The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-05-02
Z eontinuetd From our Last Issue)

tS4Rdr& on Inc oLuSl oiuo'
slowly# upward, was freight train
with the necessary mate
rails OF large swamiil.
Guess it's all off," came at last
general superintendent in
DenYer's on the wire. Says TO
back up everything to Tollifer, in
@cluding the plows, and give UP the
ghost
Give 1t up?" Houston stared
nkly at the telegrapher. But
ats not railroading!
ct know. I'll call Denver.
He turnedZto the key and ham
meTed 4doggedly. Only soggy dead
ness answered The line was gone.
CHAPTER XVI
It'd take guy with a diving
suit to find some Of them wires,
~ guess. the operator hazaTded,
he finally ceased his efforts
and reached for his coat and hat
III and gsnowshoes There amt no
use staying here You fellows are
going to sleep in town tonight,
you
There was little else to do.
They fought their way to the
rambling boarding house.
Morning brought no relief. The
storm was worse, and they faced
drifts waist high at the doorway.
Two hours later. the agent
s@once more at his dead key. Ba' tiste
4 turned to Houston.
s55g:5 t.5.Eet is no use here" he an
nounced Eve must get to camp
and assemble the men to help
those who are not fortunate. There
sis death in this storm
guide lines, they started forth, to
D bend against the storm In a strug-
y gle and at last to reach the squat,
4 snowed-in buildings OF camp.
There, Ba'ttste assembled the
workmen in the bunk house.
here are greater things than
this n row. he announced. I'VE
want the strong men-who will go
h back with us to Tabernacle, and
who will be willing to take the
risk to help the countryside. Eet
/ Is the danger ahead. How many
N or you will go?''
3sss One after another they reached
for their snowshoes, silent men
who acted, rather than spoke,
ss Guide lines were affixed. Hud-
died clumsy figures OF white, one
sfolIowing the other, made the
grue11ing trip back to Tabernacle.
ALREADY, the reports were begin
ming to come in, brought by storm
weakened, b1izzard-battered men
5ss$of houses where the roofs had
crashed beneath the weight OF
8sanow. OF lost ranchmen, OF bawl-
Ing cattle, drifting before the
4 storm-to death. 1t was the be-
4 ginning of a two-weeks' seige of
d q white inferno.
e whole world was one great
u bleak thing Of dreary white-a
desert IN which there was life only
that there might be death, where
II the battle for existence continued
aonly as matter OF instinct.
And over this bleak desert went
the men OF the West Country, sill
lent, frost-burned men, their lips
fScracked from the cut OF wind,
their eyes b1ood-red with inflan1-
nation, struggling here and there
with pack OF food upon their
backs that they might reach some
deao1ate h ONE whore there were
women and children; or stopping
ito pull and tug at q snow-trapped
steer and by main effort, drag him
into barren spot where the sweep
&of$ the gale had kept the ground
fairly clear of snow.
A two-inch crust OF snow form
8Ied over the main snowfall, per-
n1ittfng small sleds to be pulled
behind struggling men; the world
beneath had been frozen in, to
Five place to new one above.
And with that:
tits open! It's open!" The
shout came from the lips OF the
photographer, waving his arms as
he ran from the tunnel that led
8Sto the stationhouse. cts opent
I've had Raw1ins on the wire!'
sRawlins?" Houston had edged
forward. There's not chance.
Get Denver on the wire. Then
take this message to every news
paper in the city:
as 80 Can't you, help US? Please try
Ito start campaign to force Crest
line Road to open the Pass Wo-
here. We have been cut off from
Is the rest Of the world for two
weeks. We need food-and coal.
Road will not be open for four or
q five weeks more under ordinary
y circumstances. This will mean
death to many of us here. the wip-
sing out of great timber ard aSri-
cultural country, and blot on
the history of Colorado Help
s3ss8 1.-THE CITIZENS OF THE
WEST COUNTRY"
Sounds good" The telegraph
ser was sbusi1y putting it on the
wire Then a wait of hours.
Then the wire c1attered forth a
U message. He jumped.
:ssss3sss..s s'I from the papers in Den
yeri Z, he shouted. "a joint mes
q sage. They've taken up the
fight! ~
The SHOWS still swirled, the
storms still. came and went. Dur.
ing this period of uncertainty
Houston met Ba'tiste Remand, re-
turning from the lake region, to
find him raging.
SIS eet that the world is all un-
lust p, he roared- am the mad
enough to tear them apart"
ssttt.7Who?EWhat's gone wrong?
ss.A b, Il pass today the Black
Il burn mill. They have the saw go
gthey keep at work, when
there are the women and the