The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-03-18
FIRST EASTERN TRAIN TO AR.
RIVE TODAY.
STORM WORST IN DAKOTA
Eastern Montana Also Gets Share
Fears Entertained of Heavy
Stock Losses.

While the reports from there which
are obtainable here are only fragmen-
tary, the visible evidence in such as
to confirm everything heard concern
ing the severity of the storms which
ragged for several days in western
North Dakota and the extreme eastern
portion of this state. Not a through
train has arrived from that direction
since early last Friday morning, when
No. 3 passed through. No. II, the
next one to follow, was at first report
ed as ten hours late, but later in the
day a bulletin was displayed that it
had been indefinitely laid out, or in
other words abandoned.
Sunday night a special made UP at
Glendive arrived with mail and pro-
ceeded west, which is the only thing
in the way of a train from the east
seen here since the storm was first
reported.
At Glendive the snow was said to
be two feet deep last Saturday and
steadily growing deeper, as the storm
had not yet abated and more snow
was falling. From there on east it
seemed to be even worse, but the
greatest depth is said to exist between
Bismarck and Jamestown. Trainmen
who have been in communication with
that part of the road said yesterday
that in some places on that division
the drifts we're 20 feet deep. To add
to- the trouble rain fell and a crust
formed on the snow, making it next to
impossible to remove it and clear the
tracks so that trains could be run.
Word was received yesterday after
noon that a rotary and engine had
left Jamestown for the west and that
it was being followed by the delayed
trains, each with an ordinary snow
ploy, and that it was expected the
road would be opened and trains run
ming the entire length by today. If
nothing happens to cause further de-
lay the first trains should arrive here
sometime this forenoon, about 9 or
10 o'clock.
A pile up of trains was reported at
Bismarck and Jamestown, those from
the west hanging up at the former
place, while those from the east were
compelled to stop at the latter, the
two towns forming sthe temporary
termini of the road.
A Glendive dispatch to a Butte pa
per, sent out Sunday, stated that
some trouble had been experienced
in keeping the road open between
that place and Mandan, but snow
plows were sent out and cleared the
track and the road was kept open.
Hard on Stock.
The same dispatch stated that a
freight train in coming down Beaver
hill the night before had run into a
band of sheep that had huddled into
a cut for shelter and that 60 Of them
were killed. Beside those killed in
this manner it was believed that the
loss on the range would be great. P.
B. Moss of this city was said to be
one of the heaviest losers, the tele-
gram giving his loss at fully 1000, or
one-third of the band he turned out on
the range last fall. A special train
carrying hay for the sheep left Glen
dive for Wibaux Sunday.
The snow was said to be crushing
and as there were very few bare spots
on the range it was feared that the
losses to those who had no hay or
shelter would be astonishingly large.
Not only were the sheep men describ-
ed as being in hard straits, but some
of the cattlement were reported as
being no better off. Some of them
turned out a lot of Minnesota "dogies"
last fall and it is believed that many
of those animals persisted, especially
as their owners were not too well
supplied with hay.
Another class of men who were
wearing long faces were the sheep
men who had begun lambing, as it
was believed that they would lose the
greater part of their crops of lambs.
Takes Brighter View.
P. B. Moss, who was named in the
Glendive dispatch as being one of
those who had most likely lost heavily,
stated yesterday that while he figured
on a considerable loss. he did not be-
lieve that he would fare as badly as
the telegram stated. He considered
that his loss would not exceed l per
cent or at most 100 cut of the 5000
head of sheep he had on
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