The Greeley tribune., 1911-01-12
The OLD SETTLER and THE WEATHER
BY j, Max Clark

pretty much all of the day and the
night following. At three or four
D. m. on the seventeenth 1t cleared a
little and the sun came out few
minutes before setting with a foot
or more, OF snow upon the ground.
Then something happened which
has always since been an unusual
on the part of Old Boreas
in Colorado administration of his
affairs. 1t began showing again in
the night and before it again cleared
nearly two feet was the result. And
every time that great body of snow
settled a little after clear warm
day and an occasional west wind
for a few hours, 1t would cloud up
and snow some more; until finally
We had about thirty inches of hard
packed snow upon which jack rab-
bits could run with the wind. We
never saw the bare ground again In
three months. and the thermometer
ranged from below freezing In mod
crate nights to thirty-six degrees be-
low zero. On the 23d Of January
one Of those additional snow falls
occurred followed by = blizzard, the
first we had experienced since our
arrival in the promised land. The
cuts ON the railroad between here
and Cheyenne were all filled with
snow. and the Denver Pacific, ~ It
was then known. was ave days max
i9n the trip to that city and return.
That was the storm In which Jerry
Fisk, = brother Of our George was
lost. and remained out all night and
came very near freezing to death.
To return. however. to the Denver
Pacific train and its belated trip.
It arrived in Cheyenne Wednesday.
January ~, afte.' being en- route
from Denver 81 hours. The train
men had managed to shovel out the
cuts in going up. and they had been
Immediately in turn nlled In again
after they succeeded in getting
through them. At IL .. m. Thursday
the crew started back, repeating the
operation at each cut ON the trip
homo. the passengers assisting.
They we're out all night somewhere
between here and Carr station and
on the morning of January 9Th sew
eral persons walked into Greeley
and gave US notice that the train
would probably arrive in Greeley
about noon. But the cut just north
of the river had meantime filled with
snow to its top. an average of ten
feet in depth. Thereupon hun
dred OF cur people repaired there
with picks and shovels and began
the work of shovelling it out. The
women co-operated in the labor by
preparing hot coffee and sandwiches
for our lunch, and passed it to us as
we worked. We cut the snow in
huge blocks, and lifted, threw and
carried them up the bank. By one
O'Clock or little after we had the
work completed and shortly after
on the arrival of the train we were
enabled the larger share of us to
board it and come into town as pas
sensers. The train laid over for the
night at Evans and arrived in Den
yer at p. m. on the eth.
The following is partial list of
the hundred or more OF our people
OF that ime who participated in this
dramatic little episode You will
observe by the star that more than
half of the number then present are
now dead:
s. Graham, Charles A. Moore, Fl.
T. Pollock, w. Norcross*, ]. ID.
Buckley, William N. Green, j
thompson. f.. N. Holmes, s. II.
Hart, T. Cooper. Charles Boetcher.
N. S. Carpenters. James Beetham.,
e. Won Gohren, C. Brockway, w.
G. Bentley, J. J. Armstrong, Geo.
Buell.. E. Avery. j. l.. Brush, r.
Meeker, II. w. Lee", w. Hotchkiss,
A. 2. Saloman", Jonn Inman-, Joe
1nman'. George lnman. James In
man. A. E. Gipson, A. ]. Wadlia.
Evan Rea", NJ. ]. Baxter, e. Heatons.
]. Max Clark, F.. Clark. Frank Lem
on. Albert Wadlin'. s. r. Ferris, w.
Fl. Hollister'. II. Willis THOMPSON.
L. F. Law.
Very respectfully submitted,
/ MAX CJARX