The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1902-11-14
THROUGH THREE FEET
OF SNOW.
BY WILLIAM r. L/GHTON.

Warren knew that he must make n
trip 10 the town. about twenty-five
miles away, to buy the winters food
but thinking that IT could be done
when the weather had grown too bad
for his plowlng, he put the journey
off from day 10 day until December
was near at Land and the ground was
frozen hard. Then when he was get
ting ready for the trip his wife was
seized with severe illness, and for a
week he was at her bedside as nurse.
When she was at last much better,
he worked late into the night prepar-
ing for his journey. The supply Of
food was nearly exhausted; the flour
was quite gone, and there was almost
nothing In the house which the invalid
could eat Although his anxiety for
his wife was great, there was nothing
TO be done but 10 leave her and the
boy alone together while he went upon
his errand. He meant 10 start very
early in the morning, hoping TO reach
the town and make his purchases be
fore nlghtfall, and TO return home I'm
the night.
But about midnight he heard n
sweeping gust Of wind roar In the
chimney, and then another. and with.
in few minutes the roar was un-
broken. lie rose and opened the door
TO look out, and the harsh wind chilled
him through and through In moment.
II was sharp struggle 10 get the door
la, a -. 4.
blast. Dressing hurricdly. he went
outside TO make sure Of what was hap
pcning when he had gone 10 bed an
hour before, the stars were shining
brilliantly, but now there was no star
to be sccn-only dull black sky above
and the formlcss black prairie below.
The stable lay n few yards away
from the house 10 the south, and as ne
made his way to It,, the north wind
upon his back forced him TO run. The
horses were whlnnying and stamping
uncasily, as If their instincts warned
them of trouble. Warren closed the
stable door, lighted a lantern that hung
upon the wall, ana busted himself I'm
putting the harness upon the two
horses nc meant To drive TO town, for
he thought he had better start at once.
But when he opened the door again
to return to the house the flame OF his
lantern went out, and ne was thrown
violently TO the ground The wind had
greatly increased i'm strength. and his
face was stung by tiny flying particles
of ice. He was halfstunncd by the
force of his fall, ana lay i'm the door
way way for n moment before he could
rise. Then he used all his strength 10
tried 10 run TO the house; but the
riotous night seemed To bc making
sport Of him, for instead OF running he
could only stagGcr stllly, bending his
head and shoulders low and braclng
his feet upon the earth to keep himself
upright
Warren struggled so for several min
utcs. uaablc TO see where he was going.
but thinking he was making his way
straight to the house. until at last he
turned his hack to the wind. and
stopped to look about him. He could
see neither the house nor the stable
nothing but the unhrokcn level of the
prairie that was now whitenod with
snow. The air was SO clouded that his
eyes did not serve him beyond the
range OF few yards.
lie shouted with all his strength. but
even while he did so he knew that he
could not bc heard through the tumult
of the storm. Although he could never
have been far from the house he wan
dered round and round for many min
utes until at last. 10y the mercst acCl-
dent, his foot stumbled upon the rising
dome OF his roof He was SO thorough
ly chilled and exhausted that he must
very soon have given up the struggle
and lain down upon the ground TO he
covered by the drifting snow. When
he got into the house an hour passed
before the benumbing chill left him.
In deep anxiety he and his wife
waited for the morning, and heard the
storm increasing. The evening before
Warren had brought into the house a
plentiful supply OF firewood. and there
was enough wood piled outside To last
for four or five days. The wood would
outlast the food
The blizzard blew until darkness
came at the end of the second day.
When Warren opened the door he
found his house almost buried In a
drift. and I'm the doorway n solid wall
OF slow rising 10 the top. With much
labor he forced his way out. until he
could stand with his head and shoul-
ders free. Nothing was to bc seen hut
an unbroken eXpanse Of snow. and as
he foundered about he found that
around the house IL lay more than
waist deep.
A weight OF fear settled upon him.
The sun had set an hour before. but he
could see that the clouds were broken.
| although they were still drifting wildly
with the wind. His only hope lay In
| the probability that there would be nC
further fall of snow. When he returned
| 10 the house he cooked little of the
food for his wife. then he endcavored
to sleep that he might be strong for the
ordeal OF the morrow.
He could not guess how long IL would
take him 20 reach help. and his VIII,
was far too weak to Ice left alone. 50
when the cold. clear morning came. h,
prepared TO take her and the boy Will
him upon horseback through the snow
They might all perish of cold upon th,
prairies. hut he thought that such !
1. III.