The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1905-11-24
STORM WAS SEVERE.
Southern Nevada Experiences Blizzard
With Accompaniment of Snow

With Accompaniment of Snow
And the wind blew and the snow
fell. The foregoing statement tells the
story in epitome of the sudden transit
tion from months Of sunshiny days 70
wintry blasts with accompaniment #
snow and ice from which the southern
Nevada country is just emerging.
Shortly before midnight Sunday the
north wind rent his ice shackles and
bursting forth from the frozen fast
~nesses of the Arctic swept over the
desert in a veritable rury. Els advent
was announced by a shower of hail
whose gatherings resembled the rattle
of drums punctuated by the shrill fife
ings of the olast; and following closely
came old Boreas, lashing and squirting
his forces on in their ~blighting, death
threatening raid. All day Monday the
battle of the elements ragged unces sing
ly and on Tuesday dwindled away into
intermittent skirmishes. Fierce little
spear heads of sleet and snow checked
the progress of the wayfarer and
thrust their jagged points at every vul-
nerable spot until ones face and hands
were r~oughened and Redeemed by the
venom of the attack. The storm was
one of the most severe ever visiting
this section and for some time after its
passage the trails to outlying camps
were clogged and made impossible by
hugh drifts of snow. 1t is estimated
that on a level the snow was over a
foot in depth with drifts at various
points from four to six feet in height.
At shutdown Monday the blizzard
was at it's zenith and the cold was in
tense. At that time a party started
from Ida for Goldfeld in an automo-
bile, nearly perishing before reaching
shelter. Shortly after leaving that
point the machine became snowbound
and the men essayed to complete the
journey afoot. All traces of the trail
were obliterated by the fast drifting
snow and the party quickly lost all con-
ception of direction and distance. Be-
numbed with the cold, and half frozen
by the chill blasts, they wandered
about on the desert at random, not
daring to relax for a moment their
exertions for fear of death. Just be-
fore daylight they succeeded in gath
ering together a heap of mesquite
brush and lighting a fire they huddlei
in the warmth of it's CHEEKY glow until
daybreak. AS soon as they were able
to locate their position they started
toward this city, being forced to break
a trail through the snow the entire dis
lance. Laboriously they plodded on
hour after hour, each man encouraging
and cheering the other to increased ef-
fort, and finally, chilled to the bone
and with frost-bitten toes and fingers,
they reached a haven OF safety in the
Esmeralda hotel. Willing hands there
administered to their distress and with
in a few hours they were none the
worse for the experience save a bad
case Of chilblains.
Prospectors coming in from the hills
state that much suffering prevailed
during the storm, but thus far n,
deaths by freezing have been reported.
Reports from Bullfrog, Beatty, Red
Mountain, Tonopah and other points
east, north and south of Goldfeld, in
dictate that the blizzard was general
throughout southern Nevada and that
while it ragged it was intensely cold.
Little suffering was experienced by the
residents of this city save in isolated
cases and in those instances the condi-
tion has been remedied by the Ladies'
Aid society.
The snow fall was the heaviest since
the discovery of the camp and WAS
somewhat in the nature of a blessing in
disguise as it has settled the dust ques-
ton for several months to come. A
number of merchants suffered a slight
monetary loss by damage to goods by
water that percolated through the
roofs of their buildings on to the
stocks below, and in several instances
it appeared for a time as though it
would require the combined energies of
carpenter and plumber to dam the
food. Which would nave beer expen-
sive.
Despite the severity of the storm and
the extent of the snowdrifts no DELAY
was experienced in the running of
trains, all of which departed and
arrived practically on time. Wednes-
day the work of opening the trails was
taken up and that morning two auto-
mobiles loaded with passengers left
here for Bullfrog. Operations were