The Lemmon herald. (Lemmon, Perkins County, S.D.) 1912-1917, 1912-01-12
Braving Boreas.

The present winter season appears
to impress itself as one of rare rigor. |
While reports are that there is not
very much snow east of the Missouri, !
the state line country is we'll blcst
with it, so much SO that even now,
with big half of winter yet before us,
ii is getting more and more difficult
to get about in the country The
mercury too has tendency to crawl
into the bulb, and the great business
of all has been of late, to keep the
stove booming.
Remarkable is the effect of the bit
ing cold upon the rails of the c. NJ. &,
+. $. system. Rails will break any
whore under the ban of extreme cold,
but never before has the Milwaukee
experienced difficulty as it does now
with breaking rails. If reports are
true, over fifty broken rails have been
discovered between Lennon and Nc
lntosh alone, as the result Of the cold,
not to speak of other sections of the
new line. Railroad officials believe
that the steel is more brittle than the
regular run, and experts have been on
the ground to look for an explanation
of this phenomenal breakage.
One direct result of this has been,
that the train service on the Milwaukee
has been very irregular since Christ
mas, when the cold spell began. MI
trains are Obliged to run at a low
rate of speed, and what with snow in
the cuts and other distractions, the
arrival and departure of trains is at
best conjectural. Even with this aud
| dcrailments of passenger trains be-
tween Mobridge and Marmarth.
With traffic on the rail irregular,
life on the byways has almost come to
a standstill. In the face of the biting
cold the efforts of W. +. Lyman. and
his corps of assistants. to keep the
mail routes going are but little short
of heroism, and the inland points that
still get their letters and papers are
under "a heavy burden of thanks to
these men.
1t was the melancholy privilege of
the writer to be one of party of four
bound for Meadow and Bison. Two
vain efforts had been made Tuesday
and Wednesday, to get down by auto;
but on Wednesday after five miles of
incessant battling with the drifting
snow it was found impossible to
continue by auto.
Accordingly another start was made
from Lennon this time in a sleigh.
the party consisting Of Messrs. DR.
Phelps, Geo. +. Lennon, +. ID. Pot
win, the writer and, "a driver, Mr..
Rose. J he sleighride proved any-
thing but aple tsure. The poor horses
labored ! iteously over the road, the
snow gril ding under the runners we'll
nigh like sani; then again long
stretches were encountered where the
wind had removed the snow With
tiie HoIsSs well lipH spent, dilei GROSS
ing the river at the bridge. about 200
p. M. finally a place was found where
the travellers could obtain rest and
food, Mr.. Fl. NJ. and his estimable
wife doing all their humble home af-
forded to make the travellers welcome.
I Is one of the most depressing
circumstances of the long road south
that rarely is a place found where
smoke curling up from the chimney
shows residents. Most of the farm
houses appear deserted, and through
out that trip of 45 miles and return
not dozen people we're sighted along
the road.
Our host. Fl. M and bis place. are
. deserving Of notice. He still has a
lot OF last years hay on hand, with
which he is feeding his 20 or 30 heae