The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-02-05

. From Tuesdays Tally.
IS Chicago Great Western passenger
train No. 203 engine 81, with Engineer
Page and Fireman Blyler in the cab,
which should have arrived at 9:2Q p.
m. Friday night, came in Monday night
at 9:25, seventysiX hours and five
minutes late. The train left Usage,
Iowa, at l2:l0 p. IN. Friday with two
engines and two coaches. Snow was
reported at various places To be in
: drifts one hundred feet long and eight
feet deep, To three hundred feet long
and six feet deep. At several stations
drifts were reported ten feet deep and
engineers were instructed to run by the
Gepots without stopping so rs to clear
the track and then back up. COnduc
tor Stearns and Brakeman Drew were
in charge OF the train. a good run
was made from Usage to Simpson, the
train being only one hour late there,
bat tie engines were i'm awful condition.
The cab windows were broken on the
head engine and the cab full OF snow,
and the engineer and fireman nearly
.motkercd in it, The train left Simp-
son for Rochester ut 3.04 y. III. and ut
the rate of twenty-five miles an hour,
plunged into IL snOwbank three hundred
feet long and eight feet deep. went
about half way through it and stopped.
1t was impossible to move an inch,
either way. The train was one and 4
l. e
seven miles south of Rochester with
not a house in sight
Wind Blowing a Gale.
The wind was blowing fifty miles
an hour and it was twelve below zero
and in less than thirty minutes the
train was showed in up to the coach
windows and before night came on
very little of the train could be seen,
but the smokestacks of the engines
and TIE top OF the coaches. Simpson
hill is one of the highest points in
Minnesota. The train was exposed to
the northwest by Il. five-milc prairie.
The wind scared like cyclone; the
coach windows ratified so that it seem
driven in. In fact, it sounded more
like Il storm from the internal re-
gions than a Minnesota blizzard.
Would Protect His Train
Conductor Stearns started out north
TO protect his train, with torpedOes and
Drew protected the rear. 1t was then
necessary for somebody to go back to
Simpson to report the condition of
things to the officials at Redwing, but
nobody wanted the job. Some men
said they wouldn't attempt it at any
price and said fellow couldn't walk
a mile and 4 quarter i'm such 4 storm
without being frozen to death. Con-
ductor Stearns felt it his duty to re-
main with his train to protect it and
care for the comfort of his passengers.
At five o'clock Engineer Page started
for Simpson. He made the depot all
right and informed Redwing of the
exact condition of things and received
orders not to try to move till help
came from Rochester. A snow pillow
ter to try to get to the train. The
snowplow stuck in Il drift south of
Rochester. A helper engine followed
with eight men to dig them out, but
the wind blew in the snow faster than
the eight men could shovel it out. The
helper engine went back to Rochester
and the snow pillow and passenger train
were left to their fate till daylight.
Difficult to Get Food to Passengers.
Engineer Page and the station agent
at Simpson went over to the hotel and
arranged for all the food possible to
be sent to the train, but nobody want
ed to take it out. About eight o'clock
in the evening two section foremen
rendered their services and q bushel
basket of sandwiches and coffee We're
sent out. Engineer Page started back
to the depot, got lost i'm the blizzard
fell into Il snow drift ten feet deep
When he got up, he couldn't tell where
he was nor which way to go. After
about forty minutes wandering round
he traced his footprints in the snow
hotel, some travelling men noticed that
Mr.. Pages face was frozen badly. They
jumped up from the table, took him
outside and rubbed his face in the
snow until the frost was taken out
The landlord at the hotel had fine
remedy i'm the house for frost bites
this was applied freely, his face band
aged up and though swollen, it was
considerably better by morning. DowI
at the train, bad as it was, there wa
a jolly crowd. Most of the passenger
were travelling men and they are /
Jolly lot of fellows as rule to b.
with. even i'm time of trouble.
No Whining Inside.
They told their stories and cracked
their Jokes and while the wind howlet
outside, there was no whining inside
All but one of the lady passenger
had left the train before the blockade
This lady was from Winnipeg and wa
on her way to st. Paul. She Dor
through the night very patiently. Sh
had a beautiful seal skin fur whcl
she offered to loan any travelling mai