The Portland daily press., 1897-12-18

rles Inc mail from Olga, twenty miles
east OF langdon. He had gone over that
distance with the storm in his face. over
prairie without the sign Ola path,
through hilly stretch of a few miles,
where misstep by his horse would have
meant disaster, without being able to see
more than 20 feet in any direction, riding
in frail, slender sled with little cover
ing. Nothing but his Indian instinct
and that Of his Indian ponies could have
brought him safely through the most ter
rible storm which the Northwest ever
knew. And, although there was nothing
of the heroic aboutsit, it seemed that this
ignorant, cigarette smoking, illiterate
half breed felt that he was in duty
bound by his contract to deliver that
mail, on that day, and that no obstacle
should be allowed to stand in his way.
Perhaps in that sense land in what bet
ter way may we judge aotions?) his act
was heroic.
The storm ragged on all that night and
until noon of the following day. Then
the snow shoyels came out to dig the vii.
lage out of its white tomb. Giant drifts
were piled up everywhere, especially on
the south sides of the buildings. They
completely blocked up the store build
ings and crushed in one lnrge glass 'front.'
They looked into the haymows of livery
stables and reared their grotesque shapes
on ell sides. Beyond the court house,
where lively games Of tennis had taken
place only month before, was now
monster drift, 80 feet high. One large
drift lay two blocks long, blocking up
the street and making travel impossible.
1t was not until. Saturday afternoon thai
any farmers came to town, and they were
of the betterfxed'' class, and had stuff
cred few hardships.
Still no train and no thought of one.
no communication with the nearest town
on the line "Was the storm generalsp
clad other comm unities suffered?'' No
one knew. People were not able to make
their way to their neighbors' on account
of the drifts and the extreme cold, for
strangely enough, the blizzard tempera-
ture was about Is degrees above zero, and
as soon as the storm ceased the mercury
fell to 90 degrees below.
Sunday was dreary and restless day.
People were wondering and dreading
what had happened on the vast prairie.
Had any persisted? All hoped not, but
all feared the more. 1t was not until
Monday morning that the first definite
news of the storm came. Farmers reached
town to neg coal or wood for their cold
homes; many of them were able to buy,
but had not prepared for such storm SO
early in the winter. Several were not
able to make path to their stable doors,
but had to dig down through the roof of
the stable into the NOW to get lay to
their horses, which were by this time
faint with hunger and gnawing their
managers. Fires had gone out in several
houses, and deaths were narrowly averted
by the timely arrivals of neighbors.
But there were worse tidings. Two
Russians, man and wife, had come that
spring to the Mennonite settlement, and
were doing well in their little shack
The woman's father had come over the
week of the storm to visit them, but was
on that fateful day at the home of
neighbor. He set out Saturday, anxious
as to the comforts of his children, but he
found in place of the little shack only the
charred evidences of dwelling and some
household goods scattered around. There
was no mystery about that scene. All
who saw it understood it. The fire had
no,, ~ bl +hn lob
from the ''straw stove" and had sent
those two brave exiles from homo into
the fury of the storm and to sudden death
But with characteristic frugality, they
were determined that their goods should
be saved, and. they were dragged out of
place. When the fire died away there
was nothing left for the twain but to set
t.:eir faces to the storm and search for
haven which they found not on earth.
In ir bodies lay not far away from the
fire in large drift.
Only few miles away lived German
family. AS is the custom, the husband
and father had been working OUT that
fall for a neighbor. Friday night he
reached home to find the children almost
wild with terror. Their mother had
started to make path to the stable to
bring relief to the imprisoned beasts
whom she heard crying for food, had lost
her way and had persisted. HHer body was
found several rods distant. There were
minor casualties, but no other deaths
known in that county. The following
spring, however, a plowman breaking
up' claim found the skeleton of man
whom no one could identify or he'd
missed; he. too, may have been victim
of the blizzard.
On Monday the wires became sufficient
ly useful to give the wheat quotations,
and to let the people know that Or an at
tempt was being made to "open up the
llne' with snow shovel and plows.
Tuesday telegram gave the first news of
the extent and spread of thee blizzard,
with its long record of lives lost in the
Northwest Day by day the train came
nearer. In the meantime the lack of fuel