Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1902-04-09
STALLED IN A BLIZZARD
Passengers Snowbound On a Train
For Five Days.
SUFFERED HUNGER AND COLD
Riot Broke Out In the Struggle For Food.
and Professor Tried Suicide-Cold
Intense and Coal supply Short-Uow
Aid Finally Reached til. Impris oucd
Travclers-An Electricinn's Ueroism.

st. Paul. M!nn.-Passengcrs arriving
on Great Northern train tell OF bcin.
snowbound for four days ard five
nights on the prairies Of North Dakota
in the mids; Of the worst blizzard the
Northwest has seen in many years.
with only food enough for two frugal
meals day. and with such IN amount
of fuel that the women had to wrap
themselves in blankets ana The men to
wear their ovCrcoatS day and night
to keep from freezing.
The train was complete lost To The
world. ON Thursday afternoon it
picked its way out of WillSton i'm
the hope of being able to reach AImgt.
some fourteen miles to the east. be
fore night. Almost midway. 1T Il lnue
stopping place called Ray. where in re
are only siding. Il water tank and u
coal shed. the train was stalled.
The engineer thought ho could run
the engine back To Williston ami set
aid. and. taking The conductor with
him. started on ;hc trip. The lone
engine was stucl, in q DRIFT in q ct
Il short distance out OF town and lmd
20 bH abandoned. this Left the tr..
OF eight coaches and ahoui 2Iu u. '..,'-
gers alone on The siding. with all cu.i-
munication cut of. Then began ire
long siege, during which thr cold lad
10 he horne ana hunger S,iiiod.
There WrS IN iucipicn; riot or trn
hrSt day. The socond-class paSs"u-rvS
insisted that they must have aS mu. II
or more lood than the others. aIA ass
they were III larger numbers aud h.d
more raNSnous appetitioS. it was dl.ii-
cult TO continc them to- their uuu:a.
Many We're not willing. MS the FIRST
class passengers insisted. that the
women and children should he fed and
taken care of first. but after some AZ
Cument they were prevailed upon %
subside.
Monday evening Professor Cole Grove
OF the University of Washington. Whl
had been dcspurdent and morosc. 81
tempted suicide by cutting his throat
with razor. There was Il nhysici.n
ON the train. bat he had no facilities
Tor performing The necessary operation
and it was absolutly necessary to rer
INTO communication with one of the
neighboring towns.
in their desperation the passengers
pTok" open everything in the trains
chcSt. and in the conductors box found
telegraph instrument. young m.n.
m electrician. faced the blizzard ana
tapped one of the wires and attached
the instrument. He notified The opera
tors ut both Minot and Willis;on OF
what had occurred.
From each place a snow plow was
started in front OF an engine hearing
surgeon The one from Minot. after
hard nights work, reached the siding
early The following morning and the
wounded man was removed on the first
train to st. Paul, where he was cared
Tor mt the City Hospital The almost
Ihlnished passengers who had suffered
from the cold and exposure were sup-
pied with food and warm berths In The
nrst train pushed through the drifts.
me rotary plow made one trip through
the drlft between Ray and Minot. but
the snow piled in so rapidly that IL was
necessary for the rotary to PASS
through again and then precede the
passenger train through the cut.