her the pleasure
of going to the Petersens, she would
leave me- and then where would l be? %
For my part, l bore more lightly than
Cecilia the departure of Linka, for
knew very little OF the serious incon-
venaence it entailed. =
When bedtime came, / followed Ce-
celia around the house, assisting her
in the duties that now devolved upon
her The plants had to be eqlveloped
III nfghfgowns- of newspaper and placed
upon a table not far from the glowing
coal stove. Some water was pumped
at the kitchen pump and brought into
the dinine-room and also placed net
far from the stove.
1.-THE pump might freeze during the
night Cecilia explained, "and II we
left this pail of water out in the kitchen
all night we would have to work AIT it
with a hatcalet TO get enough ice to
melt for our coffee. Well bring in the
milk, too; it's a little easier to pour
milk than it is to break it off in
chunks. Now. the butter had better
be brought in; it peTrifies if il is left
in the kitchen pantry, and you can't
chip ii off without a. geologist's ham
mer i'm the morning"
Before we went up stairs Cecilia
wrapped herself in a, shawl, put on
pair of thick gloves, and made an eX-
cursion to the store room. She came
back blue with cold. Hurrying up to
the Stove she pulled off her gloves and
held her hands out to the bliaze.
It's the coolest night by far that we
have had. 1 went out to see about the
coal and wood. There arc enough to
last until Karl comes tomorrow morn
ing"
Cecilia spoke as though Karl's COM
ing was as certain as the coming of the
morrow, but l remembered having
heard Bob speak of Karl's fondness for
pure alcohol. and it dawned upon me
that if Karl should indulge his alcohol
ic appetite at the present time, the re-
suit might be serious discomfort for US.
At least it would necessitate our going
out the next day in the bitter cold to
hunt UP a man to perform Karrs du-
ties, for neither Cecilia nor l was
strong enough to bring in the coal
and wood from the shed, which was,
as Bob once sarcastically remarked,
only ten minutes walk from the kit
chen door.
AS Cecilia expressed no fears for the
morrow, I kept mine to myself and we
went upstairs to bed in rooms that
were warmed by little oil heaters and
the pipes from the downstairs stoves.
l woke up in the morning to see Ce
celia dressed and seated on the edge
of the bed. She was very completely
dressed, in fact. even to jacket, fur
collar and gloves.
Have you been out?' I asked sleep
lily.
stove has"
1t is a tragic event in the winter in
the northwest if the coal-stove goes
out. Good managers light their stoves
in October and keep them burning till
the middle of May. The careless and
improvident, however frequently
awaken to find the thermometer 40
below, and the black, cold coal-stove
glowering at them. As it takes nearly
an hour to get a thoroughly chilled
coal-stOve warmed into life, the care
less and improvident, blowing their
stiffened fingers in the 40 below" at
mosphere of the room, make firm reso-
lutions to be more careful in the fu
ture. l looked sympathetically at Ce
celias fur-lined gloves.
1--WE got it started again." she said.
81 tore around and made it go. Oh,
it's an awful day: it's a blizzard; it's
all gray and furry outside. You can't
see two feet before your face, and the
snow is sitting and drifting about in
great heaps and piles. There's a snow
bank outside the kitchen that would
opeaed the door. The rubber plant ard
the palm are frozen stiff Only that
ugly geranium that never blossoms is
left alive"
Cecelias eyes filed with tears as she
gave this last bit of news. She pulled
I'D her fur collar around her ears and
buried her head in the pillow.
There are coal and wood enough to
last until noon, I think, by skinching,
and there's no prospect of Karl's COM
ing. OH don't you wish you were back
again in steam-heated New York;
The only conscious wish that al that
moment animated my CONCEALED being
was that I might get bodily inside of
that absurd little oil-stove.
It's no time for idle wishes. Cece-
liza 1 said: I'VE must go out, immedi-
&tely after breakfast, and hunt up
someone TO bring us some more wood
and COAL
''Oh you innocent said Cecilia.
eco out day like this? My dear, we
are prisoners until we are dug out.
We can't so much as put Gus noses
outside the door, unless we want to