Hattiesburg daily progress. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 18??-1909, 1903-12-05

have to struggle with her giant forces
or her more terrible moods, get in the
Habit of using big words for very
small experiences. Every fall in the
mercury becomes a cold wave, and
every decent. ordinary storm is dubbed
n blizzard. AS a matter of fact, the
genuine Western blizzard, when the
air is full of singing, singing, frozen
particles, blowing six ways to sun
day. when man can't see SIX 1eeL III
front of him. when all landmarks are
lost and all signs fail. is something
of which the Eastern States are bless
edly ignorant. Such an one came WIN
in the experience Of the Rev. Johh
Eastman. of South Dakota, ana ne mas
never forgotten it. nor IS he lkeiy 10.
Mr.. Eastman is q member OF the lnde-
wakantan Sioux, an Indian with All
the Indian stOicism, which beHttIeS
hardships for which the white race
would find few words strong enough.
Yet his description Of that nights al
ventures are thrilling enough to prove
that the word blizzard is not one TO De
lightly applied to any little tour-lhch'
we-behaved city snow fall
1t was one Saturday evening when
Mr.. Eastman had been sitting cozliy
In front Of a cracking fire after dlh-
ner, thinking over his sermon Tor the
following day He was tired ana the
warmth and quiet were very grateIul.
But he remembered that his horse was
tired too. He had driven him twenty
miles that day and put him up I'M
blanketed. And so, though he did not
usually attend to the animals uhtn
lust before he went to bed, he declu-
cd to go out and make them comfort
able early. and be done with chores
for the night.
1T was only q step from house 10
barn." says DR.. Eastman. L DID not
think it worth while to take lantern
but | did put on an overcoat Wheh
saw how stormy it was outside II
was a black night and there was
blizzard on. The wind was in my face
and the fine hail stung like shot from Il
gun. 1t fairly bit my cheeks, so that
as | crossed the garden l turned 10
have the wind at my back and get my
breath by walking backward lew
minutes. l saw the light in the house
glowing family through the sleet, as
| walked. Then for a few minutes L
bent my head and butted into the
storm. When l turned again for breath
ing space | could not see the house.
Neither. though l knew l had not gone
7 M L
realized that 1 had gone wrong some
how. but it was not for some minutes
that I understood that the situation
was serious and began to look Tor II.
/ should have thought could find my
way to it blindfolded. but here L was
zig-zagging back and forth and get
ting nowhere.
81 don't know how long l cruised
around as a dog would search a trail.
1t probably was only a few minutes,
but it seemed an hour. 1t was the
longest part of the nights experiences.
I was slow to confess to myself that
keen rs | believed | was in prairie
craft. / was really lost, and could not
help myself even little bit. l sup
pose went around in circle. but
there was no proof to my mind OF the
fact.
1.-THE place was the prairie at Elan
dreau. where l now live. 1t is as level
as this floor, and is now well settled.
but then it was miles to any other
house. Every inch Of the prairie was
like every other inch. When l knew
/ was lost l made up my mind to be
as long as possible in freezing to death.
/ gave up trying to find the barn and
lust walked without thinking where
was going. / kept saying: Walk, walk,
walk
THAT was easier said than done.
haven't said anything about the cold
But it was cold. 1T was the most aw-
full cold a man can feel. But l wei
coined every twinge as an assurance
that I was holding my own, fighting
off the numbness that would have
meant death. My feet 1 kept alive
by running every little while. Oh
course. Z went with the wind SooC
deal. / realized that | shouldn't, anc
called myself a coward and forced
myself as a moral duty to face it, Ant
I fancy it was this moral duty tha
saved my life-kept me fighting some
thing all night though for that matter
/ fought myself, calling myself foo
all the time. 1 pounded myself ant
occasionally even kicked myself.
Some time in the night the temper
otnra must have moderated At an
rate, the snow began to stay where i
fell. I have about given up all hop
of living when suddenly l noticed i
was harder to walk through the snow
Then l began to feel sleepy. 1t grew
ON me and | thought l would lie dow
and rest, for l was very tired. But
rebelled against this as piece of folly
/ kicked myself and again called my
self fool.
~rhen the first / knew l was dow
on my hands and knees in the snow
I guess / did not much realize my dan
ger. / remember l noticed the snoy
drifting around me. l had my bac
to the wind / had found horses an
cattle frozen to death. standing wit
their backs bumped up against tn
wind.
AT was conscious of the drift CREEP
ing up on me, and said to myself tina
/ was being slowly buried alive.
wondered who would find me. if the
would know me, what they would So
at first and what everybody would sa
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