The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1907-12-27

By ! o'clock white wall or sheet
J was seen on the northwestern hori
zon, bearing down upon the town
In few minutes gale, moving al
a thirty or forty mile rate, was upor
, us, and the air was filled with snow
as fine as -four. This was the great
blizzard 'ef 1878. It continued the
usual three days and three nights
Seven persons persisted in the colony
and over seventy in the state.
On that fateful morning a farmer
named John Weston, who lived near
the northern line of the county,
hitched his OK team to sled and set
out for Graham Lakes, not far dis
tant, for load of fire-wood. Night
came and Weston had not returned.
His wifequieted her fears by hoping
that he had found shelter with some
neighbor. During the night her SOL,
a lad twelve years old, called to his
mother, and said, ''Uncle Linderman
is at the door, and is calling. He
says John is lost in the Storm -
The voice sounded like his uncle's.
Mrs. Weston fastened to the door,
but found no one there, and no
tracks or marks in the snow. They
could not communicate with their
nei ghbors, and it was far into the
afternoon of the third day before
they could give the alarm.
The next day the settlers about
Graham Lakes joined in a search for
the missing man. On the banks Of
Jack Creek, not, far from the lakes,
they found the sled and near it the
oxen frozen to death. Weston had
unhitched them, no doubt supposing
that the instinct of the animals
would guide them home.
The search for Weston was fruit
less, and toward evening the farmers
returned to their homes and set
about their chores. Que of Weston's
neighbors was man named Cosper,
a practical, unimaginative, truthful
man, a member of the Methodist
church, and disbeliever in ghosts
and a stranger to spiritual phenom-
ena. He came to my Office to toll
the story and l give it in nearly his
own words:
II went into my stable after the
bucket, intending to water my horses.
I came out and turned the corner to
go down the path. When about half
way down the slope to the we'll l was
surprised to see John Weston coming
up the path to meet me. He ap-
preached with his usual familiar
smile, and his hands we're tucked
under the cape of his blue soldier
overcoat, just as had seen him ap-
proach many times. called to him,
and said: Hello Weston! why, I
thought you were lost in the storm
Weston replied, 4 was, and you will
fine my body mile and half north
west of Jersey? He then began to
melt or fade away, somewhat like
smoke thinning out, and disappeared.
I had not time to realize what was
Occurring till it was over and then I
began to feel mighty queer!"
Cosper at once told bis story to all
comers and it was published,in the
local paper and copied in Eastern
| journals. It was also discussed by
the local literary society and talked
of at the fresides of the colonists
during the winter.
Late in the following April the
snow disappeared from the prairies
and another searching party was
formed to search for Weston's body.
They went mile and half north
west of Hersey, and there in the
edge of a slough, they found the
body lying face down. as he had
fallen and clutching the tall grass or
reeds with his hands!"''s :s
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