The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1907-03-23
Those Dakota
Blockades

! billiards. rises TO remark tnat the
folks who are bowling against the
railroads up there don't know what
they are talking about
"The dispatches say he says, that
the present winter Is the worst since
the one ten years ago. AS ! was
| resident OF the state that winter
may interpret the conditions to-day in
1 the light OF my experiences.
| Even in the eastern part OF the
| state there are sections of main lines
where cnts are very necessary. 1t 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 filed with
F, snow block the whole system
The reader must remember that In
| North Dakota falls much larger
| amount of SNOW In one Of their snow
years than we in the east have, and
there are almost no thaWs TO reduce
the volume Of snow lying on the
level
1T 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 We're
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 Ii on the
level on the prairie land is difficult
enough But when 1t falls into one
Of these cuts of which | spoke, then
It becomes a terrific obstacle 10 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 south one,
the worst direction, obviously, for
snow blockading. 1t has several cuts
and is in valley where snow falls
heavily and stays.
NO wonder the Northern Pacific
railroad mas been unable TO get any
trains through, and we are compelled
to believe President Elliot when he
declares that he has done his best toI
penetrate that awful adamantine
mountain of snow.
Ten years ago there was branch
line in North Dakota so situated that
the Northern Pacific did not try 10
open up all winter simply because 1t
was practically impossible to DO so.
When blizzard succeeds blizzard and
snowstorm succeeds snowstorm, no
amount OF snow blowing can do any
thing. Towns along this line were fed
by wagons from the main line, No
one suffered.
Then take the Hannah line, an
other about which the interstate COM
merce commission has been exer-
cised. If you will take up a railroad
map of North Dakota you VIII see a
curious arrangement of seven branch
lines, extending north from the main
line Of the Great Northern to the in
ternational boundary
These lines run one or two trains
up and back each day. The Hannah
branch begins at Larimore. 20 miles
west of Grand Forks. and runs 125
miles northwest to Hannah, In Caya-
lier county.
Il know something about that line,
because lived on 1t for year when
it's terminus was Langdon. the coun
ty seat of Cavalier county, This line
runs uphill almost all the way
Its terminus lies on top of what
they call the mountain. which Is a
rise Of ground belonging probably to
the Turtle mountains little further
west There is but one passenger
train each way and one freight train.
When a genuine storm occurs and
snow falls for "a hours or &c hours at
stretch, as 1t did ten years ago this
winter, the possibilities OF a snow
blockade are immease.
I'VE were so situated on Thanks
giving day In 1896 The storm struck
the little cottage | lived in about two
o'clock in the morning. When ! say
struck, | mean struck.
There was a bang. as II some pro-
iectile had been thrown against the
house, and then a roar. That roar
kept up its roaring ali that night. all
the next day, and nearly all the next
night.
when the people began to dig
themselves out they found the snow
in the middle OF the road anywhere
from ten TO 20 feet high They found
it in some places crushing in store
fronts and reaching second story win
dows.
They did not attempt TO do any
thing more than dig themselves out,
and then they began to wonder when
the train would come. 1t took four
days to repair the wires so chat the
markets could be got, vital thing in
the wheat country.
cit took six more to get train
! through Men had worked like mad,
had used up several snowplows. and
when they arrived at the town they
were greeted like 50 many heroes that
they were They had worked night