The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-12-28
Fury Of a Western Blizzard.

To appreciate the severity of the
storm that ragged in Nebraska from the
evening of November 20 to the morn
ing of November % one must have
been in the position of the stockmen of
the State, exposed to all the fury of the
blizzard on the open praiaie, where the
wind had an uninterrupted sweep from
the Bad Lands of South Dakota on the
north to the Gulf of Mexico on the
south, and from the Rocky Mountain
range on the west to the timbered
States of the Mississippi valley on the
east. For nearly three days and nights
the velocity of the wind was that of
first class tOrnado--seventy.h miles
an hour-and during that whole period
the atmosphere was filled with fne
particles OF snow and ice carted with
the force of a rifle ball against all OBJ
structions. The ranchmen found it
impossible TO withstand the elements,
even with their listers and furs. But
even if they could have done this it
would have been dangerous to have
gone many yards from their homes to
the rescue of the stock, since it would
have been impossible to have found
their way back, as it was not possible
to see ten yards ahead for many hours
They must inevitably have persisted.
During this time the murcury had gone
below zero, though the sensible temper
ature was many degrees colder This
was the condition responsible for the
heavy loss of sheep and cattle on the
ranges of Nebraska and in the sheep
feeding pens of the State.
Commission men of the Eastern
markets kept the wires hot for several
days trying to ascertain the extent of
the loss, but it was week before the
ranchmen could agree as to the loss
sustained, and even yet many OF them
admit that their estimates may have
TO be charged either way considerably
as some of the cattle punches wander
ed 100 miles from their range in their
mad race to keep ahead of the storm.
One instance as to the manner in which
losses were sustained in sheep is given
by James Berry, a large sheep owner,
whose ranch is situated near Ashland,
but few hundred yards from the pre-.
cipitous banks of the Platte river. A
bunch of about 1000 sheep were Sc
curely penned in large Enclosure. AZ
ter the storm had prevailed with great
fury for several hours this bunch began
to smother the weaker animals, all
crowding toward the wall which served
as windbreak. The herders went
among them for the purpose of saving
the weaker animals, when the whole
bunch made rush for the open, car
ried away a strong fence aud rushed
madly off across the prairie. When the
river was reached the whole bunch
leaped into the stream, piled many feet
deep, and every animal persisted. This
was the worst disaster chroniclad dur
ing the storm, but there were many in
stances where similar lunches running
with the storm persisted in streams or
met death by rushing over precipices.
Even those herds which found tempo
rary shelter in ravines and behind
sandhills were little better off, as they
crowded together 80 closely as to
smother half of the number. Before
the sheep could be rescued that had
been shut up in small draws by large
drifts, many of them persisted.
While the snowfall of the three
days in the aggregate did not approx
innate four inches, the furious wind
kept the mass constantly in the atmos.
phere, moving with great force, so that
snow appeared to be falling in great
clouds the whole three days and nights
of the storm. Frequently rushing herds
of cattle and sheep would strike these
great drifts out on the open prairie and
go half way through them by the very
force of their momentum, only to then
stick there and perish of cold and hun
ger. This was especially true of sheep,
the cattle being sufficiently strong in
most cases to go through the largest
grifts or kick their way out after time.
The manner in which the snow was
piled upon the open prairie in this
storm was surprise to the Oldest po-
neers in the State. None of them had
ever seen anything like it before. OBJ
structions no larger than a sandhill a
foot high would start drift, which
would assume the proportions of gil
gantic mountain within an hour, only
TO melt away the next hour.-New
York Sun.