The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1899-01-05
FURY OF A WESTERN BLIZZARD.
For Three Days II Whirled the Snow from
the Bad Lands TO the Gulf.

the Bad Lands to the Gulf
To appreciate the severity OF the
recent storm that ragged in Nebraska
for three days, one must have been III
| the position of the stockmen OF the
State, exposed to all the fury OF the
| blizzard on the open prairie, 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 Noun
| tain range on the west to the TIM
bered States of the Mississippi val
ley on the east. For nearly three days
and nights the velocity of the VIM
was that of a first class tornado-seV-
enty-five miles an hour-and durlhs
that whole period the atmosphere was
filled with fine particles of snow anu
ice carried with the force of rlfle pan
against all Instructions. The ranch
men found it impossible to Withstand
the clements, even with their ulsterS
and furs. But even if they could nave
done this it would have been danger
Gus 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 II
was not possible to see ten yards
ahead for many hours. They must IN
evtably have perished. During this
time the mercury had gone below zero,
though the sensible temperature was
many degrees colder This was the
condition responsible for the heaVv
loss of sheep and cattle on the ranges
of Nebraska and in the sheep-teedlnS
pens of the State.
Commission men of the Eastern mar
kets kept the wires hot for several
days trying to ascertain the extent OF
the loss, but it was n week before the
ranchmen could agree as to the loss
4 sustained, and even yet many OF them
admit that their estimates may nave
to be changed either way CONSIDERABLY
as some of the cattle punches wan
dered 100 miles from their range III
their mad race to keep ahead OF the
storm. One instance as to the man
ner in which losses were sustained IN
sheep is given by James Berry,
large sheep owner, whose ranch is slt-
uated near Ashland, but few nun
dred yards from the precipitous banks
of the Platte River A bunch of about
1000 sheep We're securely penned IN
large inclosure. After the storm
had prevailed with great fury for sew
eral hours this bunch began to smoth-
er the weaker animals, all crowdlnG
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 a rush for the open. car
rieG away a strong fence and 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 per-
ished. This was the worst disaster
chronicled during the storm, but there
We're many instances where similar
punches running with the storm per-
ished in streams or met death by rush.
ing over precipices. Even those herds
which found temporary shelter in ra'
vines and behind sandhills were little
better off, as they crowded together
so closely rs 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
perished.
While the snowfall of the three days
in the aggregate did not approximate
four inches, the furious wind kept the
mass constantly in the atmosphere,
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
10 then stick there and perish of cold
and hunger. This was especially true
of sheep. the cattle being sufficiently
strong in most cases to go through the
largest drifts or kick their way out
after n time. The manner in which
the snow was piled up on the open
prairie in this storm was surprise
\ TO the oldest pioneers in the state.
None of them had ever seen anything
like 1t before. Distinctions no larger
than a sandhill foot high would start
a drift, which would assume the pro
portions of a gigantic mountain within
an hour, only TO melt away the next
hour.
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