The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-01-08
A Story Of the
Great Blizzard
b. GEORGE v. EPSON

1t was the night that the great biz
xard Of 1888 came whirling down from
the clouds. l, q medical man. was ou'
On the road driving home in my buggy
THAT was before the day Of autome
biles) about / O'Clock In the morning
The snow grew deeper and DEEPER ano
l began to get uneasy. My horse now
and again would stop and look about
him, apparently as uneasy a. !. DUNN
animals, though they are easl'!
frightened than men. sometimes mann
fest q strong sense Of danger under
what may appear ordinary circum
stances. .,
There wan a large, square otlcs
house beside the road \ few hundred
feet ahead of me. l could distinguish
its dark bulk. there being no lignts
within.
Meanwhile | was becoming benumD'
ed and drowsy. | remember reacnlng
a point directly before the house. get
ting out Of the buggy and 1oundering
to the door | hoped to secure assist
ance to get my horse under cover.
This is the last l have ever been able
to recall Of being out In that terrible
blizzard.
The next thing before me was the door
opening and 4 man. very pale and ex'
cited. saying: "Come in. doctor. We
were fearful that you would not get
here"
The house was lighted and servants
were moving about hurriedly. just as !
had often e e them doing in houses
where some one was very III. The
man who admitted me led me upstairs
and into a room where a girl appar
emily about eighteen years old lay on
a bed. My conductor turned down the
b%edclothing, spotted with blood. and
revealed towels that were used to stop
hemorrhage. cautiously removed
them, but, seeing the red 6uid pour
out, l quickly replaced them.
While thinking what to do l glanced
about the apartment. The furniture
was such as was used during the early
part Of the nineteenth century, the bed
on which the girl was lying having q
canopy supported by four high posts
There were heavy curtains to the win,
dows Near a fireplace stood two per
sons, an old woman and a young man.
who were looking at me appealingly.
and l knew they we're begging me to
save the girls life. I noticed that their
dress was old fashioned. They resem.
bled each other. and I guessed they
were mother and son. The mothers
arms were about her boy.
Casting a glance at the man standing
beside me. l saw that he was about
the age Of the woman with her son
and judged that he was the husband
and father. On a lounge lay a sword,
and there was blood on the blade. |
formed a conclusion. largely from the
young mans agonized appearance. that
he had stabbed the girl.
had no instruments with me, but !
needed nOne. for l saw that the girl
was dying. To stanch that fow Of
blood was beyond my skill. | replaced
the bedcothing and stood over the in.
valid. avoiding the appealing gaze OF
the others until it was plain that ali
was over. then turned away. After
leaving the It seems to me now
that l walked into oblivion. for I was
not conscious Of anything till l felt
something hot passing down my throat
I opened my eyes and saw a man hold
ing me. while another man was bold
ing q flask.
don't suppose that my vision. dream.
OF whatever 1t wasScouId have lasted
over two or three minutes The men
saw me drive by the house they were
In. a few hundred yards below. and
realizing that ! was in danger. started
after me. | had left my buggy and.
bewildered by one of the whirlwinds
that came without intermission. had
fallen In the snow.
They put me back into my buggy
and managed to get the team and me
to their house. where a cheerful fire
was blazing. and after another hot
dose ! was put to bed. where | slept
soundly TIL morning. All that day the
snow came down. whirling as it fell.
and the mex day also. 1t was e
enty hours before the road beca me
passable and l got away
Before leaving l expressed a desire
to 60 into the house before which !
had been rescued. The persons with
whom l had been lodged told me that
1t was vacant and the key in posses
sion If a q and his wife living a
short distance up the road. begged
them to borrow it for me, which they
did. and ! went to the house and en-.
tered it.
Now comes the singular part of my
story had certainly not been in that
house before. and yet | saw it Just a.
had e 1t when admitted by the
man who had led me to the he'd of the
stricken girl The passageway was
the same. the room was the same, and
there stood the great four poster bed.
stead But the bed was made up. and
there was no one except myself pres
ent
] inquired II any murder had been
10 ~