The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-03-03

= the rail- OF the hotel piazza:
From my birth TO the present timt
/ have had but one thing happen TO m
[ that was in the smallest degree unusual
5 and that related 10 my marriage. whict
Was q little out OF the ordinary
de spoke with sleepy drawi tha
piqued curiosity, and 1 asked him TO tel
/ US what happened II it wouldn't inter
fere with his nap.
he smiled and yawned and said:
] I was born and brought up in Lara
ME, Wye. and so was Arabella Ara
bella IS my wife I had known her ali
e her life and rad always loved her and
she had done The same by me, and the
course Of our affections ran as smooth
] as molten metal. In 1883 I decided u
marry her. and the day was set for
April % and we invited all our friends
and looked forward TO happy but
commonplace wedding.
Just one week before the ceremony I
was called Up TO North Dakota on a
business matter which [ did not think
would detain me more than three or four
days
"Arabella did a little weeping on my
shoulded, woman-like, and said, What
If you never come back2" But I said,
Now, you know perfectly well that I
always have been as regular as clock
work. It's only a few hundred miles
away, and I'll be back and Wen be mar
ried exactly at o'clock on April p, ard
it viii be the least exciting and Yet hap
piest wedding that ever took place
Il went I'D to North Dakota, and the
1 last ten miles of my journey [ had to
make on foot. While l was wa king
along II began to snow and inside Of
an hour q blizzard was raging. and
had to put in for shelter at the house Of
a lone stranger named Smithson VINO
! kindly gave me supper and told me that
| 1t would be suicidal for me to 20 anv
farther; that Dakota blizzard, the last
/ one Of the season, but perhaps the worst,
was upon US.
When can I return? said 1. He told
me that if the blizzard was a real ener-
! getic one it would be two weeks before
l saw home and mamma. You may i'm
| agine my feelings Hundreds of miles
1 from Ara5ella with less than a week in
! tervening before our marriage, and no
/ Way Of getting word to herr Of course
she would think me faithless.
Il told the stranger my troubles, and
ne sympathized with ne, but said that
no human being could live out in that
storm, and when 1 looked out of the
window [ believed him 1t was terrific.
l had been in the New York blizzard Of
1858. and it was a sultry summer day to
this one.
There was nothing TO do but to grin
and bear it, Maybe it would stop sooner
shan M friend thought He might he
an alarmist but it grew worse and bv
the next morning 1t seemed to be only
Just beginning to get in its fine work.
The mercury went so low that I'd hesi-
tate to say just what the thermometer
recorded for fear of being considered an
eXeggerator. The snow fell at the ate
OF a root an hour on the level The
house was soon covered up and we
would have smothered in time if nv
friend had not happened 10 have a tin
ventilator that ran fifty feet up in the
air for just such occasions.
Not to make long story, it was five
days before that snow stopped. and then
we were showed in to the depth of fftv
feet. And we were down to our last
loaf of bread. But the thing that wor-
RED me most was the fact that it was
my wedding day. / sat in the pitch
darkness, for our oil had given out Won
dering what ATabella would do when [
didn't turn UP. Suddenly we heard a
voice coming down the ventlator. smith |
son grOped MS way to it.
" Who's there? said he.
ats the parson. Have you food I
enough?"
No. indeed said smithson. We're
down to our last loaf How are YOU
able to be about Darson?'
Why, this is the queerest storm that
ever happened All Dakota north Of u;
is covered~ but yours is the last house
in the track of the storm South Of here
the ground is perfectly bare, so I hitch
ed up and brought some provisions along
and drove TO the edge of this mighty
snoWoauk, and then I put on my snow
shoes and climbed up. It's lucky YOU /
nad such long venulaung pipe. How
are you gong TO get out2 Shall I drop
some food down the pipe?'
'Smithson told him that we had not
eaten anything for ten hours. and we
were beginning to get up an appetite.
and the next minute a bundle Of pork
and beans was dropped down 10 us.
If you can tunnel south Of your
house for twenty feet your come out on
clear country. Iii 60 home and get nv
shovel and dig toward You. and Won
ought 20 get out soon
Smithson thanked the dominic. and
we tackled the baked beans, and they
asted like Neapolitan ice cream Then
Ne felt like working. But I was feeling
pretty serious, because knew that Ar
tbella was beginning to worry. Howev- ]
r. I fell to with good will and after !
wo hours of hard work we met in the I
snow tunnel. the minister and ne. and Y
= minute afterward we walked to open !
lir and saw the strangest sight that I
.ould be imagined
North as far as the eye could reach 7
he country lay covered fifty feet deep {
With an Arctic snowfall South of Us
he grass was just beginning TO show Z
,reen, and skunk Cabbages were already /
cushing through the earth. And in front
If us stood the parsons lonely house y
With box of church next door TO y
and not another building In sight I
we gras9e5 the parsons hand and =
~ 81 /
here was one, and then I asked him r
What chances there were If my being c
bic to get back 10 Laramie s
re told me that the road 10 the sta .
ION was completely blocked and Ii would q
@ two DAYS before ] could get through G
'wo days! ] instinctively pulled cur M
-atch. IT was $50 In ten minutes. q
arson said T. my wedding VIII bs due *
J Laramie, and Are bela IS even now s
'aitiug for me-
He was expressing his sympathy when 3
'e heard roaring noise. and Smithsou
AID Run for your Ives A cyclone .
The three Of rs irstncIiyely divad into 7"
b. Snow. Teon we heard a mun cd y
1r ana The earth shook. and Il was al =
ser. JUST 20 make sore. we lar in the
1ow fer a few minutes and fhen re g
-o1t cut Sucl scene as met our
5z TIE church and ire uarson =
7use were the only movable things taat
aau't mosed Trees We're Ieveied on al -'
DIS. and the plains 2 front ~ us were 81
I'D - debris from varols states
Just iu front ~ me were hslf 2 aua-
-ea crates ri eggs whipped IT, eme'e
che wind. bunch ~ bananas.
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