The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-01-10
DRESS BALL ON
SNOWBOUND TRAIN
SEVEN PASSENGER TRAINS PASS
ED THROUGH FARGO sATUR-
DAY EVENING -. sNoWPLoW
TIPPED, AND IN FEW HOURS
WAS PACKED IN TIGHT.

Seven east-bound transcontinental
passenger trains on the Northern Pa
cidc passed through Fargo on Satur-
day evening about half an apart. Each
train was filled to the guards with
passengers some OF whom started
from Seattle on Monday evening.
The first train to arrive was the To-
cal coast train which was due in
Fargo last Thursday. 1t was closely
followed by train No. 2, the North
Coast limited, and another coast train
followed closely on the heels, or to put
it correctly, wheels Of the latter. The
others followed at short intervals.
Cause of the Delay.
The first report that there was a
bad wreck which caused the delay
proved to be incorrect. In fact the
story of the delay told by the train
men who arrived Saturday gives de-
tails of one Of the hardest fights
against a fierce mountain blizzard
that it has ever been the lot of the N.
p. to make.
On Wednesday night a snowplow
was attempting to clear the main line
this side of Big Timber, Mont. There
was about three feet of snow on the
track and the Russell was bucking the
drifts to good effect when 1t suddenly
struck particularly hard pile and the
big pillow was derailed, falling square,
ly across the track.
The snow was piling into the cut,
driven by a forty mile gale, and by
the time that another pillow could
reach it the wrecked apparatus was
snowedin so tight that there was
absolutely no chance Of getting it out
until after the blizzard stopped. Sew
eral gangs were put to work, but as
fast as they shoveled out the snow the
gale whipped 1t back in and they final
ly quit in despair and sat down to
wait until the storm cleared. This
was not until Friday and 1t was Sat-
urday before the track was finally
cleared, releasing the long line of
coast trains tied UP at Big Timber,
Grey Cliff and other small towns near
the scene of the disaster.
Passengers Enjoy Themselves.
Passengers on the first train, No. 2,
were the first to tell of their expert
ences in Fargo.
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cold cars, without food and with little
hope of rescue, as some of the most
imaginative Of the friends of the pas
sengers feared, the passengers of train
No. Q had the jolliest lark of their
lives.
Finding that they would be stalled
for several days they organized a
number of entertainment features, the
most enjoyable of which was a. fancy
dress ball which was held in the din
ing car. Train No. was stalled at
Big Timber and that town was raided
for material with which TO make fancy
dress costumes.
Bachelor drummers looked over
drug and dry goods stocks and picked
out fancy dress ball paraphernalia for
the women on the snow bound train,
The feminine portion of the marooned
outfit greeted some Of these purchases
Historically. The women thought
them immensely funny, but they turn
ed in and began fashioning costumes
for the ball.
From somewhere in the village of
Pierre, Alfred Landry, jr., McGill col
lege, class of '03, SON of a supreme
court Judge of New Brunswick, pro-
duced a dentist who had a three string
violin. He brought the dentist and
violin to the train and the dentist was
solemnly designated the orchestra for
the ball.
If there had not been so much fun
at that dance in the diner the dentist
might have been sorry. AS it was, he
played from $3.50 p. m. until $3.50 a. m.