The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1907-04-13
Those Dakota
BloCkades


branch line during winter full OF
billiards. rises to remark that the
folks who are bowling against the
railroads I'D there don't know Tnat
they are talking about.
1.-THE dispatches say" he says. "tnat
the present winter is the worst since
the one ten years ago. AS was a
resident of the state that winter l
may interpret the conditions to-day In
the light of my experiences.
Even in the eastern part OF the
state there are sections of main lines
where cuts are very necessary. IL Is
in these cuts that the severe trouble
from railroad navigation occurs. AS
no chain is stronger than its weak
est link, these cuts when filled with
snow block the whole System.
THE reader must remember that In
North Dakota falls a much larger
amount of snow in one of their snow
years than we in the east have, anu
there are almost no thaws to reduce
the volume of snow lying on the
level.
ut is not unusual to see ten feet OF
snow on the level, as now stands all
over North Dakota, and ten years ago
| in the middle of March, when spring
was budding in most parts OF the
United States, snow plows were
bucking drifts and there was five feet
of snow throughout the state.
Now when this large amount OF
snow falls, and keeps on falling, the
| problem of how to handle 1t on the
| Level on the prairie land is difficult
| enough. But when it falls into one
OF these cuts of which l spoke. then
| 1t becomes a terrific obstacle to rail-
road management.
take the line that has got into the
public dispatches, New Rockford. This
is on a branch about 100 miles long
that runs from jamestown to Leeds
1t has only one train each way day
THE line is a north and sotith one
the worst direction, obviously. fol
snow blockading. 1t has several cuts
and is in valley where snow falls
heavily and stays.
mo wonder the Northern Pacific
railroad has been unable to get any
trains through, and we are compelled
to believe President Elliot when HI
declares that he has done his best Il
penetrate that awful adamaatin'
mountain of snow.
Ten years ago there was. brancl
line in North Dakota so situated tina
| the Northern Pacific did not try t
open up all winter simply because
was practically impossible to do sc
When blizzard succeeds blizzard an
snowstorm succeeds snowstorm, n
. amount of snow blowing can do any
J thing. Towns along this line were fe
by wagons from the main line. N
one suffered.
! Then take the Hannah line, al
other about which the interstate con
merce commission has been exc
cised. If you will take up a railroa
map of North Dakota you will see
|; curious arrangement of seven branc
, lines. extending north from the mai
line of the Great Northern to the il
. ternational boundary.
y These lines run one or two train
up and back each day. The Hanna
/ branch begins at Larimore. Is mile
west of Grand Forks, and runs Il
miles northwest to Hannah, IN Cav
: lier county.
Nh IL know something about that lin
y because lived on 1t for year whe
II \ fits terminus was Langdon, the cou
Il ty seat of Cavalier county. This liz
\ runs uphill almost all the way.
MI tits terminus lies on top of VIII
Y \ they call the mountain, which is
II Y rise Of ground belonging probably
n the Turtle mountains a little furth'
N i west. There is but one passeng
n H train each way and one freight trai
NJ When a genuine storm occurs al
Ill snow falls for "a hours or SO hours
N a stretch, as it did ten years ago tn
VI winter. the possibilities of a sno
blockade are immense.
II 1--WE were so situated on Thanh
4 giving day in 1896. The storm stru'
n the little cottage L lived In about "
II O'Clock in the morning. When l S.
struck, I mean struck.
There was a bang, as IL some pl
jectile had been thrown against t
\ house, and then a roar. That 70
kept up it's roaring all that night.
the next day, and nearly all the ne
night
when the people began to
= themselves out they found the sn'
- in the middle of the road anywhe
e from ten to 20 feet high. They fou
= it in some places crushing in ste
II fronts and reaching second story W
dows.
"They did not attempt to do al
thing more than dig themselves o
ga thar thay hoyau m woudor Wh