Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-08-18
CARRIER TRAVELS
$4,000 MILES
ROCK RAPIDS MAN HAS NOT
MISSED ONE-HALF DOZEN
TRIPS in EIGHT YEARS

Rock Rapids. Aug. 16.-For the last
eight years Thomas X. Cushman has
carried mail on rural route No. 1 out
of Rock Rapids, Iowa. In all this
time he has not missed half dozen
trips. rain or shine. snow drifts or
floods he made his trips, and in round
numbers he has travelled in this time
about 10000 miles. Nine-tenths of this
driving has been done with single
mare which he has driven in this
time a distance of more than twice
around the earth. He says if any other
rural driver in Iowa can show a rec
ord equal or better than his he would
he glad to hear from him.
Mr.. Cushman lost his hands by
being frozen in the great blizzard OF
Ian IL, 1885, and but for the fact that
this blizzard only continued for about
twelve hours he would now be dead
with several hundred other people
who lived in Iowa and Dakota at that
date. Old soldiers frequently try to
describe a battle, but they cannot do
It: a person must pass through bat
tie to understand what it means And
so it is with blizzard. Those set
tiers in the west in the early '70s, out
in the storm for two or three days and
alive to tell the story. fully under
stand what the word blizzard means.
Iowa's Worst Blizzard.
The blizzard Of Jan. 2, 1888, was
the most destructive storm ever ragged
in the northwest while it lasted. It
started 100 miles west of here some
time about noon. and the next morn
ing hundreds of people. mostly school
children, were dead from it's effects.
Only for the fact that the storm
ceased at daylight hundreds more
would have persisted. Flesh and blood
in man or beast cannot face a genuine
blizzard and person exposed is soon
plastered with the>fine snow He digs
it out Of his eyes; the snow penetrates
his clothing; then If he cannot find
shelter. he must not lose his head, he
must keep going with the wind just
fast enough to keep from freezing. for
it is death to lie down and sleep.
Many men have travelled thus for two
or even three days and came out alive.
The afternoon of Jan. II, 1888, Tom
relates. it was warm and showing, but
thawing some. II and my brother
hitched up a team to go out to bin
of wheat less than a half mile from
the house, he said. 1--WE threw the
sacks out and before we got one sack
full, with a roar like a dozen railroad
trains. the blizzard struck us. Our
blankets were whirled from our horses
and we could not recover them, so
we Jumped into the sled and started
for home. But the snow blinded us
and our horses, and we lost the way.
Save Lives Under Sled.
after driving for hours we got into
snow drift and one of the horses fell
and broke the tongue of the sled. We
turned the horses loose, tipped the
box over and crawled under the box
My mittens were lost and we covered
ourselves up with sacks as well as we
could. Ny brother was older than ],
and he tried to keep me awake and
succeeded most of the time, but at
daylight we crawled out. was frozen,
but we finally got out. The storm was
over, but it was very cold We found
we were but short distance from a
neighbours house. I could not walk,
but my brother carried me until the
neighbours dog discovered us and his
barking aroused him and we were
socn under cover I lost all my fingers
and thumbs on both hands, and in my
opinion / never will go as near the
dark river and get back again as
did in that blizzard
Tom has taught thirty-two terms OF
school, and it is wonderful to see the
work he can do in his crippled condi-
ton. He has worked on farm, pitch
ing hay and grain, can harness and
hitch ND horse almost as quickly as
anybody, and does a host Of odd jobs
in way wonderful to those who
realize his great handicap.